Hello! Here we are at the end of my first week of the 21 Day Fix Extreme! Let me just say that I can FEEL my body changing. This is a program where you have 7 different daily workouts that are each 30 minutes in length. There is also a bonus 30 minute high intensity routine plus 10 minute Hardcore Abs which can be added in at any time along the way. I completed Insanity Max 30 just two weeks ago. I spent that week in between "trying out" a few of the Fix Extreme workouts while also adding in a couple of other things. The original 21 Day Fix was released in Februay 2014 and certainly made a gigantic impression on the home fitness world! I did that program personally for 4.5 months last winter/spring. Autumn Calabrese is the trainer who created these programs. It was pretty neat to do a live workout with her while in Pittsburgh for a January Team Beachbody event! Autumn has said that Fix Extreme is about 3x the intensity of the original. I can see that. :) Throughout each workout, you are using multiple muscle groups for pretty much every move. You do need to have a base level of fitness before starting this program!
This past Monday morning I was "all in" for Day 1 of the 21 Day Fix Extreme! I am leading a challenge group via Facebook and we have had some great energy there. :) In this blog entry I am going to give you a review of the 7 daily workouts by pulling in the thoughts that I had shared with my group as we tackled this brand-new program together.
Monday - Plyo Fix Extreme
Extreme Plyo is done!!! Relief!!! I did today's workout with 8's and
10's. It was not as dreadful as I thought it might be! Next week should
be a go with 12's for the 10's. To be honest, I was intimidated at the
thought of this one. Plyometrics = "explosive movement". I have to
remember that I am not the same person who I used to be, back when I
started this journey. Jumping is no longer an impossibility for me! :) I do fine with it. The Single Leg Squat Jump was my most challenging
move. Particularly when my left foot was on the floor, I would have to
tap back with my right to keep my balance. I will be watching for
improvement on that move!
Tuesday - Upper Fix Extreme:
Highlights from the morning...those tricky Tricep Dips have followed me from Max 30!?! My hardest
move, no doubt. I used 12's and 8's today. This workout uses the idea
of a "drop set" where you do 30 seconds of an exercise with your heavier
weights than straight into 30 seconds of that same exercise with your
lighter set. Tricep Kick-Backs were the one move that I stayed with the
light set for the entire thing - otherwise my form would have
been a mess! This Isolated Bicep Curl was just fine for my arms... my
legs were another story! 60 seconds of Sumo Squat and quads were really
feeling it!
Now the more challenging part of the Fix continues for Day 2... staying on track with nutrition and making ALL great choices all day long. Good thing for my Shakeology and having this group!
Wednesday - Pilates Fix Extreme
One big difference between the original 21 Day Fix Pilates and Pilates Extreme is that Extreme is built solidly on the use of resistance bands. We had some great conversation on this in the group on Wednesday! The resistance band does involve a learning curve! It may feel unwieldy at first. Some in the group discovered that the band they were using from other programs was too short or of too high of a resistance. For this program, you want a band that is 15 lbs. resistance and about 6 feet in length. Just like you would expect with Pilates, this one is all about your core strength but that band does a LOT to simultaneously work the other parts of your body. And doing this one the day after "Upper" makes one very aware of one's arms!
Thursday - Lower Fix Extreme
Guess what?? I was soooooo bummed that my household was feeling under the weather mid-week this past week. I had debated on trying my Lower Fix workout later in the day on Thursday but decided to really listen to my body and skip it. My nutrition was really not my usual on Wednesday PM into Thursday. No junk food, of course! But I had plain Ezekiel toast a few times and an extra serving of raw almonds. Proteins and fruits just did not appeal to me. I munched 2 veggie servings rather than my usual four. I did have my Shakeology an extra time and that helped. I was just not up for pushing through my workout AND being on-point for a big cardio day on Friday and Dirty 30 on Saturday. So I took a rest day, as much as my type-A overachiever personality hated to do that! Lower Fix was one of the workouts which I had "previewed" during the week prior to officially beginning Fix Extreme. AND let me just say this... I was SO VERY SORE for the next two days! Like as sore as I can ever remember being. Ever. My family was laughing at my very affected gate. Here is what I shared with the group during that prep week - I liked Lower!!! Certainly does require more coordination than the original Lower Fix! I used 12 lb weights throughout today and thankfully did not get myself tangled up in the resistance band when it was used for Round 4. Legs are SHAKING. I was instantly feeling this one in my hamstrings!! Max 30 did a ton for my agility and I am forever grateful to PiYo for really helping me with my lunges. Can't wait to see what a few rounds of Fix Extreme will bring! I burned a quick 375 calories even while just finding my way through some of those intense moves. Amazing.
Friday - Cardio Fix Extreme
That was CRAZY! My heart rate got right up to the top of my desired range and stayed there. I had to modify a few times to keep it at a decent level. Extreme Cardio Fix is ummmm, extreme! There were a couple of times that I backtracked 10-20 seconds to catch the explanation of a few of the new moves used today. None of them were over the top complex, but I wanted to be sure that I was doing them correctly. I LOVED Autumn's simple but key thought of the day which is on the board for today - "Replace Excuses with Effort". She also said "If you want to see change, you can't settle for today for what you did yesterday." For some reason, that one really hit home with me. Moving forward!! I have done "Fast Feet" before... but 1 minute of them with the "Jump!" was hard core!!!!!!!! The Jack Press Jump was tough but neat - took me back to the days when I was first starting out 18 months ago and literally could not do 3 regular jumping jacks without getting winded. Here I am doing "fancy" jacks with 16 pounds of weights. And when there were the two sets of 30 seconds of regular jacks, I felt so light on my feet and really fluid. Pretty neat!
Saturday - Dirty 30
Now the more challenging part of the Fix continues for Day 2... staying on track with nutrition and making ALL great choices all day long. Good thing for my Shakeology and having this group!
Wednesday - Pilates Fix Extreme
One big difference between the original 21 Day Fix Pilates and Pilates Extreme is that Extreme is built solidly on the use of resistance bands. We had some great conversation on this in the group on Wednesday! The resistance band does involve a learning curve! It may feel unwieldy at first. Some in the group discovered that the band they were using from other programs was too short or of too high of a resistance. For this program, you want a band that is 15 lbs. resistance and about 6 feet in length. Just like you would expect with Pilates, this one is all about your core strength but that band does a LOT to simultaneously work the other parts of your body. And doing this one the day after "Upper" makes one very aware of one's arms!
Thursday - Lower Fix Extreme
Guess what?? I was soooooo bummed that my household was feeling under the weather mid-week this past week. I had debated on trying my Lower Fix workout later in the day on Thursday but decided to really listen to my body and skip it. My nutrition was really not my usual on Wednesday PM into Thursday. No junk food, of course! But I had plain Ezekiel toast a few times and an extra serving of raw almonds. Proteins and fruits just did not appeal to me. I munched 2 veggie servings rather than my usual four. I did have my Shakeology an extra time and that helped. I was just not up for pushing through my workout AND being on-point for a big cardio day on Friday and Dirty 30 on Saturday. So I took a rest day, as much as my type-A overachiever personality hated to do that! Lower Fix was one of the workouts which I had "previewed" during the week prior to officially beginning Fix Extreme. AND let me just say this... I was SO VERY SORE for the next two days! Like as sore as I can ever remember being. Ever. My family was laughing at my very affected gate. Here is what I shared with the group during that prep week - I liked Lower!!! Certainly does require more coordination than the original Lower Fix! I used 12 lb weights throughout today and thankfully did not get myself tangled up in the resistance band when it was used for Round 4. Legs are SHAKING. I was instantly feeling this one in my hamstrings!! Max 30 did a ton for my agility and I am forever grateful to PiYo for really helping me with my lunges. Can't wait to see what a few rounds of Fix Extreme will bring! I burned a quick 375 calories even while just finding my way through some of those intense moves. Amazing.
Friday - Cardio Fix Extreme
That was CRAZY! My heart rate got right up to the top of my desired range and stayed there. I had to modify a few times to keep it at a decent level. Extreme Cardio Fix is ummmm, extreme! There were a couple of times that I backtracked 10-20 seconds to catch the explanation of a few of the new moves used today. None of them were over the top complex, but I wanted to be sure that I was doing them correctly. I LOVED Autumn's simple but key thought of the day which is on the board for today - "Replace Excuses with Effort". She also said "If you want to see change, you can't settle for today for what you did yesterday." For some reason, that one really hit home with me. Moving forward!! I have done "Fast Feet" before... but 1 minute of them with the "Jump!" was hard core!!!!!!!! The Jack Press Jump was tough but neat - took me back to the days when I was first starting out 18 months ago and literally could not do 3 regular jumping jacks without getting winded. Here I am doing "fancy" jacks with 16 pounds of weights. And when there were the two sets of 30 seconds of regular jacks, I felt so light on my feet and really fluid. Pretty neat!
Saturday - Dirty 30
I enjoyed this one so much that just yesterday I dedicated an entire blog entry to a very thorough description of it! Just like in the original 21 Day Fix, it was a favorite of the week! Check it all out here.
Sunday - Yoga Fix Extreme
Yoga is done. Feels soooo good! If you are new to yoga, do not be surprised if it feels awkward! You
will get to where it will be relaxing for you. In the meantime, breathe
deeply and focus on doing the moves to the best of your own flexibility
and balance as it is today. Extreme Yoga? "Royal Dancer" was new
to me. Balance challenge! In "Crow", I was just one to alternate
raising my feet. When Mr. Blue Shorts went into that hand-stand, I was
in awe!!! "Happy Cow" was new to me as well and felt amazing! I
actually did a few more of that one as the routine ended.
Here is our take on a great new Fix Extreme recipe that we enjoyed here this week!
Here is our take on a great new Fix Extreme recipe that we enjoyed here this week!
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