I have finished the first 4 weeks a.k.a phase 1 of the LiveFit Trainer. I can’t believe how quickly that time has gone to be honest, but I am super excited to start the next phase and finally re-introduce cardio- hello running!
I won’t bother to recap week 4 in detail, as it was exactly the same as the week 3 workouts which I already recapped: Legs, Back/Biceps, Chest/Triceps, Shoulders/Abs. You can also check out my week 1 and week 2 recaps if you are interested. I definitely found the workouts a lot easier the second time around, and actually by the end of week 4 I felt like I should perhaps of increased the weight a little more on some of the moves, as they weren’t challenging enough.
I was travelling during week 4 so had to amend the schedule a little to fit my workouts in, I skipped the two rest days after week 3 and jumped straight into the first 2 days of week 4 while I was still at home in Dublin. I took the 2 rest days while I was in London. I then traveled to Cardiff where I had a spa day the first day I was back, which included gym access. I think the Celtic Manor has one of the best gym’s I’ve ever been in. The equipment was amazing, and it was all very high tech and modern. The gym is supplied by Technogym and it was extremely fancy!! I also managed to get a couple of day passes to a local health club in Cardiff for the remaining workouts of week 4. The gym was a hotel gym so it was pretty small and the equipment was quite old, but I managed to get my workouts in fine.
So how do I feel at the end of Phase 1?
Well I started to miss running like crazy in the last week, I mean really really missed it. Which is good in a sense, because I was in a bit of a rut with it post half-marathon and I wasn’t enjoying it that much, so it was good to take a bit of a break, and now I’ll be able to go back to it hopefully fresh both physically and mentally.
Phase 1 Schedule
I felt the first 2 weeks of the program were nice and gentle and eased you into strength training, which is great for people who haven’t strength trained at all before. However, coming from completing 6 months of New Rules of Lifting for Women, I think I probably found the workouts a little too easy and could have skipped ahead to the more advanced workouts.
No Cardio?
I’ll admit the thought of doing no cardio was a terrifying one, and the first few days I found really hard. I think slogging away for hours either running or on gym machines had just become part of my daily routine, and was so ingrained that it was quite difficult to break the cycle. I’m really glad that I didn’t add any cardio in though, as I’ve learned a hell of a lot over this month about my body and it has given me a new perspective on working out. I don’t need to be in the gym for 2-3 hours to get an awesome workout. Before starting this program I had to take some time out because I was completely over trained and fatigued, and my body needed this extended time away from punishing cardio sessions to rest and recover itself. I’ve discovered that I don’t need to push it so hard every single workout, as it is incredibly destructive. The way my body has behaved in recent months, has made me finally realise that I just can’t continue to treat it the way that I have and that I need to look after it more.
Diet
As I said at the start of the program, I am not following the LiveFit diet plan. One because it’s not vegan friendly, two because I don’t believe the amount of protein (esp. animal based) suggested in the plan is healthy or necessary, and 3 because I am completely happy with my vegan diet as it is.
I was in a bit of a rut over the past few months where I was having the same foods over and over, and eating oatmeal for dinner quite often (bad! But it is so good, and easy!) but since moving to Dublin, I am cooking a lot more and I am eating a lot more beans/lentils/quinoa than I have in the past, and I definitely feel good right now.
I fully trust that what I am eating is amazingly good for me, I’m listening to my body a lot more (incorporating a later snack etc), and ensuring I am getting all the right vitamins and nutrients. I actually tracked my intake online a few weeks ago when I was concerned about my fatigue, just to see if I was getting all the right nutrients, and it showed that I was getting nearly double the recommended amount of things like iron and calcium. Vegan diet win! I’m also not following the supplementation plan of the program, as I hate supplements, and I believe you can get all the right vitamins and nutrients from eating real plant based whole foods.
What’s next?
Phase 2. The workouts increase from five a week in weeks 3 and 4, to a six workout week split. I have to be honest, I am a little concerned about this, just because I don’t want to get back to a place where I am over-training again. Cardio is re-introduced at the beginning of this phase, and for the first 2 weeks of the plan, there are four 30min cardio sessions in addition to weights. I am planning on running for 3 of these and then doing some other form of cross-training-probably cycling for the other. I know that it’s moderate cardio, but still an extra 2 hours, plus the longer time the weight workouts are going to take is going to be a big jump, and I don’t want to push too hard too soon. I think if I’ve learned anything over the last few months, it’s that I need to trust and listen to my body, and I’m not about rigidly sticking to this program at the expense of feeling rubbish for weeks on end. So if I need an extra rest day, I am going to take it.
Other than this, I am pretty excited to hit phase 2, I am looking forward to some new fresh workouts, and feeling the burn! I definitely feel like I have gained a lot of strength in this phase, it’s taught me that cardio is not the be all and end all, and that you can be in and out of the gym in 30 minutes and still get a great workout in.
Are you a slave to cardio?
Have you ever taken time away from cardio?
Do you use supplements?
