Product Review: It Works! Wraps

Have you heard of the It Works wraps?!  Yes? No?   Don't know what they are?  They are wraps that you put on your body and they help tighten and tone your skin.  Sounds sketchy, huh?  Well, I'm here to tell you, THEY REALLY DO WORK!!!!

I have been seeing these wraps flooding my Instagram feed because many of the fitness people I follow use them.  My interest was piqued, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in them without knowing if they really worked or were just a waste of money.  Then one day when I was walking out to my car to go to work I saw a postcard on my windshield.  It was from my neighbor Christine and it was a card about the It Works wraps!!!  I was so excited because loose skin is my number one fear as I am losing weight.

I texted Christine as soon as I got to work and we texted all day about the wraps.  Christine has had a lot of success with the wraps and she was really excited about the product.  I decided to go ahead and invest in the wraps and the Defining Gel.  I bought the Fab Wrap, too, but I didn't care for it.  I just use saran wrap now.

Long story short, I love the wraps.

Things that you must know:  you still have to exercise, drink plenty of water, and eat well to see the most benefits.  One wrap is not going to cure everything, you have to keep wrapping.  You have to do your part to help the wraps work.

I have definitely noticed changes.  My stomach is indeed flatter and my muffin top is gone.  I put the wrap on my stomach, but you can put it anywhere you want to target.  The first wrap is supposed to be left on for 45 minutes.  After that, you can wear your subsequent wraps for hours.  I know leave mine on for about 3 hours or more.

The Defining Gel is to be used on days you don't wrap and you can place it anywhere you feel you need it on your body.  I put mine on the stomach, my upper arms, my butt, and my thighs.  My arms look fabulous.  They look toned and my muscles look incredible.  Most miraculously, the cellulite on my butt and thighs has diminished tremendously.  I thought my butt would never be smooth, but it practically is and probably will completely be smooth soon.

As of the time of writing this blog post, I have done 7 wraps.  I'm addicted to the results I am seeing.  It's not a scam, IT WORKS!!!

If you want the same results or want to find out more about the wraps, feel free to check out Christine's page.

Training 2014 - Week 29

We switched it up a bit this week.  First of all, we worked out on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.  Second, we did just upper body on Monday and lower body on Wednesday.  We haven't done that for a while.

Monday it seemed as though we a million exercises.  We did lat pulldowns and shrugs with 85 pounds.  I'm not sure if that's a PR, but it very well may be.  I know I did set a PR on the isolated rows.  I rowed 110 pounds.  That was a little tough, but obviously do-able.  We worked with kettle bells, but thankfully didn't do swings.

Wednesday was leg/butt day.  We did step ups on the machine as opposed to the aerobic class steps.  My right knee was hurting and my left leg was achy, but I got through it.  Sarah took it easy on me because I had Jumpboard the next day.   We did several leg machines and ended with stability ball hamstring curls.  I was really tired when I did those.  I felt like my butt was just hovering over the ground.

After my workout, there was a little bit of excitement.  I ran into my ex-boyfriend as he was coming to pick up his daughter.  I didn't see his daughter, which was good because she is the person I miss the most from the relationship.  She is the sweetest little girl an I miss her a lot.  Noah and I talked for a bit and I even introduced him to Sarah.  It was weird and funny at the same time.

It's always a boost to the ego when you catch your ex checking out your booty out of the corner of your eye.

Forrest and Bubba Do Jumpboard Pilates

I have been so excited this week for Sarah to finally try Jumpboard.  Now she'll know what I talk about when I describe the stuff we do.  Thursday night was finally the night.  It was just me, Sarah, and Megan and of course, Cassie.  Since Sarah was brand new to Jumpboard, Cassie's introduction went a little like this:

"There are snipers all around this area that would love to grease a Pilates instructor."

Like all of our Jumpboard classes, we started with about 20 minutes of regular Pilates.  Sarah was pretty impressed by my short spine series.  Seriously, I'm pretty awesome at it.  I'm not sure if Sarah had ever done a Pilates class with Cassie before, but I think she learned a couple new things or at least variations.

Then came time for the Jumpboard portion.  It was a pretty tough class, I must say.  We worked with weights, without weights, did arm exercises.  We were all sweating, thirsty, and huffing and puffing.  Sarah really enjoyed the class.  It's pretty badass.  Don't let the fun of jumping on a reformer fool you, it's a killer workout.  I think Sarah got a good mix of everything we do.

The only exercise I'm bummed we didn't do was the "headlight" leg jump, which I think is poorly named.  It should be called tail light because it works the glutes pretty hard.   Headlights are boobs, let's be real.  

After class, we were like:

And as I do every Thursday after Jumpboard, I went home, showered, laid on the couch and was asleep HARD in about 10 minutes.  

I Signed Up For Commitment Day 2015!!!

January 1, 2015 will start my third year on this journey and will mark my second Commitment Day 5k.   I'm so excited even though I am not a runner.  I loath running, but I loved the Commitment Day 5k this year.  I really felt like I started the year right.  My goal is to beat my old time of 45 minutes.

Sarah is my emergency contact.

90 Day Challenge/ Fitbit Challenge

Starting July 1st, registration for the next 90 Day Challenge and combined Fitbit Challenge began.  I normally sign up for every sort of challenge Lifetime has.  This time around, however, Sarah and I have decided that 90 Day would not be good for me right now.  It would be too stressful since we start still trying to figure out what is happening with my body.  I have decided to not do the Fitbit Challenge either even though I am always a top competitor in those challenges.  I've lost my Fitbit One, although I know generally where it is.

I just don't feel like doing challenges with others right now.  I think my main challenge is with myself.  It feels really weird to not be signing up, but it is the best choice for me right now.  Besides, I like to think of myself being on a Lifelong Challenge, not just 90 day.  :)

I'm A Yoga Drop-Out

This week I worked out five days.  Back to my normal number of days working out.

Sunday and Wednesday were the days that I worked out with Sarah.  You can read that post here.

I had Pilates on Tuesday and I had another freak out during the short spine series.  I felt like I was going to flip over again.  It was kind of funny though.  The class was tough but enjoyable with my homies, Linda and Maureen.  Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates.  I was kind of dreading it because I was so beat from all of my other workouts.  I was afraid of how much pain I would be in on Friday.  I was very sore for class, but I soldiered on.  I survived and I actually wasn't that sore on Friday.

Next week, Jumpboard will be at 8 pm instead of the normal 6 pm because Cassie is closing on her new house.  Also, Sarah is going to take the class.  I am so excited.  I think she's kind of clueless about what jumpboard is all about, so I can't wait for her to experience it.  I'm sure she'll love it.

Monday and Friday were my rest days.  Friday after work, I went to Labcorp to have blood drawn for my Food Allergy Panel test.  I am so excited to get the results and finally figure out what is going on inside my body.

Saturday I went to Rickita's 945 Hot Vinyasa Flow class.  I enjoy practicing yoga at least once a week and I adore Rickita as a teacher and a person.  However, since Lifetime has decided to adopt the Jonny Kest method of yoga, I am finding myself discouraged and losing my love for yoga.  It has just become too confusing and very anti-beginner.  I swear if someone who had never taken a yoga class before came into a Lifetime Fitness yoga class, they would never come back.  Is that really what Lifetime wants?

I used to enjoy yoga class from beginning to end and couldn't wait to take my next class.  Now, I spend the hour on my mat frustrated, angry, and confused.  That's not what yoga is about.  The quality of the instruction has gone down hill.  I have been doing yoga for almost a year and this new way of teaching has me utterly confused.  I feel like you're expected to know poses at the snap of a finger  and the flows are just so convoluted.  

Seriously, during this class on Saturday, I just sat during the entire third flow because it was so confusing and way too crazy to expecting someone to memorize it and flow on their own.  In one word, it's BULLSHIT.

Two people walked out.  I left early partially because I had a meeting with Tony, the dietitian, but I honestly felt rage.  They should rename the class to Hot Homicidal Flow.  And I'm not the only one that's complaining.  Linda from my Pilates class doesn't like it either and she's going to classes in Commerce that are less Jonny Kest centric.  

So, I think my days of Lifetime Yoga are over and it makes me sad.  I love all of the classes that Lifetime has and am Lifetime's Number One Cheerleader, but they made a HUGE mistake when they changed the yoga program.  I'm highly disappointed.  

Training 2014 - Week 28

Another successful training week is in the books!

Sunday was a full body day although it seemed pretty upper body heavy.  We started with squat thrusters and leg presses.  Then we moved onto the arms.  One of the things I am super excited about was that I set a benchpress PR with 85 pounds!!!!

I did three sets of benchpressing.  The first set was at 65 pounds, the second was at 75 pounds, and the third was at 85!  I only did 6 reps in the third set, but who cares?  I BENCHED 85 POUNDS!!!  My goal for the end of this year was to be able to bench 85 pounds!  I accomplished that, but I would now like 85 pounds to be my starting weight.

Added bonus, I wasn't sore the day or two after the workout!!!

Wednesday was sort of an old school workout.  We did things we haven't done in a while.  Walking lunges and Russian twists were things I hated and I thought were difficult.  Now they are so much easier.  I still hate walking lunges, but what are you going to do?  One thing we've changed up is instead of doing traditional kettle bell swings, we are doing battle rope swings.  I still get the sore feeling in my abs, but I don't have the pain in my left shoulder.  The battle ropes also bring my heart rate way up and I need several minutes to rest and catch my breath before we move onto the next exercise.

Things are continuing in the right direction and I keep getting stronger.

Next week, Sarah and I will be working out on Monday and Wednesday afternoon.

What Day Is It?

I had such a hard time remembering what day it was this week.  It was Tuesday and I thought it was Wednesday.  It was Wednesday and I thought it was Thursday.  And I wasn't the only person, I'm sure.

I worked out four days this week.  This is a pretty low number for me since I tend to get into the gym five days.  I definitely felt a beating after jumpboard pilates on Friday and Saturday, and being hungover on Saturday didn't help.

I worked out with Sarah on Sunday and Wednesday, which are our regular days.  You can read more about it here.

Tuesday was my regular Pilates class.  I had a helluva time getting all the way up in the short spinal massage posture, so Cassie had to help me out a bit.  Finally I was able to get all the up.  I do enjoy doing this and I think I'm pretty darn good at it.

Thursday was jumpboard pilates class.  I don't know what it is about jumpboard pilates but the hour goes by so fast.  Blink and it's over.  I just love jumpboard.  It's so fun and such an amazing workout.

I took Monday and Friday off from working out, as I usually do.  Friday night I went out with my friend Brittany and I had a great time.  Yeah, my eating went out the window, but Friday dinner tends to always be my cheat meal.

My alcohol consumption derailed my exercise plans for Saturday.  There was no way I was going to be able to survive a hot yoga class in my state.  I did however thoroughly clean my master bath and that took quite a while.  We're talking a hardcore scrubbing of the bathtub tiles and floor tiles.  You can seriously eat off my bathroom floor.  So I like to think my cleaning turned into an arm workout.

My upcoming week looks like a typical week.  I am meeting next Saturday with Tony, the new dietitian.  I also plan on being able to squeeze in my food allergy panel test.

Have a good week!

Training 2014 - Week 27

This week Sarah and I trained on our usual days:  Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon.

Sunday was a heavy lifting day.  

 I was beyond excited to hear that bit of news.  I set a few PRs, but I was most excited about my deadlift PR of 105 pounds!!!  We only did four exercises, but we really didn't need to do much more since I was pooped.  And we did squats on the Icarian machine, which is a favorite of mine.

Wednesday was more of a full body day with a little more emphasis on upper body (in my opinion).  We did more exercises today and did some super-setting.  The weights were pretty heavy but do-able.  I think I did very well.  I don't know the proper names for the exercises, but we started with some squats and ended doing triceps and biceps.  Oh yeah,  the bicep curls I did were with 35 pounds, which was pretty tough.

At the end of our session, I got to meet Tony, the new dietician at LTF-Novi.  I am meeting with him on the 19th and also when I get the results of my Food Allergy panel test, which I'll blog more about in a future post.

Next week is another Sunday/Wednesday workout week for Sarah and I.  Looking forward to more heavy lifting.

Fourth of July Week

It's another holiday week here in the US, which means there's the potential for some wayward eating on the 4th, but also time to hang out with friends and have a good time.

This week I worked out five days.  I took my typical days off:  Monday and Friday.

Sunday and Wednesday were training days with Sarah and the post about those days is here.

Tuesday was my regular Pilates class.  I had a funny moment in class this week.  We were doing the short spine series (I think that's what it's called) and I got all the way up on my shoulders and totally freaked out that I was going to fall into the well of the reformer.  Cassie said that's the feeling you should get when you get completely up on your shoulders and you're doing it right.  It was quite a scary feeling.  I came back down fairly fast because I thought I was going to flip over.  I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to do it.  Yay me!!!

Thursday was Jumpboard Pilates class.  It was a fairly small turnout since it was the evening of the 3rd.  It was a tough class, as usual, but fun.  I was sweating like a pig.

Saturday morning I went to Rickita's 945 Hot Vinyasa Flow.  It was really packed for being the morning of the 5th.  I was excited to use my yoga mat towel that I got last week.  This is the towel  that I ordered.  It made a world of difference in my practice.  I wasn't slipping and sliding around like I had been.  I think I might actually buy at least another mat towel because I really made a sweaty mess of this one.  It would be nice to have a backup.  Let's just say I will never take a hot yoga class without a mat towel.

The class was really challenging, but I'm glad I went.

After class, I went home and showered.  Then I drove over to Jackie and Thad's, and Jackie and I walked 4.1 miles at Kensington Metropark.  It was a nice walk, not too hot.  Clearly I am not drinking enough water because my bad ankle ended up swelling really bad and my fingers felt like overstuffed sausages.

So, despite the fact that it was a short work week and also a big party weekend, I did well.  I was diligent in getting my five workouts this week and mixing it up.

Have a good week!  See you next week!!

Training 2014 - Week 26

This week I worked out with Sarah on Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon.  This was my Recovery Week.  We hadn't taken a recovery week since I did D.tox in mid-May.

I was quite relieved to find out it was Recovery Week because I was beat on Sunday for no reason.  Mostly our workout was our usual lifting workout, but the weight is a little lighter.  It is still a challenge though.

Sundays workout included TRX rows, a new favorite, and shoulder presses.  My left shoulder is acting a little funny.  We lowered the weight and it was still achy in the arm socket area.  It doesn't hurt any other time than when I am doing shoulder presses.

Wednesday was a little more leg work.  We worked on some machines I hadn't worked on in a bit.  We did step ups on the aerobic step.  I was pretty sweaty and while I was working pretty hard, I think it might be a side effect of being on Fast Fuel.  I tend to be really sweaty when I'm on that stuff.

The exercise is going well and I'm taking steps to get my diet under control.  I really think this is going to get me going in the right direction.

Next week, we are working out on Sunday and Wednesday again.

Changing It Up

While I was at work today I started thinking about my diet.  It hasn't been the greatest since my meltdown.  Surprisingly, the scale has remained virtually the same.  But I still need to get back on track and get some control.  I start every day with the best of intentions, but somehow and some way I get off track.  I'm not completely off track like back when I started over a year ago, I've just lost a little bit of focus.  I want to the exercise and diet to go hand and hand again and somehow get out of this six month plateau.

It was my idea to decide to replace two meal (breakfast and lunch) with a Fast Fuel shake.  I ran it past Sarah and she liked the idea.  I'm not sure how long I'm going to do this.  I've thought 30 days, I've thought until I lose 20 pounds.  We shall see.  And I may take it down to just one shake a day along the way.  I'm using this as a way to get on track.

I stopped at the LifeCafe before Pilates and bought my Fast Fuel (chocolate).  I'm starting tomorrow!