Tina and Tessa are running in the rain and learning to listen to their bodies. Photos / Supplied, Instagram
Tina and Tessa are running in the rain and learning to listen to their bodies. Photos / Supplied, Instagram
Wrapping up Week Six, our Bikini Body Guide challengers have hit some snags as they face facts on fitting Kayla into busy schedules and look for places to workout without getting caught up in bad weather.
Tina
This wild weather won't stop me. Photo / Supplied
It seems like this fitness kick is so ingrained in my habits now that rain isn't enough to keep me from exercising outside. Last night, instead of sipping a glass of wine out of my beloved red party cup (it reminds me of university), I spat it out and decided some cardio would be a better way to blow off the stresses of the day.
Cardio in the rain. The splattery, stinging rain combined with a swift wind off the water. And I gave zero cares that my clothes were wet, the wind was cold and most people would probably have determined it was a miserable time to be outside.
This would not have happened seven weeks ago. Kayla, this is what you have done to me.
Will I do the rest of my strength workouts outside? It's not a good idea to be jumping around on wet grass or stepping up on damp park benches, upping the risk of slipping and falling (and not being able to finish the last half of BBG 1.0). I don't have a good alternative for doing some of the strength exercises inside and I don't have a gym membership. So: What to do?
A colleague of mine mentioned she tried using her coffee table as exercise equipment and got told off by her partner. I could try my step-ups on my coffee table, but I fear something like this would happen:
What would really help this week is a list of everyday household products that could be substitutes if you don't have gym access and you are stuck indoors.
Got some step-ups to do? Surely there's some sheltered stairs at home to use. Split squats with a step? Guess I will just have to do them without a step. Broad jump burpees? I have no clue how I'm going to do that in the limited floor space in my living room. Maybe I just won't do them (but then again, that's making excuses).
I have an open question for the #bbg community: How have you adapted the strength exercises when the weather is crap and you're stuck with limited indoor space?
My results
How I'm feeling: Melancholy. Where did the warm, sunny weather go? I'm listening to: Re-runs of comedies on Netflix. Why not bust a gut during an ab workout? Favourite exercise: Ones done outside. Preferably in sunny conditions. Least favourite exercise: Ones done inside.
Tessa
Walking the dog was as much as I allowed myself this week. Photo / Supplied
It's quite amazing what exercise can do to you. Physically we all know that it tones you up, gets rid of fat in those unwanted places (I'm talking to you, muffin top) and, evidently, it makes you fitter.
The one thing we forget about is the effect is has on us mentally. A lot of us struggle with the idea of finding time to work out amongst everything else going on in our day to day lives.
This is why I find Kayla's workouts so great. The fact that it takes you just over half an hour to get your butt kicked (and I mean absolutely kicked), means it's easy to fit into your schedule three times a week. No gym required, just a few exercise tools and some space on your living room floor.
I've said before that I don't understand how working mothers, or mothers in general, manage to get through their lives and then hit the gym too. From my 20-year-old eyes I am awestruck by the fact that my mum can still manage to swim laps at the pool after working a full day, pick my four siblings up from school, then cook them dinner - which the ungrateful little things tell her they don't like - then put them to bed. I guess she is pretty much a wonder woman.
For myself, working full time at the Herald, running my own business on the weekends, studying part-time and trying to manage a social life, things are already pretty full on.
Preferring to exercise in the evenings, I've felt like trying to incorporate workouts into this schedule hasn't been hard.
However, I had a bit of a wake up call last week when my doctor diagnosed me with fatigue, exhaustion, whatever you like to call "burning the candle at both ends".
For someone who is a go-go-go type of person, this is the last thing you really want to be told. I enjoy being busy, jam packed schedules are something that keeps me motivated and on the ball.
After my doctor told me I need to take it down a notch, I decided that this week - I will stop Kayla. Don't worry, it's only for the week. As if I would come this far and give up now.
I came to this decision because:
1. My health is more important than making progress on my fitness and 2. Kayla herself actually suggests it. When you're sick, tired or run down you need to listen to your body.
I think, for many of us, we get scared about deciding not to work out because we feel like we are making excuses or "cheating ourselves". We need to understand that pushing our bodies beyond their capacity isn't beneficial and often pushes us further down the track towards illness, slowing our recovery.
In lieu of my HIIT workouts, I'm still going for walks to keep my sanity. While I don't have a picture of myself working out this week, I did take a snap of my cute puppy before we went for a walk.
So Week Six with Kayla has been put on hold. I guess the question I have now is do I start the week again next week? Or do I move straight to Week Seven? Any advice or tips are welcomed!
How I'm feeling: Tired. What I'm listening to: A$AP Rocky Fashion Killa & Wild For The Night because I'm fizzing about seeing him live next week Favourite exercise: Raving in the bathtub Least favourite exercise: Doing no exercise at all
