Lo’s Fitness Routine.

Hey guys, I wanted to spend some time today talking about what my fitness routine looks like and what has been working for me. Firstly, I would like to say, I am by no means a fitness expert or trainer, what works for one person, may very well not work for another. Success in a workout regimen can vary so much based on many different factors, including health, personality, lifestyle, etc. I just want to share with you all, what has worked for me.

I’ll be really honest with you, this is the first time in my life, I have been able to consistently stick to my fitness routine and continuously meet new, personal work out goals. Ever. Before now, I just could not find a workout that I liked enough and truly understand what my own needs in a workout routine were and more importantly, what my motivations were.

Motivation is everything. Making sure you are wanting to get fit for the right reasons, will be a huge factor in the longevity and consistency in your capability to workout. That isn’t to say there is one right reason, there are so many valid, healthy, and good reasons to work out, just make sure they are kind to you. Not out of reasons like guilt, disgust, or envy. Those motivations aren’t kind to you or your self-esteem and as easily as they can negatively affect your body image, they can also easily talk you right out of that work out you had planned later. While my motivations are specific to me, they included reasons such as self-love, self-preservation, and self-betterment. And I’m here to tell you right now, with that kind of fuel in your tank, you can kick just about any fitness routine’s ass. Period. Having good motivations is like eating good protein for your muscles to repair, its fuel for your mind. So, now that I had my mind right, it was just about finding the right routine.

It’s been almost a full year of consistently working out, guys and I had to start with small goals. Reasonable and attainable. I can’t stress how important that is. Setting small goals is a great way to avoid setbacks or falling off the wagon, so to speak. Because what didn’t work for me in the past, was saying things like “I’m going to work out 5-6 days a week” when I had no experience doing that before.  What was I thinking? It sounded easy in practice but I was kidding myself. I’m not saying that this might not work for you, you may be one of those people who can go balls to the walls and make it happen, I just couldn’t. It didn’t mean I couldn’t get there but I had to start somewhere reasonable for me. So, when I started working out, almost a full year ago, it was with my dear friends and coworkers, with whom I still work out with daily (over Skype, FaceTime, or the video feature on Facebook messenger), yea we are dedicated y’all, we make it happen! Shout out to my girls, Sarah, Chantel, and Kristen! Whether its workout partners or just a few good supporters, having those people to root you on is monumental. My husband is my biggest advocate, he got pretty serious about focusing on his fitness around the same time I did. We encourage and motivate each other to do our best, push ourselves, and reach our own goals. So, big shout out to the hubs, I’m proud of you and us, let’s kick ass.

When starting out a fitness routine, if you’re able to find someone to work out with, I highly encourage it. These girls were my accoutabilabuddies, I wish I could coin that but I am pretty sure I got that from Spongebob or some kids show, nonetheless! Having a pal or pals to work out with, will help hold you both accountable, especially in the beginning, when you’re developing the habit of working out. Like anything else, working out can be a part of your daily routine, keep doing it and eventually you won’t want to miss it, it’ll feel like your day isn’t complete without it. I know it sounds crazy but trust me people, it will happen! Remember, until this past year, I hadn’t had any kind of consistent routine and now I can’t finish my day without it. If I can do it, anybody can!

Now back to this accountabilabuddy business, I know it is not always feasible to meet someone at the gym or work out with your best friend who shares your same goals because you live nowhere near each other but what I have learned is, even if you can’t be with each other in person, just texting or FaceTiming or calling each other (speaker phone, headphones), while you both work out, can do the trick and hey at least you are doing it! And together! In all honesty, having a fitness buddy is just an added bonus, you can be your own accountabilabuddy, after all, they do say we are our own toughest critic, right? So, why can’t you also be your biggest advocate?

Now, getting into the specifics with small goals. My own personal goal, when I first started in September 2015, was to work out three days a week. It was during the work week, so I would have the weekends off. Then when I accomplished that, I bumped it up to four days a week, then five, and you get the idea. For the last six months, I have been working out at least 6 days a week and specifically for the last four months, seven days a week but my seventh day is a “light” day, I’ll get more into that in just a bit. The point of this is, start somewhere you feel comfortable. DO NOT and I REPEAT, DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO WHERE SOMEONE ELSE IS AT ON THEIR JOURNEY. It’s pointless, you’ll get to where you want to be on the best path FOR YOU, so don’t set yourself up for disappointment because you are trying to do a fitness model’s routine from the get-go. Working out is so much more than just pushing your muscles or doing so much cardio your heart is about to thump right out of your chest, so much of perseverance in working out is about your mind, feed it good things.

So, what is it that I do, exactly? Before I start, this is not a sponsored post, I sincerely and wholeheartedly love these programs and would rave on and on about them because I’ve seen them work firsthand. When I first started in September 2015, I was following Cassey Ho’s Blogilates fitness plan, which is all online and completely free. You guys (and I mean girls AND guys because her work outs are great for anyone), she is amazing! Her spirit, positivity, and development of routines, based on her knowledge of the human body is stellar! I loved and still love, the Blogilates fitness plans because not only do they offer what I realized I need in a workout, which is variability but they also are free and you can do it in the comfort of your own home (or anywhere for that matter).These pilates-inspired videos for Blogilates are all on youtube, they are so accessible and even if you are doing it by yourself, you feel like you’re not with her! And you don’t have to be an expert at yoga or pilates to do this, anybody can. You just have to start.

Like I said, one important thing I realized about myself is that I need variation in my routine and having someone create that for me and an established plan, was like hitting the sweaty, toned jackpot. She creates a calendar that you can use to plan out your work outs for the whole month by just subscribing to her page, this just means you’ll receive updates from her when she has new material, calendars, etc. And on each day, the calendar tells you which videos to complete daily, ensuring that by the end of the week, you are getting a well-rounded work out. And honestly, there are a plethora of videos, you never feel like you’re doing the same old, same old. When I first started, as I said, I did three days a week and then built up, so I would pick and choose days but eventually, I began doing them 6 days a week.

For the last 4 months, I have been doing her newest edition to the Blogilates family, which is PIIT28, this stands for Pilates Intense Interval Training and the 28 is for 28 minutes. As you might have guessed, this fitness routine is a combination of Pilates and HIIT (high intensity interval training). And I’m o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. I have been strictly doing PIIT28 for 4 months and I love it! The combination of Pilates and HITT accomplishes everything I am looking for in a routine. The Pilates helps with things like stretching and strengthening, while HIIT improves your aerobic and cardiovascular capabilities AND metabolism, for that matter. By using interval training, meaning combining strengthen-training moves with cardio intermittently and working out harder for shorter amounts of time, you can speed up your metabolic rate and continuing burning calories, even after your work out is complete. Isn’t that amazing?! If you’re interested in the science behind this, the Times released a good and quick read on why this works.

Similar to Blogilates, with PIIT28, Cassey has made a calendar for several rounds (one round per month) and then you can repeat them as you like. As you can see above, I print off her calendars and mark off the workouts each day, as I complete them. I love to check things off, I get a lot of satisfaction in completing lists, so this is perfect for me. What's also great is that with each routine she not only makes videos you can follow along with but as you can see in the picture above, she includes a hard copy walk through and descriptions of all of the moves, with picture explanations (not shown here) as well. So, you can print these off and travel with these and do them ANYWHERE (even if you don't have internet access to watch the videos, aka what I did on my two week cross country trip).

But what is different about PIIT28, compared to Blogilates, is the composition of the routines in PIIT28. Each day, I do a 5 minute warm up, 28 minutes of working out, usually focusing on certain areas each day, to get a holistic and well-rounded workout for your body throughout the week. Then 19 minutes of abs (you start incorporating this on your second round) and finally 9-10 minutes of flexibility training. It is recommended to do each step, however, you can skip the warm up, abs, or flexibility training some days, if you just aren’t feeling up to it. The important part is making sure to get that 28 minutes in. Although, I will tell you, I never skip abs or flexibility because they have both made such a difference in how much stronger I’ve gotten and how much I can push myself in that 28 minute part of the workout routine.

On a side note but important, unlike Blogilates, you do have to pay for access to receive the calendars and workout videos for PIIT28. The PIIT28 Transformation Guide is a one-time fee of $39.00 (which to me was very reasonable because gym memberships are hella ‘spensive but again, to each his own, it really is what works best for you). Anyway, once you purchase it, you will get access to the website and the downloadable materials and you will have lifetime access to it and any updates that may come your way. And for me, this is perfect because I can do it anywhere. She has other packages, which include several nutritional guides, I have not tried them out because I have my own effective meal plan established, which I will detail later on the blog but this might be something you want to try, especially if you are looking for a good reset or starter place. I know I don’t have to tell y’all but nutrition is just as important as a good fitness routine, if you really are looking to make changes. That doesn’t mean you can’t indulge but understanding what it is you are eating from a broken-down-molecular perspective and how it affects your progress when you are working out, will make all the difference. Promise, pals!

But that’s another tangent for another day, I also love PIIT28 for the same reasons I love the Blogilates program, you don’t need any equipment (with the exception of a yoga mat, if you want one) and you can build lean muscle in half the time. But don’t be fooled, you are pushing yourself the entire time, I am still sweaty most days I do it and before this, I never really would sweat very much (and not for lack of trying) but with this, oh yah!

Let’s get real, the part you have all been scrolling for, below are my results, after 4 months of solely doing PIIT28.  I do not have a 3 round picture (one month per round, she creates the calendars by month) because I was in the middle of moving across the country and forgot to take a picture (oops) but I kept doing my work outs.

I will say that you can definitely start with PIIT28 but having seven months of Blogilates work out experience and building up to working out 6 days a week was very helpful because there are very similar moves in PIIT28 sometimes. You may find it beneficial to do her Blogilates calendars first because they are free and you can get a general idea of what fitness is like with Cassey and do that maybe for a month or two and then switch to PIIT28, if you are really liking it. And what’s also nice, is you can switch between the two workout routines pretty seamlessly, as she creates the plans monthly.

It feels good to have finally found my niche, with like-minded individuals and a routine that works for me and my schedule. I wanted to share this, in hopes that you might find this is just what you were looking for and if not, that’s okay too. I love learning new fitness moves and workouts, so please feel free to share. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send them my way. Until next time, pals.

xoxo,

your toned and thrilled accountabilabuddy

**disclaimer: if you’ve never had a fitness routine before, it’s always a good idea to first consult with your physician.