Challenge Du Jour

How to decide which exercise works for you?

I have decided that home workouts are going to be the way forward to fit in with family life, and with the Beachbody workouts, there are a huge range of workout programs to suit everyone. However, the Challenge du Jour is really amazing as it allows you to try daily workouts from all the different programs.

So, since starting Beachbody, I have done several workouts, the first being Burn It Off!  ChaLEAN Extreme:

This was quite high intensity and I definitely had to modify some of the moves to keep up because I am new to this.  It felt like a great work out and I loved the high energy!

Following this was Iso Strength Chisel from The Master’s Hammer and Chisel:

This was all about isometric holds and building strength, increasing the weights in the moves.  I only have a 5kg weight, but managed to modify the workouts and use what I had and this was a great challenge!  I would not normally have chosen a strength building workout like this, but managed much better than expected and would definitely do this work out again.  That is one of the benefits I am finding with Challenge Du Jour…you can experience such a range of exercises!

The next workout was Cardio Power & Resistance from Insanity:

 

This routine was SUPER CHALLENGING!! I managed to do as much as I could, but literally had to just try and keep anything going for probably the last quarter!!  I was absolutely wiped out after the workout, so would probably do this type of workout in the evening next time as I struggled a bit during work for the rest of the day!!  I will attempt this workout again, but I would say you need to be prepared for a high energy workout when starting one!!

Following that was Bulk Back from Body Beast:

 

Going into this, I knew that Body Beast was going to be far from anything I could image myself doing!!!  This is about focusing on building muscle in the back and it needed some equipment, such as weights, resistance bands and a bench.  Proper serious body building!! I had to modify as I didn’t have the equipment and probably didn’t get the full effect due to this, but it was a relief not to be working the legs after the last few days!!  I actually really enjoyed doing this workout and using the weights, which I wasn’t expecting at all!!

The next workout was MMA Shred 2.0 from Core De Force:

 

This work out is fast paced and intense,with kicks and strikes.  I honestly struggled so much to co-ordinate the moves and almost tied myself up in knots a few times!!  I love the idea of this and hope that once you have done a few of these you can get to grips with the moves and do the workout full justice.

The last workout has been Get Well-Rounded from Beachbody Yoga Studio:

 

Loved this!!  About 30 minutes of Kick-Asanaflow , focused on the gluts.  As the ache of the past week was still present, it was great to be able to really stretch it out.  I’m reasonably flexible, so it felt nice to do something that felt natural, especially after the Core De Force that I struggled to keep up with and knocked my confidence a bit.

So Challenge Du Jour has so far provided a really amazing workout experience.  The workouts have been about 30 mins each, which is just right for me and I have survived them all so far!!  It has definitely helped me to identify some of my preferences and some areas that are more of a challenge.  It is easy to do a workout and struggle and let it knock your confidence, but I’m trying to keep my ‘just begin’ mindset of moving on and just starting again.  Its not about perfection, its about progress right?

My next decision is whether to carry on with Challenge de Jour, or pick a program to focus on and follow through and I’d like to start considering eating plans too.

A side benefit of beginning workouts has been that my daughters have both started to show an interest in exercise.  They have even asked for a set of their own light weights, which I will certainly encourage!!

Would love to hear of your experience with Challenge Du Jour or if you have a favourite type of exercise that you would recommend? 🙂