Best Body Bootcamp: Phase 2

I can’t believe we are halfway through round 5 of BBB. I know I’ve been talking about how amazing this program is for a while now (phase 1 recap), but really, it is! And luckily for those of you who want to give it a try, Tina may be starting round 6 earlier than expected. I’ll update you when registration opens!

So phase 2 was all about muscle endurance. What this means is that we did a lot of pulsing. For example, one of the exercises she had us do was a plié stance squat. Looks simple on paper – 5 reps, then 5 pulses, then 10 pulses, and then 15 pulses. By the time I got to the 15 pulses, my muscles were screaming.

Another brutal but awesome exercise combo was the push press + downward dog pushup (no pulsing for this one). I love push presses because they make me feel strong. However, when you pair them in a set with downward dog pushups, you are in for a treat. My arms were on fire!

At the end of the day, no matter how hard the workouts were, I was so glad to have completed them. Even as I sat in the middle of my living room floor with sweat dripping off of me (pretty picture, huh?!). BBB is legit – I can promise you that.

Now that we’re four weeks into the program, I’m seeing a lot more conversation in the Facebook group about people noticing changes in their bodies, the way their clothes fit, their energy levels, etc. I’m one of those people. While I will never post progress pictures on the blog, I can assure you that progress is being made! It’s crazy what a little bit of consistency + hard work will do for you (right, Laura?).

One of the threads that caught my attention was about seeing positive changes in muscle definition while seeing no drop (and sometimes an increase) on the scale. Personally, I didn’t weigh myself before starting BBB. I didn’t want to get caught up with the numbers because that would lead me down a dangerous path. Even still, it was interesting to read the comments that followed. Everyone talked about how they haven’t noticed much of a difference on the scale either, but their clothes are fitting better and their significant others are noticing a change. I think the group concluded that we should ditch our scales!

So here’s the point I want to make. If you choose to strength train, you may not lose pounds, HOWEVER your body will change for the better. It’s all in the science – 1 pound of fat weighs the same as 1 pound of muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat and therefore takes up less room…which makes for a more lean body. I know a lot of women are afraid of bulking up and looking ‘manly,’ but that is really not possible (at least not with a program like BBB).

I know strength training can be intimidating, especially when you’re first starting out. I also know that it’s hard to get out of the all cardio mindset. I’ve been there! On the other hand, I also get that not everyone has the same fitness goals. Not everyone wants defined muscles and that’s ok too. However, I do think that basic strength training (at a minimum) should be a part of everyone’s routine. Beyond the strictly physical benefits, there are quite a few other long-term health benefits that everyone can reap from lifting weights. Don’t believe me? Do a quick Google search.

Key takeaways:
1. Pulsing is a lot harder than it looks.
2. Muscles > fat, even when the number on the scale doesn’t go down.
3. Strength training WILL NOT bulk you up, but it WILL have a profound impact on both your physical and mental health.
4. Best Body Bootcamp is amazing!

How do you determine how ‘fit’ you are? Have you been able to ditch your scale?