Program and Results ... time to get real.

[TinaT]

Over the years (been here since 2001) I have read about all kinds of workouts, programs, methods, bandwagons, instructors and all kinds of crazy equipment. Something I haven't read about consistently and wish we had more of, is RESULTS.

Long term results, muscle defining results, weight loss results ... even weight gain results. So here's what I'd like to see on this thread. Please name the program, method, etc and the type of results you've experienced. Are you still using the same workouts? why or why not?

I would love to be motivated by results vs just the new bandwagon or the latest craze out there.

Thanks ~

[bzar]

consistency?

three times I was consistent:

the 2 times I lost weight, down to pre-wedding weight () was with Slim Series. lost 16# over an 18 month period. the 16# loss excludes the baby weight I lost both times.

the first time I really toned up was doing a Firm 90DR. from size 8 to size 4P.

[ealakey]

At age 46, Cathe STS, 2 rounds, nicely toned and lost 13 pounds first round, went down to 15% body fat. I followed the rotation and didn't do any cardio with that program other than occasional light walking. I've currently subscribed to BOD and am trying out a few rotations. I may consider Body Beast in a month or two. I prefer less equipment now and shorter workouts, but it's always a possibility I may go back to STS.
~Beth

[jusca]

I think a good portion of the results comes down to nutrition and I'm not sure that can be discussed here. I like hearing about results in general too. It is very encouraging.

My best results came from Insanity. I went down 20lbs in a month and followed the rotation as laid out for the 1st month. Got too bored to continue the longer second month so I repeated the 1st month for similar results again. I also got great results with Power 90 Master Series I lost 10lbs the 1st month.

[alisoncooks]

Really? Cause I feel like it shows up in every thread for every new workout: "What were your results?"

I'm a firm believer in exercise consistency + nutrition = results. (That's why I'm still overweight, LOL.)

That said...
2005 -- better nutrition + walking/jogging + yoga (specifically Sarah Ivanhoe's Joy of Yoga) = lost weight down to my "wedding weight" (about 10 pounds lost). This was B.C. (before children)

2010 -- Bar Method Change Your Body + Accelerated = 20 pounds lost in <6 months (no dietary changes) + overall toning. Not still using them (burned out, moved on).

[TinaT]

I absolutely realize our intake plays a big part. I'm coming from a place of buying, trading, buying again.... having traders remorse... never even getting close to some workouts and then scratching my head b/c I'm all over the map with goals and results. Yet, it seems so easy to follow all the threads with new titles and methods.

I love reading about the results. Regardless of what's used.

ETA: Are you using a heart rate monitor?

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Barre. I love it so much, I started a blog about it. (You can read my rather long-winded testimonial about results here.)

I think I started doing barre (initially Physique57) five years ago. Once I got serious about it (doing it regularly vs. just once in a while) I got great results. And by 'results' I mean functionality, feeling great, etc., which I detailed in the post above.

Then two years ago, I tore my rotator cuff in three places and developed issues with my hip. I gained some weight and was really struggling. I eventually developed some self-care practices (including using MELT method rolling, which I swear by) and if I am faithful with those, I can do more challenging workouts again, including very hard barre classes (like Physique57 and Bar Method's Bar Move class.) I lost most of the weight I gained through intermittent fasting.

I now take live barre classes, usually twice or three times a week, and do other workouts at home (sometimes barre videos or other stuff just to keep things interesting.) I would say barre is by far the most consistent type of workout I do.

I still LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I got to Pure Barre, Bar Method and barre3 locally. I feel SO GOOD after a class. I have to park my car in the same place at each studio or I will be so blissed out after class that I can't remember where I parked. I just feel good living in my body. Usually, anyway.

The only other type of workout I have stuck with as long as barre was classic Firms back in the day. I did (and still do) love those workouts, but part of the reason I was so faithful with them was that I didn't know anything else. Although I was young, cute and perky back then, I am in WAY better shape now. I go back and do one of those classic Firms and honestly, they're pretty easy for me now. Barre has clearly gotten me quite fit.

I can't say I'm quite the barre bad@$$ I once was, but I'm still able to do a lot, and for that I am very thankful! My year of 1000 injuries has renewed my joy in exercise. I'm so thankful I can move my body in a healthy way. I will never take it for granted!

[TinaT]

Nuggie's Auntie ~ just reading your post makes me want to give barre another chance .... ( for like the 10th time), It also tells me that it takes so much more consistency than I give it.

[hch]

I've been planning two more posts for a different thread, "Do you follow your bliss or do workouts you think you should do or need": my last planned post will talk about Pilates, and my Pilates results will be an indirect emphasis. I'm happy to post something in this thread with a little more emphasis on those results, since they might be the most "dramatic" in my exercise experience.

Many years ago, I'd heard about Pilates a few years before I ever tried it seriously. I'd first read about Pilates relatively early, but the site suggested that Pilates was no more than some alternative workout for women who wanted to avoid lifting weights. I wasn't in the target audience and remained uninterested during the next few years, during which I found VF. Eventually VFers mentioned Pilates and changes that actually appealed to me. I don't remember the specific benefits and don't wish to search right now, but they must've been related to fitness and function.

After enough reading, I decided to experiment with Pilates to see if I'd see these changes. I don't remember exactly why I chose what I did, but I chose a mat routine from a library book. A popular recommendation at the time--maybe it still is--was to try Pilates three times a week for ten weeks. After I stopped having to consult the instructions and tips, I learned a convenient session that I could finish in under ten minutes without breaks. I was learning the form and faithfully continuing the experiment, but I felt no obvious changes for a while. I did decide to try the full ten weeks instead of stopping early.

A few weeks before the ten weeks were to end, while walking around a party one evening, I suddenly had a pleasant feeling of being more "connected." I walked outside and around a bit to see if the feeling was lasting, not just fleeting. I'd been walking earlier that day, as you may guess , but I hadn't felt anything that'd prepared me for the change. Not even my reading had quite prepared me for it.

This feeling alone, though, wouldn't be enough of a "result" to justify continuing Pilates for me. I felt more coordinated in other movements; I went swimming and felt that I was swimming more smoothly, even though I hadn't swum in maybe a year. My other forms of activity, including weight training and yoga, improved as well. (I didn't eliminate my other, varied exercise during my Pilates experiment, and I wouldn't have followed someone who told me to. ) I might've even avoided a few falls.

I don't consider Pilates the single form of exercise that's benefited me the most, but it did help, and I like telling this story , in part because it showed me in my own life how VFers can make a difference. Did I have the "brand new body" that some sources promise after ten weeks of Pilates? I wouldn't say so, but these changes weren't a bad yield for less than half an hour per week.

Originally Posted by TinaT

Are you still using the same workouts? why or why not?

I never intentionally stopped Pilates, but I lost the regular habit in the midst of some schedule-related tumult. I hope to reintroduce regular Pilates as part of my reorganized schedule. (I've forgotten the exact order of that mat routine, but I shouldn't need much time to relearn it.) Yes, I still feel more coordinated than I did before, and I avoided my last fall (I stepped on something that wasn't what I expected) just a few months ago, but I don't expect this feeling to be permanent without work.

I'm interested in some more variety, and when I'm comfortable with my final draft, I'll be posting a request for Pilates workouts that I'd like.

[cherimac]

Healthy eating and Pilates by Lisa. I had good results with barre but long term sustained injuries from it. Pilates by Lisa, walking, and eating real food have me in my best shape, at my lowest weight, and living pain-free.