Wednesday’s Workout| The Best Ab Workout| Ab Ripper X

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Today is the start of a new feature that I am going to run on my blog. I decided that since you all seem to love my Fitness Friday posts I will offer you even more help with your health and fitness by sharing some of my favourite workouts with you. I am going to create a playlist on my YouTube channel so that they will all be in one place for you and will be easy to find when you want to try them.

This weeks workout is one of the hardest ones I do but also one of the most effective ones. I have previously reviewed the P90X workout program and this is one of the workouts from that program. It is a 16 minute ab routine that is to be followed no more than 3 times a week! For legal reason I cannot post the actually video on here, but thanks to Youtube there are plenty of kind people who demo the moves for you so it’s exactly the same!

Ab Ripper X is a very short but very intense workout, that encompasses 11 different ab moves repeated for 25 reps. I warn you, you will not be able to complete all the reps the first time you do it, you may not even be able to do some of the moves, but give it a try and work your way up. You will be surprised at how quickly you can improve your performance. I still don’t attempt the Cross Leg/Wide Leg Sit Ups or the V-Up Roll-Up as I don't have enough core strength to do these without putting strain on my back or neck. Instead I do one of the other moves from the routine or good old bicycle crunches.

Here is a complete list of the moves;

In & Outs- 25 reps

Seated Bicycle- 25 reps

Crunchy Frog- 25 reps

Cross Leg/Wide Leg Sit Ups- 25 reps

Fifer Scissors- 25 reps

Hip Rock & Raise- 25 reps

Pulse Up (Heels To Heaven)- 25 reps

V-Up Roll-Up- 25 reps

Oblique V-Up- 25 right, 25 left

Leg Climb- 12 per side

Mason Twist- 40 reps, 10 bonus. 

It really is one of the best ab workouts there is out there because it works all areas of your core. Don't be put off at the difficultly give it a go and you will soon master it.

What do you think of my new Feature Wednesday's Workout? Have you ever tried this workout before? What is your favourite ab workout? 

Fitness Friday| P90x and BeachBody Review

I had promised to keep these Fitness Friday posts regular, as I was jumping back on the health and fitness wagon, that did not happen. However this time I promise it will, as the countdown for my bikini body is on! I go on holiday with two of my slimmest friends in 22 days, and I need to tone myself up.

I know I’m not going to make any dramatic changes to my body in 22 days, however I can make some noticeable changes! I aim to do this with a healthy diet, low in carbs and by working out at home with the help of my P90x DVDs from Beach Body. I have used the P90x DVDs before and was really impressed, as they are high impact and hard going workouts; think boot camp style. I only managed to follow the routine for 20 days last time before loosing my willpower, however in 20 days I lost around 10 pounds and I think 8 inches.

This time embarking on the Beach Body workouts came in perfect timing with an email received by Emily Coleman a rep from Beach Body. She noticed I had previously posted about health and fitness and asked if I would share some of their new and old products with my followers, the links are as follows;

New Programs;
P90X App for iPhone
P90X Certification
Ultimate Reset Body Cleanse
Body Beast Workout
Older (but just as good) Programs;
Insanity 60 Day Total Body Conditioning
RevAbs Workout
P90X2

Now I know my followers, and after looking through the information about these programs, I know programs such as Body Beast will not appeal to some. However based upon my experience with P90x and hearing information about P90X2 and Insanity I cannot recommend these enough.If you are like me and need a workout that pushes you hard, makes you sweat buckets and make you aches in the morning, then these are for you. I’m personally excited about the P90X iPhone app, as it means I could take my workouts wherever I go.

I will tell you a little bit about P90X, as this is the programme I am familiar with. At first, like many I was put off, as I don’t want to look like a body builder. However after learning about the advantages of girls building muscle, and learning that it significantly increase the calories you burn throughout the day, plus the fact it makes you lose inches just as quickly as burning fat, I decided to give the workouts a go. The nutritional guide you receive helped sway my decision, as it’s very informative; giving meal plans and recipes.

The P90X programme consists of 12 workout DVDs, which you do a combination of 6 times a week. The workouts vary significantly, there is yoga, great cardio exercises such as plyometric and a martial arts routine, along side arm, legs and abs routines. Now don’t get me wrong these DVDs are extreme! I admit when I first started them I could not do the entire routine, but the programme is about progress, you do what you can, and aim to improve. Due to the high intensity, you will see results quickly, which is why I am following the program for the next 20 days. I follow the lean program along with my boyfriend; which is obviously designed to burn more calories as it incorporates more cardio that strength workouts, so you will lose fat quicker and develop lean muscles. I enjoy the boot-camp style of the workouts as I need someone shouting at me, encouraging me to work harder. The Plyometric workout is one of my favourites, as from this 1 hour workout you can burn around 700 calories!

Have any of my followers participated in or heard of P90x or other Beach Body programs? Do you like Boot-Camp style workouts? What are you doing to prepare yourself for your bikini?

Note- Although contacted by Emily to talk about Beach Body, this review is completely honest and is based upon my own personal experiences. I bought the program with my own money.