new fitness challenge Archives

My New Fitness Challenge – Kayla Istines’ BBG Workout

Everyone around me is participating in some sort of challenging fitness endeavor. My BIL, Niel, is running the Chicago marathon in October. My sister, other BIL Adarsh, Vishnu, and few friends are participating in the Tough Mudder in August. Me? Nada. Until now that is!

Enter Kayla Istines’ BBG workout…

Ok, fine. There’s no real end game for me. BUT, I am challenging myself in a new way. Why? Because everyone around me is. Not the most compelling reason, but there’s nothing like seeing the people around you push themselves a bit to make you want to do the same.

Vishnu, for example, recently joined a gym in our neighborhood and is taking all of these really cool classes like HIIT, spin, boxing, etc. The plan was for me to join as well, but I ultimately decided not to right now because the timing of the classes doesn’t really work with my work + Kaiden schedule. Yet another reason for me to start BBG.

What is BBG?

BBG stands for Bikini Body Guide (I literally printed out a PDF guide with all the workouts mapped out). In my own words, it’s a 12 week fitness program focused on high intensity workouts. Each week you complete three 28 minute (ideally) HIIT workouts. For example, I just completed week one, and here’s what the workouts looked like.

Monday – Legs + Cardio (lunges, squats, burpees, etc.)
Wednesday – Arms + Abs (pushups, reverse pushups, bicycles, etc.)
Friday – Total Body (burpees, lunges, squat + press, etc.)

In addition to the above, I did a 40 minute run/walk workout on Saturday to round things out, and I also consider my walks to and from work as solid activity (I walk fast!).

I found week one to be pretty challenging, as evident by my super sore muscles. Every time I sneezed, some muscle/muscles screamed…usually my abs.

Why BBG?

I chose BBG instead of another program because it perfectly fits my workout criteria – 30 minutes ish, can do it at home, minimal equipment, and is (very) challenging.

Diet?

I’m not following the prescribed diet (I don’t believe in the word diet!), but I am maintaining a few simple rules – LOTS of water through out the day and no snacking after dinner (kitchen closes as soon as we finish cleaning up). Other than that, I’m going to try to make the best choices I can, eat lots of fruits and veggies, etc.

Goals?

My overall goal is to tone and tighten up a bit. I’m happy with my weight at the moment, but my tummy area could use some work as could my overall strength and endurance.

Any cons?

The only con I can think of after week one is injury. A big one I know. Because the workouts are timed + high rep, it’s easy to focus on that versus form. Knowing this, I constantly tried to ensure my form was on point, and if it’s not, I’d modify the move. My motto = slow and steady vs. injured and unable to exercise at all.

I don’t plan on sharing a weekly recap (as I did with T25 and my half marathon training) because, for example, weeks 1+3 and 2+4 are the same. So instead, I’ll share my thoughts after weeks 4, 8, and 12.

Feel free to share any questions or thoughts in the comments!

How to Get Your Butt to the Gym Consistently – Join a Year-Long Fitness Challenge

written by Parita 9 Comments

The truth of the matter is I’m no longer waking up at 4:30 am to squeeze in my workouts. With Kaiden waking up every 2-3 hours EVERY night for the past few months, I decided to prioritize sleep over exercise. This is not to say I’ve stopped working out altogether. Even though I don’t love evening workouts, I found a way to get to the gym (or do Barre3 Online!) a few times a week after Kaiden went down for the night…errr…few hours. I’m also choosing to walk to work on the days I go into the office instead of taking an Uber or the train. Unless the temperature is in the teens, you’ll find me making that 1.2 mile commute by foot.

Now here’s the thing, my workout standards are A LOT lower than they used to be. Lately, I’ve been reading old MIS posts, and even though I didn’t feel this way back then, I’m amazed by how dedicated to exercise I used to be. Again, this isn’t to say that I don’t love it anymore or that I’m not motivated, but time/sleep/sickness all play a much bigger role in my life than they used to. And sometimes exercise falls to the bottom of the priority list.

So what are my standards now? Well, for one, workouts max out at 30-35. And two, my goal is to fit in 3 maybe 4 workouts a week. I try to make each one count, but sometimes, the goal is to solely move in whatever way feels good and makes sense.

Other things I know a lot of people, mamas or not, struggle with when it comes to exercise are time, guilt, motivation, etc. Been there, done that with all of those plus some…

…insert the brilliant idea to host a year-long fitness challenge!

Now, I can’t take credit for the idea at all. All the credit goes to our friends Kartik and Rathna. Back in October, Rathna sent an email to a bunch of people and asked if anyone was interested in joining a year-long fitness challenge group. Of course, I immediately replied with an enthusiastic yes! This is exactly what I needed to get my butt to the gym consistently.

Our group’s challenge works in the following way (taken from Rathna’s original email)…

Challenge – Workout 12 times a month (even if you do multiple workouts a day, you only get credit for one) for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Results – If you hit the 12 workouts (or more), great! If you don’t, you owe $10 to each person in the group who did.

What’s a workout? – Moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. This can include a run, weight training, a fitness class, yoga, outdoor activities such as hiking/biking/walking. It has to be a solid workout for at least 30 minutes.

How is it tracked? – Via a Google spreadsheet where everyone inputs their workouts using the honor system.

Fun fact #1 – If I recall correctly, I’ve already made $40 by being a part of this challenge! Ha!

Fun fact #2 – I read Rathna’s initial email so quickly (in true Parita fashion) that I missed the whole part about this being a year-long challenge. I thought it was only for the month of October. It took someone commenting on me doing this as a new mom for me to pull up the email again and read it again…carefully. Ha!

If you need a little extra motivation to workout, I highly recommend starting a challenge like this one. The idea of losing $$$ only because I didn’t work out kills me, so I don’t let it happen. Also, I like being the newish mom in the group who gets her 12 (usually more!) workouts every month!

Your turn – have you taken part in a fitness challenge like this? Would it be enough to keep you motivated?

My Next Challenge – Focus T25

written by Parita 5 Comments

Before I talk about my next fitness challenge, I just want to say THANK YOU for all the congratulatory messages over the past week. Everyone, including my family, friends, and blends (blogger friends), has been so excited about my Tough Mudder experience. I just can’t thank y’all enough for all the support and love!

With that being said, I am really excited about my next personal challenge – Focus T25. I haven’t been able to work out since the Tough Mudder because of the soreness and pain from the cuts and bruises. And I’m not going to engage in intentional exercise until Monday because I want to be fresh for T25! This program is no joke.

What is Focus T25

It is a Beachbody program created by Shaun T who is known for the Insanity program. From what I’ve read, T25 is kind of like Insanity but shorter and not as difficult. Each workout is only 25 minutes (~28 if you include the stretching). And this program is broken down into two five week phases. So you start with five weeks of Alpha and then move on to five weeks of Beta. There are calendars that tell you when to do each workout. And there is something to do every day, except on Sunday (rest day).

The workouts themselves are high-intensity and go go go the entire time (i.e. no built in rest breaks). I’ve actually done a few of the Alpha workouts here and there, and I can attest to the fact that they are challenging. Not impossible, just challenging. The first time I did the Cardio workout I had to take a break after the warm up. Haha. I was dripping sweat and pushing my limits the entire time.

Why I am doing this

I love structure when it comes to my workouts. Best Body Bootcamp was perfect for me because everything was spelled out and ready to go. But now that Tina is no longer continuing with BBB, that structure is missing for me. Enter T25! As I mentioned, there is a calendar that tells you when to do what…just what I need/want! Also, these are workouts that require zero to very minimal equipment AND can be done in the comfort of your own home or hotel if you are traveling.

Another reason I am doing this is because I want to challenge my body in a different way. I’m going to continue with a few short runs every week, but other than that, I am going to let T25 take center stage in my life for 10 weeks!

This isn’t about weight loss for me. I would be happy with the scale staying exactly where it is. What I do hope to gain is some more muscle definition and an overall toned look. Regardless of whether that happens or not, I know that I am doing something good for my body and that is benefit enough.

(No) Dietary changes

The program comes with a suggested dietary plan, but I’m not going to follow it. Personally, I think my diet is pretty balanced and supports my lifestyle so there is no need to overhaul it at all. So that’s that!

Accountability

I consider myself to be a self-motivated and goal oriented person. If I say I’m going to do something, it will eventually happen. Basically, I don’t need anyone else to push me. However, to ensure that I go through with all 10 weeks of T25, I have enlisted a partner in crime…my coworker Erin!

When Erin was in Miami a few weeks ago, I talked about T25 being my next challenge. Erin, who travels about 60% of the time for her role, wanted to try something new that she could fit into her crazy schedule. Of course, as soon as she sounded remotely interested, I got really excited and talked about how we could be each other’s accountability partners, how fun it would be, blah, blah, blah. Erin was hooked! And now we both have someone to talk to about the program, progress, challenges, etc. Woo hoo!

Updates and progress

I did a horrible job blogging about my Tough Mudder training. Horrible meaning it was nonexistent. I want this to be different, but I am making no promises. I will definitely blog about my experience with T25…just not sure how frequently. With that being said, I have an open email policy so feel free to contact me at any time!

I also haven’t quite decided about how I’m going to measure my progress. I’ll fill y’all in when I get it together! The one thing I do know is that I’m not using the scale.

Well, that’s about it. I hope T25 kicks my (and Erin’s) butt…in a good way of course! Here’s to a successful 10 weeks.

Have you tried Focus T25 or any other Beachbody workout program?