Hey Everyone!!!! Welcome all the newcomers!!!! It's nice to see so many people on board for our challenge.

I was bad yesterday. I actually didn't do my workout. It was my day off and things were not going as planned. By the time I watched all my Tuesday night shows (ya know, america's next top model and american idol) I was zapped. *mental note to self, do workouts first thing* LOL.


I'm back on track today and today is 7/30. There were some days (maybe 2, where I did pilates in the morning and evening, but I'm going to count them as 1 workout).

Tips I learned:

Squeeze your butt and belly as hard as you can possibly handle when doing the moves. This way, you are focused on that area (butt, belly) and will naturally work these areas when doing the moves. I used to think the 100 was hard but now that I squeeze like crazy and lift my shoulders as high off the ground as possible, I feel a BIG difference. For motivation, when you are doing the moves (if you can) reach down and feel your stomache area. I am pleasantly surprised to feel a hard surface in my ab area or my butt muscles. My fiance was impressed when I called him over to have a feel. He went from saying "are you sure those moves are any good?" to "damn, maybe I should start doing them!!!"

The reason why I am doing 6x a week is bc Mari Windsor advises alternating the excellerated video and the basic video and doing cardio for maximum weight loss. I tried this in the past and saw great results by my 15th workout!! (this is when I actually stopped doing it bc of exams... couldn't find the time then went off track). Now, I want to make it to 30 workouts and see how my body responds to it. I'm also doing cardio for fat burning. I don't want to have a 3 or 6 pack buried beneath a layer of apidose (sp?) tissue aka fat!

For rolling like a ball or the roll up, I find that squeezing the powerhouse helps to bring you back up. It took me a while to do rolling like a ball without using a bit of a leg kick to bring me back to the starting position. Now, my abs do the work and help me balance too. The only problem is, my butt bones (or that area) sometimes feels sore when I'm doing the penguin. Anyone have any suggestions for this??

Sorry about the long post everyone and good luck.

Tasha

1/30 done! LOVE it! Did the 20 minute workout today while DS took his nap.
Thanks for all the great tips Tasha!

3/30 today!
Since I've been doing Pilates, I've been paying more attention to my posture in general. I'm standing taller--and someone finally said to me, "You've lost weight!" I think Pilates also helps me re-create my self image. For awhile there, even though the weight was gone, I thought I still looked/felt fat.
I've been practicing breathing, straight tall back, and naval to my spine while driving in the car--helps make mom's taxi time a little more productive.
Today, the video I used was also a GAIAM video, but it was with Ana Caban. She really explained how to breath (expanding the rib cage out, not up and raising the shoulders) when you have your powerhouse engaged. That's what I have been practicing--it does take some thought!
I swam today, also, and have begun to apply Pilates principles to my stroke--thinking "long and arrow-like." I think working to get the full extension of my body in the water is improving my stroke. I also noticed how my abdomen/powerhouse was working through the stroke.
Even though I've only been doing this for a couple of weeks, I'm noticing improvements in several areas of my life. This is an exercise epiphany for me, just like going low-carb was an eating epiphany--I'm really excited about it!

Thanks everyone, for your tips. This 30 session challenge is really motivating!
Peach

wow, Peachagirl I love your story. Standing taller, feeling stronger, using pilates principles in a lot of things is great. I may need to try this!!

Well, I just finished the accelerated windsor pilates tape so i'm at 8/30. Have a great day everyone!!

4/6 w1 completed! I think next week I may try the hour long one...tho if i remember correctly I was pretty much a limp noodle after 'completing' it.

Determine-about the sore butt, I wish i had a solution! I get a bruised backbone from the rolling moves.

Completed 4/30.
Did a lot of taxi-ing kids around today--and my neck and shoulders feel kind of achy. I tend to want to slouch while driving, so I'm trying to sit up straighter without jutting out my chin. I think I'm retraining my neck muscles. Just did a few stretching exercises, and I think I'll go take a couple of Motrins.

Peach

2/30 done. So far so good, although I'm a bit sore today. :(

*Accelerated Workout*

Hey Zebra,

Hopefully the soreness goes away after your body adjusts to using these small muscles we hardly ever get to!!

Congrats on being 2.5 lbs away from your pre-pregnancy goal!!

Have a great night
Tasha

2/30 done.

I got my full 20 minutes in this time.

Mil

5/30 for me this morning.
I used Denise Austin's program today. So far I like this one best, because she has a nice flow from one exercise to the next, and she doesn't go too fast. She also has nice background music. She's kind of syrupy, though.
Can't wait until the library comes through with the Winsor DVD--I want to check out as many programs as I can before sinking money into one.

Peach

3/30 done. I can't believe I already see a difference, especially in my stomach! Strange but true! :)

*20 minute workout*
*Buns and Thighs*
*Upper Body*

4/30 done for me. I might do another session tonight, depending on how I feel. I am so soar from going to the gym all week and I've had a stomache ache all day long.. Plus work on top of that! Argh...

Ok - 3/30 on Friday - it made me late for work, but I did it anyway - barely 20 minutes.

Then, 4/30 on Saturday, for real. I went to my sister-in-law's gym on a guest pass, and we did a pilates class, a full hour. It was good because it's the first time I've ever done a class, so I could check my form. It wasn't too bad, considering.

Because of my schedule, I wanted Tuesdays to be my day off, but I never got around to doing any pilates at all today. Back on tomorrow (Monday, I mean), and I'll try to do the full six days in a row.

Mil

Hi all can i join?
I am doing pilates 3 times a week and "The Firm" cardio sculpt 3 times a week.
i have done this for 1 week so far and it broke my month long stall i am down to 176!!!
not much i know but ater seeing anywhere from 177 to 182 for the last 4 weeks 176 is great!
I have the pilates for dummies tape its a great 30 minute work out and the DVD is only $10
it has a 30 minute beginner work out and a 30 min intermediate work out i am do the intermediate.
any way i will keep you updated, oh and i have never had trouble with rolling like a ball if you just put your feet together and not allow them to move it forces you to use you tummy.

4/30 done. Trying to catch back up since I didn't do much of anything over the weekend...except recover from food poisioning. :( Lost a lot of strength.

*20 minute workout*