Bodyboss week 12 – the final reckoning!!

Here it is, at last, the final week!!

Yep still don’t look like the girls in the book… good job my expectations were never that high!

It’s a ridiculously busy week this week loads going on at work, and at home, not to mention getting everything ready for our first trip back to the U.K. after moving to Connecticut nine months ago – my goodness the time has flown!

So far this week I need to:

• wrap presents for god-daughters, 
• paint a portrait to deliver back in the U.K. (I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned the fact that a paint in my not-so-spare time…), 
• start a business plan for a nursery I still support in the U.K., 
• do my forty hour a week day job, 
• see Neil Gaiman in Hartford – I admit this is very far from a chore, I love Neil’s writing especially how varied his genres are, I can relate to being interested in a large variety of seemingly unrelated topics! 
• Dye all the grey out of my hair,
• fly to the U.K. 
• and of course complete the Bodyboss program!! 

Who needs to sleep? 😆
So let’s get going!

Monday – legs and booty!

I really am fired up, it’s the last legs and booty, I will totally nail this, I am amazing, I can do anything!!!

Although maybe not Reverse Butterfly Kicks… by the time I get to the Squat Cross Jumps I can barely move, it’s taken me nine minutes to do the first set… I blame the 10 miles of walking round New York we did yesterday, my legs are like lead!

I do three rounds and I will admit that I ditched the Ski Moguls for the last two (I still don’t have a box to jump on so they were plain Ski Moguls not ones onto a box) – I manage a super speed shower and we’re straight out the door to go and see Neil Gaiman!

I’m glad it wasn’t a meet and greet as I don’t think my colour went back to normal until half way through the show!

If you love reading I would totally recommend reading some of Neil’s work, my favorite books of his are Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book and American Gods (which I believe has been televised) and if you like audiobooks he co-wrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett and there is an excellent audible play version of it by Radio 4 which is the best I’ve ever heard, very funny!

The evening itself was brilliant, very inspirational especially as I can totally relate to his feeling of being ‘found out’ at any time, after all we are all winging it in some respects! 

I survive Monday…

Tuesday – Yoga Day!! Ah no, they’ve done it again, I should’ve guessed really with it being the last week that it would be a challenge day…

Six exercises, start the timer!!

Ok I can officially do all but one of the exercises… guess which one… yep it’s those pesky push-ups!

However I stop the clock, write down the time, and…

First week of Bodyboss pre-training this challenge took me 8 minutes, week 2 of the main program it took me 7:10 minutes, week 12… drumroll please…. 5:40 minutes!!! Get in!!!!

I think this is a hashtag happy bunny moment 😄

I take my euphoria up to the easel and paint a portrait of a dog. I do love painting 😊

Wednesday – Arms, Abs and Core… I’m glad it’s the last one!

Oh my goodness! I think I may pass out.

However I can do Plank Rotations, I can do Jack Knives (sort of), I can’t do Spider Planks – well I can do a version that doesn’t envolve the push-up element so I do that… 

I face plant on the final Down Dog V Press.

Thursday – Cardio, and the next few chapters of American Gods on Audible!

On the basis that I’m at the hairdressers at 5pm this evening which means getting there straight from work I set the alarm to stupid o’clock and get up at 5am to do 40 minutes of cardio before work, how’s that for dedication!!

To be fair if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ll be on a plane and then traveling on Saturday I would’ve shifted the workout a day and finished on Saturday – this week that’s not an option! 

After the hairdressers I wrap gifts and sort the business plan out – all that’s left to do tomorrow is do the Power Up workout and pack!

The Final Power Up Friday!!

Oh blimey they don’t make this easy!!

Four exercises two of which I need to do modifications for and one is swapped out completely – it’s only the Butterfly Kicks with Clap that I can do!

I modify Aeroplane Push Ups to Plank Rotations, I swap Box Jumps with Bench Hops and try my best with Reverse Butterfly Kicks…

Ok now for the reckoning – how did I do?

Well I went to the doctors to weigh myself before we left and I’ve lost a total of ten pounds! Which considering there has been zero dieting going on is amazing!

I can now fit into the clothes I came to the USA with – result! The downside of this is that I’ve been working really hard and when I saw my friends and family for the first time in 9 months they didn’t notice a difference as I was back to where I was when I left!! It’s a good job I have a sense of humour 😄

But here is the photographic evidence of all the hard work – the before and after shots!

I am so happy!!

However now that I’ve completed the program what do I do?

I don’t want to let all this good work go to waste, one thing I have really enjoyed about this program is that it’s progressive but I want to have a change – I think I will return and do the program a second time, but not yet…

I have been thinking and researching whilst having a couple of weeks off – I have been doing tons of walking in the Lake District so I’ve not been sitting around!! And I have decided that the one thing I found I loved during this program has been the Tuesday yoga days…

So…

The next thing is…

Yoga Burn! Another 16 week program (if you include the extra four weeks of advanced training) let’s see what happens here!!