The need to jump around was strong today, so I thought a Billy Blanks workout might be perfect. As long as the sound was muted of course! I just do not understand how people can be so robotic and chant the numbers one to eight while exercising. It’s almost like they’re in a cult. I’m sure Billy’s fans would say it’s a wonderful fitness cult.
I’ve never done Billy’s Tae Bo before. My friend Sandra suggested him a while back (here’s a previous post with links to his longer cardio workouts) but when I saw how little time I had this afternoon I had to find something shorter.
Luckily, his 20 minute Body Shape workout popped up on YouTube and it was just right. Not much jumping around though, as the focus was on burning the arm muscles and that was fine by me! It’s still a problem area and I’ve just about had enough of the wobbly bits.
The 250g baked bean tins got a workout today, but I couldn’t help wondering how hard it would be to do these exercises, and how much more I would gain (or, in fact, lose!), if I had heavier weights. So I’m finally off to the city this afternoon to have a look at some hand weights. Just a look at this stage. If I buy them I’ll definitely try this Billy Blanks workout again, as some of the comments talked about how hard it was. I raised a slight sweat but my arms weren’t shaking at the end. Not good enough, me thinks!
My morning routine stays the same (unfortunately the time I do it varies quite a lot! I’m not quite springing out of bed at 6am when Leo’s alarm goes off) and I’m constantly surprised at how stiff I feel when first sitting on the floor to do the 10 minutes of meditation. Eventually my hips relax and it all feels quite nice.
Then I stretch out my legs for five minutes. At the beginning, the idea of resting my elbows on the floor is ludicrous – they’re almost a ruler’s length away from the ground when I first start stretching. Slowly, everything limbers up and just before the time’s up, I have my elbows on the floor, even just for a few seconds sometimes. Knowing this is the result, most days, keeps me motivated to hopefully be able to do the splits again. Will my 43-year-old hips let that happen?!
Wishing you a wonderful day.
fitfor15in15 ... and further 
Hi there! Have you checked out your local Brocki for hand weights? One of those things that often end up there and much cheaper than in the shops… 😉
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Hi swissrose. I hadn’t even thought about a Brocki. What a brilliant idea … shame I read it too late! I ended up buying new ones today. They weren’t too expensive but a Brocki would have been a much better solution; giving something old a new lease on life again. I’ll put a big sign above my desk – “Check the Brocki first!”
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Yes, it’s surprising what you can get there, and I don’t always think of it myself! My most recent success (being a knitter) was two skeins of silk yarn, anonymously wrapped, for 3.50 and worth around 50.- to someone in the know… now I’m on the hunt for an old Hermes Baby typewriter 😮 (I know it doesn’t sound very minimalist but there is method in my madness…!)
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I’ll keep my eyes peeled! The typewriter sounds intriguing and very special. Have you seen the lovely knitting/spinning/wool story by Peta in the guest blogger section? Sounds like you’ll be able to relate, swissrose! Here’s to more super Brocki finds!
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