weight loss workout: 3.22.10: I want a Freaking Cupcake :)

my Freakin' Cupcake website: http://www.freakincupcake.com/

Im actually quoting a 6 year old here (she didnt say freaking, though) but it rings true for me most of the time. I mean, seriously, who doesnt want a freaking cupcake from time to time. This has actually kind of become DH & my catch phrase, like "these pretzels are making me thirsty" from Seinfeld. We say it all the time, like when I want a glass of water "will you please get me a glass of H20...I want a freaking cupcake." For whatever reason, its still hilarious to us...Getting right to the point (kind of) I was down THREE pounds from my norm last week! But we went to a bbq cookoff thing on Sat (think Food Network). Not only did we have some awesome bbq, I had one.f*&#$ing.cupcake. And I guess that was my point....Oh and despite all that-I am still down 1 lb from my norm...

Today's Workout:

-10 Min Solutions Knock Out Body (all 5 segments)

*total w/o time 55 min + stretch

Sunday: Rest day

Saturday's Workout:

-10 Min Solutions Hot Body Bootcamp (cardio, drills, & abs segments)
*total w/o time 30 min + stretch

Today's Review: 10 minute solution Hot Body Bootcamp

Amy Bento, 2008 ***** (5 of 5 stars)

This is a bootcamp type workout from 10 Minute Solutions led by Amy Bento. There are no background exercisers and the set is a nice open room. As with all 10 Minute Solution workouts the dvds are fully customizable so you can mix and match to create a 10 - 50+ minute workout. There are 5 ten minute segments and each segment has a very brief warmup and cooldown.

The first segment is "hotbody cardio" and it packs a punch! The cardio is new and fresh and Amy keeps it interesting; the time flys by! Some of the exercises include: a squat thrust variation, jump rope, hopping over "barb wire," shufle, squat jump, and other heartpumping moves. No equipment required.

Ab Assault: an effective way to spend 10 minutes on your abs! The 1st half is standing ab work and includes circling your dumbbell while standing on 1 leg, a side bend holding "sand bags" (actually your dumbells), a dumbbell side punch move, etc. Then you move to the floor and do a walking plank variation, and some V sits, etc. You need a lighter set of dumbbells (I used my 8# dumbbells).

Rock Bottom Sculpt: You do a figure 8, passing the dumbbell between he legs with a side lunge move, some mountain climbers with a dumbbell lift, bridge, donkey kicks, and a roll over-bun squeeze move. You will need a set of heavier dumbbells.

Calorie Blasting Drills: could definitely be used as an upper body workout. There are a lot of upper body dumbbell exercises, including bi's, tri's, shoulder presses, etc. There is only 1 lower body squat that is combined with an upright row. This segment includes a fair amount of cardio and I would consider it an aerobic weight segment. Dumbbells required.

Better Body Stretch: is a really good thorough 10 minute stretch that uses a towel. I used a stretchy band and it worked very well. The towel really does add to the stretch and makes it more effective. I usually skip the stretches on dvds (and just do my own stretch routine) but this one is really worth doing.

I really really like this workout! I was not impressed with the earlier 10 Minute Solution workouts but the more recent ones are much more challenging, the warmups & cooldowns are shorter, and the instructors are getting better and better. Amy is a great lead-very motivating and has a great personality-not overly cheerful but happy and pleasant. There are "bootcamp" moves and my heartrate really gets up in the cardio & drills segment, and also the lower body segment. The exercises are unique, fun, and effective. I would rate this a high intermediate workout.

Today's Tip: Getting Your Workout Ready. I workout in the AM and Im not a morning person SO I want the transition from bed to working out to be as painless as possilbe. And like most of us, I dont have a ton of extra time in the AM. I pick out my w/o the night before, put it in the dvd player, cue it to the starting point and push stop. I have my water cup sitting out and my clothes laid out. When my alarm goes off, I head to my "gym" grab my cup, fill it up, change clothes and Im ready to go. My alarm goes off at 5:40 and I am pushing play on my dvd by 5:50.

Today's Bargains:
1. Women Who Do It All is doing a giveaway for a $50 giftcard for the Vintage Pearl jewelry! Check out the giveaway here!
2. Target has board games on sale right now and there are some coupons availabe. You can score Monopoly for only $2.00 by using this $5.00 off coupon! I know where Im going on my lunch break!

3.Here's a pic of the knives I got for free (+$5.99 shipping). Not bad really! We were in need of more knives & these are stainless steel. $5.99 well spent!

4. My Picaboo Book came!!! Its a 22 page, HARD COVER picture book. It was free (+$8.99 shipping). One of the photo book offers is over now, but check out this link for the other 2 picture book offeres (the others are soft cover).