Showing posts with label Slimming World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Slimming World. Show all posts

Monday, 9 February 2015

Becoming Dynamic....

Becoming Dynamic

Before I had made the decision to leave Slimming World, the gym that I go to frequently has open days so that members & non-members can come & try various classes etc. I went to an open day at my gym July 2013, to try out a course that I'd seen advertised & one of my friends told me about...I was unsure about the diet that went with this course but it wasn't that bad in the end. On the open day, we met the lovely Chris who runs the Team Dynamix course. He gave us a brief overview of the diet & sorts of food you can eat, then we did a short exercise session, so basically it was a mini class. The next course would start in 2 days time on the Monday...so naturally I signed up straight away as I felt it was time for something new. 

Team Dynamix

Is a 4 week course, 3 nights a week; it's a small class of about 16 people & it runs for about an hour, you have sometime a the beginning & end of class to discuss food etc. 
The exercises are timed, the first week I think is 30 seconds on, 30 seconds recovery, the next week will be 40/20 and so on, as your condition will improve each week.  The circuit is set so you'll have between 4-6 weight resistant stations (depending on how big the class is & what room your in) each of those stations will have a core workout attached, as usually buddy up so whilst one does the weight resistance the other will do core. Now, either before or after the circuit you also have to do your cardio round this can be either shuttle runs with body weight exercises at the cones or a combination of six cardio exercises such as high knees, squats jumps & the dreaded burpees. 

The exercise for this course is all High Intesity Interval Training (HIIT) it works by you working to your maximum throughout the class, resulting in a higher fat burn & faster metabolism. To some people reading this, this course sounds horrendous & people will probably wonder why I did it, Slimming World was a good eating plan to start me off but my weight loss was starting to plateau as after a while your body becomes used to your new lifestyle, therefore it's good to give it a shock every now & then. 
When I started Team Dynamix I was 14 stone 1lb (89.5Kgs/197.4lbs) when I had completed the course I weighed 12 stone 6 (80.5Kgs/177.4lbs) I had lost 9Kgs in four weeks it was amazing, I couldn't remember when I had weighed that amount before. From attending the classes 3 times a week, for four weeks & following the eating plan (I'll do another blog for that) I had lost a lot of weight, I wish I had started Team Dynamix sooner so that I could reach my goals sooner. 

(I'm in the middle at the back)

TD Bootcamp 
A few months after my brilliant Team Dynamix course, Chris had developed the next phase...bootcamp, like Team Dynamix only heavier weights, more stupid cardio exercises (Spartan flips) & more core workouts, same time frame as before 3 nights a week for 4 weeks, same food plan. Since doing Team Dynamix I had kept the same food plan, as I felt healthier & less bloated so sticking to it wasn't a problem, & I had only gained 0.2Kg during the gap between Dynamix & Bootcamp I had regular gym reviews with Chris to develop my gym program.  However, as much as I loved bootcamp the scales didn't really move I lost the 0.2Kg that I had gained but again my body had got used to the healthier eating, & the range of exercise I was doing. 


If any of my lovely readers feel like they want to give Team Dynamix a go, please follow the links for my gyms webpage & the Team Dynamix Facebook page for more information. 
Chris is a fantastic instructor,  I can't recommend him enough; he really gets you motivated in class (He also laughs at you when your in agony) & he's really helped me over the last 18 months with teaching me new techniques & training programmes in the gym, giving me new
food ideas & making me do cardio (which I hate with a passion) & convincing me to try new classes at the gym such as Functional Training (like bootcamp) and Strength & Conditioning (which was good apart from the bloody cardio). 


I've completed Team Dynamix & completed bootcamp twice & completed a 6 week course of PT, along with various gym programmes & classes in between, you can probably tell I'm not a cardio fan, my lungs aren't that stong because I'm an ex-smoker but I make myself do it because I know I have too! Again it's another situation where I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't of started with Team Dynamix.







Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Fat Fighters

"Half-The-Calorie Diet' so you can have twice as much"


                                        
"Hello Fatties" 

When you think of joining a slimming club, you think of Majorie Dawes ("I just love a bit of cake, yeah") but honestly it's not that bad, you're with people who want the same goal as you, to lose weight.
I had completed my first step and joined Slimming World. When I joined I was 17 stone and half a pound (238lbs - 108Kgs) & I'm 5ft 6in (167cm) tall, so according to my body mass index (BMI) was obese, if I was 6.5lbs heavier I would have been classed as morbidly obese, I look back now & I'm glad I started when I did, who knows what would of happened too me?
Dust? Anyone? No?

I used Slimming World for about 18 months I was using their extra easy plan, which was extra easy to follow; you have super free & free foods which you can eat in abundance and healthy options A & B you pick one of each a day & you had 15 syns a day to be naughty if you wanted to use them. The recipes online & in the magazine are really tasty & get people back in the kitchen & cooking using fresh ingredients, that makes loads of dinners & I took the leftovers for lunch at work the next day. It also encourages you to keep a food diary so you know what you've eaten. I never stayed for the actual group as I got back home from work late, if I had stayed at the group it wouldn't have been 9pm before I had any dinner, so I'm not sure what they do at group (it could be a cult, for all I know!?)

I've never tried Weight Watchers or Rosemary Connolly so I'm not sure how they compare. For me Slimming World felt like the right platform for weight loss, it was simple & easy to follow, and it helped me gain control of what I was eating & the portion size of what I was eating & re-educated me about what I was putting in my body & I was enjoying all these fresh fruit & vegetables. I've never been so full in my life, that first week I was on slimming world I thought I would burst, before I started the plan I had cut my meals down in size in an attempt to lose weight, I now know that this is considered an extremely bad move, as it slows your metabolism down & mine is slow enough as it is! I would definitely recommend Slimming World to anyone who wants to loose weight as a starting platform. 

Towards the end of my time on Slimming World, I had lost about 3 stone (19Kgs) my weight loss had started to plateau & I wasn't seeing the results I wanted when I had been good with food all week, and been to the gym 3-4 times a week, so it was time for a change, I saw that by this point that Slimming World would no longer help me to achieve my goals & that it was just making me loose pounds in my bank account. It was time for something more dynamic...