Inside the Mind of Suz

'Time to get extreme, baby!'

I’m thinking I want to get a plan together that I can continue through to February, when the entire family goes to Hawaii. So, this ought to take some planning.

Back, at the end of spring, I said I’d probably repeat ChaLEAN Extream or do P90x this fall. I’m not so sure that’s the plan anymore. If I do either of those programs, I’ll need to modify them slightly. And let me explain why.

I loved just about everything that ChaLEAN Extreme did for my body. I felt so strong and, for the first time in my life, I could do real push-ups. There were a couple of things that I wasn’t so crazy about. For starters, my cardio fitness suffered. Doing the program as-is just wasn’t enough for me, cardio-wise. When I started doing my c25k training afterwards, I was hurting. I just wasn’t prepared and it set me back about a month while I tried to get up to speed. I know now that if I do ChaLEAN Extreme, I’m going to have to add in extra cardio.

And the one thing I really didn’t like about ChaLEAN was that it bulked my thighs up. Yes, it was muscle, but my clothes were uncomfortably tight and still are. I wasn’t expecting that big a change in my thighs and honestly don’t like it. I have very, very long legs. I started taking ballet at age 4. I like the long, lean dancers build for my legs and ChaLEAN Extreme did not preserve that at all. So, if I do indeed do CE again, I need to figure out (or have someone tell me ) how to modify things so that my thighs don’t get bigger. It almost got to the point where I needed to buy larger jeans, whereas pre-CE, they fit perfectly.

What I did like from my time doing the full ChaLEAN Extreme program was that my schedule was set. I knew what I’d be doing each day, ahead of time, and only missed 1 workout during the 4 months I did the program. Once I get into a groove, I absolutely hate getting off schedule and missing workouts. So, whatever I choose to do this fall, I hope I can get it all laid out in advance like that. It will keep me on track and motivated!

Heyyyyy, it's time to par-tay!

So, if you know of any workout programs or DVDs that you’d recommend, I’d love to hear about them! Also, if you know how I can modify ChaLEAN Extreme so my thighs don’t bulk up again, those tips would be greatly appreciated as well!