Checking In From Vacation / Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping: Week One

If you missed us talking about it, me and Bruce are participating in a 10-week session at Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping, at 4099 McDonald Drive.

I would like to apologize in advance as this might be a lengthy blog, but since it's the only one I'm doing this week, it should make up for my lack of posts.

I had some vacation to burn up, so I took this week off.  I'm so happy I did, as it's really given me a chance to focus as I begin this new journey.

While you may have heard of Farrell's before, Saturday I got my first real look at their facility during our orientation.

We started with a fitness assessment, which basically gives you a baseline into your overall fitness.

While I probably won't share my before picture (I want you to keep reading my blogs, after all), I won't be shy to tell you that I'm probably the biggest I've ever been in my life.  I weighed 270.6 pounds and had a body fat reading of 33.7!

We started with a 4-minute step test so we could find our heartbeats-per-minute.

Once the fitness evaluation was done and our pictures were taken, we met our coach, Tasha.  One of the things you have to like is that all of the instructors have gone through the 10-week challenge, so they know exactly where you're coming from... and what it was like to be there for the first time.

Then the owners, Kip and Laci Hoffmann gave us a little more info.  Kip told his story and how the two of them came to be involved in fitness.  Laci touched on nutrition, as she's the resident expert.  It was very uplifting and motivational.

We did a few more tests and sadly I found my once machine like body (I kid) was only able to do 13 sit-ups and 25 push-ups.  We would have run a mile, too, but the weather wasn't working out.

Again, these tests aren't done to shame anyone, it's a starting point so you can see how far you've come at the 5 and 10-week mark.

I spent Sunday filling my fridge with with some healthier eats.  I cooked off a few pounds of chicken breast, then washed and sliced a bunch of fruits and vegetables so they'd be ready to eat.

Your six day schedule includes three days of kickboxing, with three days of strength training with fitness bands.  Sunday is your fun day, a chance to give yourself a break.  You don't have to exercise and can treat yourself to foods that you normally wouldn't indulge on during your week.  It gives you a break both mentally and physically.

Monday was day one.  I won't lie, it was tough.  Not to mention I was a little sore from the fitness assessment we did a few days earlier.

We started with some stretches and jumping jacks, then some jabs and kicks.  One of my worries was not being able to keep up or getting winded, but I was relieved to find out each exercise only lasts 20 to 30 seconds, before you move on to the next activity.

While Marc ran the class that day, our coach Tasha moved around to make sure we were all doing the exercises correctly.  Then we pulled out the heavy bags and worked with a partner, taking turns jabbing and kicking.

It was fun and the 45 minutes actually flew by.  Afterwards, Tasha and Marc even hung around to answer questions and give us pointers.

Day two we moved to strength training with fitness bands.  On this day we worked our upper body, exercising muscles in our triceps, biceps and chest.  While it wasn't as intense as kickboxing, it really burned some muscles and felt good.

I have to say that the thing I love most is there is no pressure and everyone at Farrell's is very supportive.  Some people are just starting and some people have been doing exercise there for some time.

If you're doing an exercise incorrectly, people are quick to jump in and help you correct yourself.  If you're burning out, they're giving you some encouragement to get it done.

Jesse gave me pointers on jabs... Todd helped me and Bruce make sure we were pulling the bands just right to maximize the effect of the exercise.

I will continue to keep you posted on our progress as the weeks continue.

So far, so good... and we're loving it!

~CMF