My latest Before and After Pic

Sometimes it’s hard to believe just how far I’ve come.  I’m a perfectionist so when I see the flaws I still possess it seems that I’ve got so far to go since my progression is a lot slower now than in the beginning.

But when I take a look at how far I’ve come and think about how I felt in the before pic and how my life was back then I feel pretty darn proud of myself.  I workout HARD! I could barely pick myself off of the floor back then and that was 4 years ago – I was in my early 30s.  I’m in my late 30s (37) and my fitness level has NEVER been greater – Yes, I know I’m not a lean person.  I don’t think I ever will be but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing what I do and progressing in the way that I am able.

Max 30 – Toby Massenburg

Max 30  – Toby Massenburg

Toby Massenburg is an up and coming fitness trainer on the workout DVD circuit. I am familiar with Toby from Paul Katami’s workouts and when I saw a preview of this Max 30 DVD I felt I had to get it.  It looked intense and hardcore and it is!  It is definitely an advanced workout and offers no modification for even the intermediate exerciser.  Toby’s cheerleader-like spirit is motivating and friendly.  He has a great rapport with his background exercisers and you may even recognize Marlene from the Paul Katami kettlebell workouts too.

You can check him out at his website:  www.totalmaxfitness.com.  He can also be found on facebook.

Max 30 has 3 separate workouts.  Two of them are 30 minutes and one is roughly 10 minutes.  The idea is that you can get fit in 30 minutes and max out your fitness.  You could do both 30 minute segments for a killer workout and if you are feeling even more motivated you could do all three segments to “max” it out.

1.        Max Sculpt – this is a 30 minute workout that uses hand weights.  I found it best to use a variety of weights and conform it to your own needs.  This has 6 different circuits but within each circuit are 3 segments.  The first segment does a particular movement for 30 seconds and then a more dynamic version of that movement for 30 seconds.  You get a 30 second rest until you go through another movement for 30 seconds and the dynamic movement for 30 seconds followed by a 30 second rest.  The third segment is a combination of the first movement of each segment followed by the dynamic movements of each segment ending the segment with the 30 second rest.

I found that with the addition of the dynamic movements my heart rate got up pretty high.  I checked it once and it was above 161 bpm.  Toby follows this up with a very thorough stretch segment.

2.       Max Cardio – this is a 30 minute workout.  Toby utilizes a step for some of the movements.  This really gets the heart rate up.  Following the same type of format as the Sculpting segment, this has 6 different circuits but within each circuit are 3 segments.  The first segment does a particular movement for 30 seconds and then a more dynamic movement for 30 seconds.  You get a 30 second rest until you go through another movement for 30 seconds and the dynamic movement for 30 seconds followed by a 30 second rest.  The third segment is a combination of the first movement of each segment followed by the dynamic movements of each segment.  Some movements are done on the floor without the step as well.  I had to modify some of the movements like I didn’t do the 180 turn on the step for fear of hurting my ankle if my step slipped out of the way (my step isn’t as sturdy as  Toby’s) plus on the in-out jacks I didn’t do the donkey kick I just did consecutive floor jacks.

I like that this workout is pure cardio and not a circuit style with weights.  It really got my heart rate up and was an enjoyable workout.   I liked this workout segment the best out of all three.  I really felt accomplished after finishing this workout.

3.       Max Core – this is a 10 minute workout for your midsection.  It starts off with basic crunches and Toby uses a progression of the basic movement on one side of the body.  After that series you go into a variation of the boat pose.  This gets deep into the abs.  You then do the crunch progression on the other side and follow it up with the boat poses.  Next up is a plank/pike series and finally a standing balance segment.

In this workout I felt that the boat poses were the most challenging felt the deepest in my abs.

Dreams Do Come True!

My First Set of Dumbbells

This is a picture of my first set of dumbbells.  I got them on Christmas Day 1982.  I asked “Santa” to get me a set of dumbbells because I wanted to be a weightlifter when I grew up.  They are 3.3lb DP Super Star Orbatrons.  They are a little large in size by today’s standards.  They look more like 8 lb dumbbells as they’ve been able to shrink the 3 lbs down to a small Barbie-like size.   I remember using these for chest presses when I was a little girl thinking they would make my boobs grow.  They are still in great shape for being almost 30 years old (and the weights have held up as well – I kid, I kid!).

Through the years my mother used these same weights and I used them back in the day when high reps/low weight was pushed on women.  Today I use them for punching drills and barre workouts that use a lower weight for upper body.  “Santa” sure got his money’s worth.

20 lb Dumbbells

This picture above is my newest addition to my home gym.  I have been using 20s at the gym for a while but hadn’t expanded that high at home.  I decided it was time.  I remember buying these at Target and the cashier struggling to lift one with two hands.  I easily picked up one with one hand.  I use heavier dumbbells than this at the gym along with a barbell and the cable machine I just can’t afford all of the upgrades at home yet.  So I buy a little at a time hoping to one day have enough that I can forgo my gym membership because I truly do workout harder at home and am self-disciplined enough that I don’t need the gym environment to do so.

25 lb Kettlebell

This last picture is the heaviest weight I have at home.  My back is strong so I use this to work my back with one arm rows.  It also gives one killer workout with the kettlebell swing.  When I first bought this size kettlebell knowing how I grow out of the weights quickly I went up an extra 5 lbs to buy myself some time until I grew out of it.  I’ll admit it was really challenging at first but now it is just a really good workout and I can tell that it really works my glutes in the swings.

I guess it’s safe to say that after all these years the girl who was picked last in gym class has become a weightlifter.