#instagraminspiration : workout reviews

Whilst i am following Kayla Itsines' BBTG (am currently on my second round of BBG 1.0 - on week 10 at the moment) and still love it and have been doing it religiously for months now!..  sometimes when i'm doing her guides i like to mix it up and incorporate other workouts while i am doing her guides... not because i don't feel like i'm progressing or bored for that matter, but because i feel it's good to change it up every now and again, experiment and push myself further. If you're familiar with Kayla's guides, some of the exercises here (below) are similar to what's in her guides already... But oddly enough.. maybe because they are laid out differently, I still feel challenged when i do them. I'm not  bashing or neglecting Kayla's guides as i have been doing them since the start of 2015 and still am doing them! If anything, her guides have taught me about discipline, structure, routine and names/terminologies of exercises. I feel like i'm able to discipline myself to explore other options of  how else i can challenge myself because of what i've gained from the BBG guides! Sometimes i'll even do an extra workout day by either repeating a day from her guide from that week OR i'll randomly just look at other workouts from online/youtube or instagram and do them in addition to the BBG.

Last week i finished up on week 10 on BBG ... and honestly,  i feel i need to attempt it again at better effort.. But this week I decided to put BBG 1.0 week 10 round 2 on pause and do other workout circuits i found from looking on instagram + doing additional  cardio (i actually like cardio) and then next week i'll go on to attempt week 10 again. :)

In addition to everything i've just said.. Everyone's journey is different and Everyone's progress is different and i find that mixing it up sometimes is what makes me want to stay on track and commit and progress harder. It's no secret that i sometimes have to modify some exercises or go at a different pace... The way i see it is that  I'm still exercising and even doing some of exact same workouts but it doesn't hurt to mix it up sometimes. 

Now to get down to the reviews! Scroll away :)
(Click to preview the images in full size)

Below i've  listed the ones that were MOST challenging for me in each workout circuit and i review & critique how i am at attempting them:

Total Body:

- The Pile Squat: Whilst i love squats they also require so much thinking as i struggle to even do standard squats most times. Putting my hands on my hips made it more difficult for me to maintain my posture as i would lean too forward. So it's better if i just to push my arms outwards in front of me instead. While doing these  i also had to make sure my feet would do its best to point in the right direction. Of course i could only do my best and go as low as i could... which still isn't very low.

-Donkey Kicks ( kicking out with my left leg:) I am right side hemiplegic meaning the right side of my body has weaker control and balance. When i donkey kick with my right leg i seem to  have more control and  better balance in comparison to when i donkey kick with my left leg. The reason being is because as you kick out with which ever leg, the other side that is stable is there to support you and help you balance, so when i kick out with my right leg, my left side which is stable (stronger side) is able to support me. However, when i kick out my left leg i tend to shift towards to the right side (unintentionally) because my right side has trouble balancing & supporting.

-Heel Touches: I feel the most uncoordinated (second to squats haha) with this one. Reaching down to my left side is easier than my right. I feel as though my right foot becomes stubborn and turns in and starts to stretch out. I have to physically bring my leg back up and reposition myself. Though, when i first starting to exercise i couldn't even do one! so hoorah for getting somewhere and being able to somehow do these..

Muffin Top Blaster:

-Mountain climbers/Alternative Knee-ins: I've never done alternative Knee-ins before until this but i know how to do them (at a slow pace). Interestingly, It was easier for me to co-ordinate my right leg to my opposite elbow rather than my left which fell short. I'm guessing its to do with my weak right side again.

-Bird Dogs/Alternating reach & Kick Back: I replaced these with donkey kicks. I feel like i get more out of the donkey kicks. It's even harder for me to remain upright doing the bird dogs (if donkey kicks are challenging for me).With Bird dogs, I would just flop and shake to the ground. I will hopefully one day be able to do them though.

-Side Plank:  Always a challenge for me. The max i can hold these is for 30 seconds. Sometimes i wobble forward. I do my best to have my form correct though.

3 circuits in 1: I'm just going to write an overall review for this one

One day i decided to create my own 3 in 1 circuit from what i've found on instagram just for fun! Each time i've done this i've been in pain the next day but i love it! I feel all my muscles working. I am actually proud of myself for putting this together as they were all individual workouts.
In The following order i  would do: 
1) Bottom left picture x3 times .. or 4 if i feel like
2) the top picture x1 (because its basically doing each exercise x3 anyways..)
3) the bottom right15 reps x3.

By the end of this one i am dead! When doing "Russian twists" it's hard for me to keep balance and to try and stop myself from leaning or falling and sometimes when i do "crunches" or sit ups i use weights or a medicine ball to help me if i feel like i'm straining myself but then there are other times when i feel i just can use my arms to help bring me up. With "bicycle crunches" OR "AB bikes" i feel like i have trouble controlling my pace when doing them and struggle reaching my left elbow to my right knee. I feel uncoordinated  but i feel as though i am  getting better the more i do them. Haha :)