Okay, I just bought Billy Blanks Boot Camp

Maddie&EthansMom wrote: It's going to kick my butt. But, I'm going to pop it in and give it a go.

I will still go to the gym for cardio and weights, then in the evenings I'm going to do this dvd. I'll see how long I can keep that up. I'm determined to break thru this plateau and will stop at nothing.

luvmykids replied: You go girl!

I got mine and have been too scared to do it or lazy. I'm sticking with scared.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: You're so funny! I'll let you know in about an hour how it was.

coasterqueen replied: Woo hoo! I love Billy! Once you do it you'll get the hang of it. I don't think I have his boot camp series. I have his cardio and several others besides the beginner ones. Is his boot camp all with the resistance bands?

Just remember if you are going to exercise 2x a day for how many days you need to eat more as well.

Have you tried high intensity interval training? It's the best at knocking down plateaus IMO. Or at least it has been for me.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: You can do it with or without the bands. It wasn't too difficult...not near as difficult as the class I took yesterday. But of course I just did the basic training today.

The other class I took was a high intensity interval training. I liked it. My problem is, I don't like all the instructors at our gym and I can't remember which ones go with which classes. I still plan on doing some classes at the gym and I have some dvd's here that are great that I can use to mix it up. I just get the feeling that I'm hitting a plateau b/c I'm really not challenging myself. I go to the gym, run on the treadmill for awhile, lift some weights and go back the next day and do the same thing. I'm not doing anything else. I'm getting stronger, but I'm just stuck and so bored.

coasterqueen replied: You don't have to take a class to do HIIT, you can do it on the treadmill even or whatever equipment you do normal cardio on. I do mine on the treadmill at home or when I'm outside walking/jogging.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I'm really not good at doing it 'on my own'.

Karen I'm so lost on this fitness thing it isn't even funny. I have no idea what I'm doing or if I'm doing any of it correctly. It's driving me to the looney bin.

coasterqueen replied:
What are you lost about? Whether you have good form or not? Or what? I'm lost on whether I have good form when working out for sure. I tend to get lazy with form. I also get lost when it comes to doing weights. I truly believe I'm doing them wrong at home.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Ughhhhhhhhh I can't wait to get my a$$ back in the gym!!!! Just feeling sorry for myself...sorry. I want to join you gals! I'm a kickboxing freak! LOVE it!

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
Well, I'm not coordinated and I'm not good at form. But other than that I just really don't know what I'm doing. Am I working out enough? Am I working the right muscles? Am I keeping my heart rate at the right level? It's so complicated. I dont' want to hurt myself.

redchief replied: I've been doing Billy Blanks Boot Camp for a couple months now, when I can. The Basic Workout isn't too challenging, and it's a good re-entry when you've been out for a couple days. I still haven't completed an entire Ultimate Workout routine though. That one is hard. The women in the video are not human.

coasterqueen replied:
I agree it is complicated. I tried figuring out my heart rate and working at that level etc, but it was too stressful and not very productive. Now I just workout to the level that feels good for me. Working out slower wouldn't make me feel like doing it the next day and working out too too hard wouldn't make me want to do it again, either so I just stick to what feels right. IMO if doing what feels right to me is NOT right then I have no business working out anyways. I also had to come to the realization that working out for me has to be something I enjoy doing and not about doing it just to lose weight. Since I've done that I don't worry about what I'm doing, etc, I just enjoy it and have fun. Some days I have that lull where I just don't feel like exercising and other days I can't live without it.

I always wondered about those people who just enjoyed working out and didn't stress out over it. I didn't understand how you could get to that point, but I think I'm almost there finally. Sure I want to lose this last 10 pounds and keep it off but I don't want to stress about it my entire life. I have too much life left and I'll go to the funny farm if I have to live it that way.

I guess my point is, do your best, don't worry about how you are doing things. As long as YOU feel comfortable with your routines, who cares how you are doing it? Course I agree good form is good form and should be practiced. I, too, want to work on this myself, but I'm not going to stress out about it because then it will just help me fail, not succeed.

Ok, I think I went off on my own little pep talk here. Sorry.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: No, don't be sorry. I really appreciate it. It makes a lot of sense.

I was at the enjoyment point before the holidays. I couldn't live without exercising everyday and it really boosted my mood. Then we got sick and we were busy It was hard to get back into it once I got out of 'practice'. Then I stopped enjoying it. It was more of a chore, kwim?

Right now I'm so sore and if I can get past that I think I will start enjoying it more. Being sore makes me not want to work out. And I hate working out at home, but I'm getting used to it. I just need to do it. There are times when I dont' have a choice. (like today)

I've always been afraid to push myself, too. I need to get over that fear. I guess I think I'll just keel over and die if I push myself too hard.

Thanks Karen.