After a lot of tears and trauma, The Kid and Mom were off to the airport yesterday and their adventure is now beginning. I’m sitting here at home listening to the sound of silence. Actually I guess I’m listening to the sound of a movie on the TV. An R rated movie! This only happens a couple times a year so I’m celebrating with two in a row! I’ve got tons of Me Stuff planned this time. Manicures, pedicures, movies, reading, working out, and cake balls. More on the cake balls in the future. There’s nothing I have to do, and only things that I want to do. Wow, very nice to not have a schedule.
With Mom visiting this week, I’ve been short on time to workout so I thought it was a perfect time to try out my Power Half Hour DVD (PHH) that I got a couple weeks ago. I went into it with pretty low expectations since it was only going to be 30 minutes, but that was about all I had while Mom was out for her walk before breakfast. There are 5 separate workouts on the DVD, each focusing on a separate body region. I chose Bun Shaper for my first selection and I promised you a review
Tony Horton of P90X fame is the trainer in the DVDs, although these were made well before P90X was on the horizon. The set background and feel of them were not as produced and professional as the P90X series, and it was funny to see a younger Tony standing there. His sense of humor is still the same, definitely cheesy and slightly entertaining. There were two others in the DVD doing the workout with him. They both did the moves, but did little to no talking. The workout was a huge surprise in that it was more difficult than I was expecting and I actually felt like I was pushing myself.
No equipment other than a chair was needed. The chair was used for balance during kicks and lunges. I followed along in my bedroom and used the end of my bed instead of the chair. You just need something to hold onto so you don’t fall over. No weights, bands or anything else required. The workout started with a warm up of various squats and then moved into several circuits of both standing and floor moves. The first circuit was three types of squats. The following circuits included different types of kicks, lunges, fire hydrants, and related glute straining moves. I found myself holding my breath with the effort a few times.
I was really impressed with my first try at PHH and will definitely work them in. If you are looking for an inexpensive set of quick workouts, you may want to give these overlooked workouts a try. Here are some pros and cons:
Pros
- Only 30 minutes required
- Minimal equipment needed
- Good variety of exercises
- From my soreness today, seems to have intensity
Cons
- Tony’s humor (for some this could be a Pro)
- Lack of personality from the two others in the workout
- Very basic background and less professional set
I will admit that yesterday my eating was bad, but it was bad in a way that many people don’t think is bad. With the drama of the morning, I had to call work and tell them I wouldn’t be in until after the airport drop off at 11 am. I ate breakfast at home and had my lunch packed. Once I got to work all heck was breaking lose, and I was engrossed quickly and didn’t get a chance to eat my lunch. I nibbled on a garden load of cucumbers throughout the afternoon since those were easy and didn’t interrupt work to chew, but my tuna remained safely in my drawer.
I actually wasn’t hungry because of all the cucumbers, but my calories were pretty low for the day. When I got home, I knew I would be working out so I made a protein shake so I wouldn’t be too full to jump around. I took Doggie for his daily walk and then was so excited to give my Turbo Fire preview another whirl. Since I hadn’t eaten enough calories, there was a noticable difference in my energy level when I was doing it. I still was able to get through it, but it took a lot more effort than previous times. I do like the fact that just about every workout DVD that I’ve seen has the option of modified moves. This time I took advantage of a few.
The moral of this story is to make sure that you eat enough during the day or it typically ends up backfiring on you. I think many of us skip meals thinking it will help us lose weight, or we get too busy to eat, or other things get in the way. We need calories to keep us going. Too many calories are not good for us, but too few is not a good choice either. Even when it is a healthy sounding, garden full of cucumbers.
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