OMG is that bunny a-may-zaah or what? This video just gives me a big smile. It makes me feel better when I've had a difficult day (yes at work). House bunnies do love beds =D And Billy bunny's binkies(the jumps he does) are out of this world! And now I wish that I was a bunny ^_^ I could jump like that... My late bunny Cinnamon did his binkies on the floor, he played on the bed with the duvet.
Okay so I have been busy. How to sleep enough, work out, go to work, paint, draw and do research is beyond me. I thought that when I got back to Helsinki, I would have all the time in the world to do all the things I wanted. Funny that the Finnish Government doesn't pay me to sit on my ass all day, at home and paint. But they do support Finns who go study abroad. Hence I need work work. Oh well next week I'm taking 4 days off (I'm a part time waitress so I can do that yes).
(Note: Reviews etc at the end)
A new diet routine has practically been the toast of the tabloid magazines in Finland recently. One of my bosses, who is also a nutritional therapist, tells me that this diet thing really works if you do it right. I'm not interested in this, but many many many people are.
Now, I'm skinny. And I'm skinny because I'm vain. When I was in college I had time to work out 6 days a week (1-2dn year). But then something came along in my 2y 2dn semester and I had to change my routine. 3y I worked out 4 days a week. Now that I'm waitressing I have time to work out 1-2 times a week (this makes me nervous a bit). I work out for 1h and then stretch for 20-30min.
When I first started to work out seriously I was already on a...intense diet. So I didn't need a routine that burned a lot of fat. I needed to get toned up. So I practiced Pilates for 10 months. In summer I would also go for a 20-30min run, maybe 2 times a week.
I was in Australia when I had to change my habbits and start gaining weight. I knew that after I had reached a number (weight) that I was comfortable with, I needed to find a work out routine that would help me maintain that number and wouldn't risking my new nutrition plan. Funny thing, I was looking for the Zumba DVDs when I came across Chalene Johnson's Turbo Jam program. O_O see my eyes go big, that's how good her program is.
Pilates is very good if you don't have much excess fat in your body. It really tones you and makes you more slim and flexible. However I had no idea I was so out of shape before I took my first try at Turbo Jam Cardio Party Mix nr. 1. After 10min, I was gasping for air, and I was kept gasping for air for the remaining 30min of the program. It took me about 2 weeks to totally master the choreography. The next 3 months I religiously practiced Pilates and Turbo Jam. In summer I added running into my routine (and started waitressing). When I went back to England in Autumn 2010 I ditched Pilates, because I needed to burn off the calories I ate during the day aka maintain my ideal weight (Pilates don't do that to my body type). I replaced Pilates with Turbo Jam's Punck Kick and Jam, Fat Blaster and Ab Jam. I'd do Cardio Party on one day, the next day I would do Fat Blaster and Ab Jam, then have a day off and the next two days would be Cardio Party and Punch Kick and Jam.
Believe me when I say, that this sht works! Not only has my fitness improved 100% but Turbo Jam really helped me maintain my ideal weight. I could eat healthy (even chocolate and ice cream) and still stay skinny =DDD But then her new Turbo version came out O_O Turbo Fire!! This is the extreme version of the Turbo Jam. I started using it in January and I'm looving it <3 Even more than I loved Turbo Jam actually. The beauty of Turbo Fire is that it's more intese, you'll be jumping all the time. Chalene gives information about her methods and explains about the cycle of fat burning and how to get the best results. xD Hence TF gives you even better results, but really only if you eat right and practice it religiously. I have no need for six pack abs and even if I only do this 1-2 a week it still keeps me in a good shape =D Even though I had practiced Turbo Jam already, I still found new challenges in Turbo Fire. This is one of the work out programs I'm currently using, and I've used TF for almost a year now.
The next one is a funny one xD Beachbody.com, that is responssible for Chalene, kept marketing Leandro Carvalho's Brazil Butt Lift program. I was like 'seriously? I need to keep my butt in shape too'. So I did the pencil test and what do you know, my behind was hanging a bit low and it could have used some toning. So what I did was that I'd do TF's 30min Fire work out and then do the BBL program's Bum Bum work out. Q_Q I was nearly crying the next day. My ass muscles and my thighs hurt so much that I could barely walk. I used BBL program 1-2 a week for 6 months. Then I came back to Helsinki and bought Reebok's Easy Tone shoes for work. And what do you know...I don't need BBL anymore because Easy Tones works just fine =)
But I do used the Tummy Tuck program which is included in the BBL routine.
As I got deeper into staying in shape and improving my fitness I, again, was directed to use a program from the Beachbody family. See this guy? You don't fck with his program Q_Q I've practiced Shaun T's Insanity for...9 months(?) and I have never ever done such an intense program before!! Remember gym classes? This is much worse! (well I was never bullied in gym class so I suppose, it could be worse) However the good thing is that Shaun is a really good
and nice instructor =D It doesn't feel like you are in an asylum going through your punisment (for some reason I get 'Asylum' from 'Insanity') but more like 'you get a really advanced work out'. Insanity is intense, it's the kind of work out where you do 'jumping jacks', squads, push ups, sit ups, sprints and so on for 30sec to 1 min at a time. Turbo Fire is a martial arts-meets-dance-and-aerobics, whilst Insanity concentrates on those basic routines and movements we all did in gym class. For some reason not many people practice this kind of training (*caugh* Zumba *caugh* gym). I must tell you this, Insanity is not for the faint hearted. I'm saying that if your level of fitness is alright or not so good, I advice you start with Turbo Jam and then move on to Insanity. HOWEVER, everybody is different. Perhaps you have the body type and mentality that can sustain Insanity's type of program much better than TF's 'constant movement' type of program. I do much much better when I'm kept moving constantly. When I do Insanity, I get dizzy quickly and I haven't got the stamina to do 20 push ups in 30sec. But I train with Insanity because it gives me variety and forces me to use practically every muscle in my body (just look at Shaun's students!! How toned are they!). Versatility is very very important btw. If you keep doing the same exercise over and over again, it won't have the same effect on your body anymore. Which is why I build my routines from TF, BBL and Insanity. From Insanity I use Plyometric Cardio Circuit, Max Interval Plyo, Max Cardio Conditioning and Core Cardio & Balance the most. 
If you are thinking about tackling Chalene's programs, I recommend you to start with Turbo Jam. This way you'll learn all the moves and the choreographies, so when you move on to Turbo Fire and Chalene shouts 'the wheel', you instantly know what to do =) You'll also learn the new choreographies much quicker. Turbo Fire doesn't really introduce the moves so you are better off learning them from Turbo Jam first. I prefered it this way, it was much easier to make the transition. About Shaun...well...Insanity...give it a go. O_O
It makes me a bit mad to see people who think that working out is just a momentary thing. 'A nice pastime'. No, working out and staying fit requires a life style change. I hate it when most Finns start working out in March to get into shape for summer. They work out for 4 months solid, and then blow their results and hard work in just 3 weeks or less (BBQ, beer and long drinks on a terrace mainichi mainichi). It disgusts me. WHY WHY would you want to throw away all that hard work you did, just so you can eat BBQ sausages and drink beer on a terrace. This is the first mistake people make I reckon. When you are serious about starting to work out seriously, you DON'T stop working out just because it's summer --___-- bloody idiots this lot. I'm sure that what I'm saying is a given, but a lot of people don't seem to realize it. After summer they start whinning about their lost waistline and figure, so they start working out again..then comes Christmas. Seriously? Seriously?! Listen I've been working out for almost 4 years solid, and the longest break I took (each year) was maybe for 1-2weeks when I was on a holiday or ill (so if you count all those breaks, then I probably missed out a month per year. BUT like I said, I never took 1 month break from working out). *sigh* I just don't get some people.
Never the less, I warmly recommend all the work out programs above. Especially Chalene's <3 Her programs are designed for MAINTAINING your work out routine. You'll get that ideal figure and get the idea of how to maintain it. I think her programs really speak about life style change and what wonders you can really do to your body and your spirit by working out.
Thanks for reading and Check out www.beachbody.com for more programs, live chats and more. (Again, beachbody does not pay me to say this stuff. This is genuine people! =D)
Minna, mata nee!
H.M
