Blogilates & Me
Blogilates and I have an on again, off again relationship that spans over 8 years.
I first discovered Cassie and her brand of workouts shortly after I had moved to the UK. I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t feel comfortable going to the gym, nevermind that getting to the gym was often difficult for me, and if I got to the gym I didn’t really know what to do. It shouldn’t be a surprise that my interest in home bodyweight workouts was nonexistent.
I was in need of some motivation and inspiration.
Equally, my “fitness goals” 8 years ago were very much about weight loss and trying to fit into jeans that were at least 2 sizes smaller than what I had been currently wearing at the time. I spent a lot of my days browsing Tumblr “fitspo” posts or Pinterest for lifestyle tips to “save on calories” or recipes with the lowest calorie value. When I read Cassie’s reflections about her weight loss and fitness journey it often sounds like she was at the same place I was at 8 years ago. Perhaps that’s why I became drawn in to the world of Blogilates and its journey.
Blogilates Sept 2012 Calendar
Eight years ago, Cassie started compiling her fitness calendars, even with her small number of workout videos available. Looking back at those old calendars, I only remember that some workouts were really hard and I could only do half of the exercises counted. Part of that was because I was so unfit, but Cassie had also set the fitness bar incredibly high at the time.
The evolution of Cassie’s video quality has also been interesting to observe, as well as how she has experimented with different structures for her published workouts. She seems to have boiled it down to a great couple of formulas and with a difficulty level that pushes you, but doesn’t defeat you after the first 60 seconds.
Don’t get me wrong, her latest workouts are still very challenging.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the gyms were still open, I did well with working out and managing my diet. I lost weight quite rapidly but it didn’t stay off: I’ve put the weight back on in a matter of a few weeks and it’s stayed on. My housemate during Lockdown had weights that I could use, which I did use from time to time (read: very occasionally).However, the motivation still lacked considerably, even though I had come up with a workout plan that was low pressure and high flexibility.
However, I worked a lot of night shifts, and once I’m home from nights it was game over. There was just something about coming home and it being a space to unwind in, instead of a place to get motivated in after twelve and a half hours of work. On top of this, I had started to put pressure on myself to do a certain kind of work out. Any workout, any movement after work wasn’t good enough, it needed to challenge my strength and/or endurance. The pressure got too much and I just talked myself out of working out completely and just went to bed.
Blogilates July 2020 Calendar.
July roles around and I’ve made up my mind. Not only because I step on the scale and I see the numbers climbing again, but the gyms are still closed and for 8 years I have been trying to complete a Blogilates workout calendar. So why not do a fitness calendar based on home workouts when I’m at home and the gyms are closed anyway?
As with many previous attempts, I started off well: I carved out time to complete the workouts and checked off the listed items easily. However, the first stumbling block always occurs when there is a dance based cardio workout video thrown into the mix.
Let me assure you: I am not a dancer.
I do not dance.
Despite having a fitness programme to follow I ended up having to scour for a substitute cardio routine of equivalent value, which felt like the purpose was defeated slightly.
While the upper body was not forgotten by Cassie in her Blogilates workout calendars, I did notice that my upper body started to lose its shape. Granted I didn’t have much with the little amount of swimming, surfing, and weight training I had done during the lockdown up until that point, but what little I had started to disappear along with my strength. By the third week of the July 2020 Blogilates calendar the number of push ups I could do dwindled down and I started looking for alternative upper body and HIIT workouts.
Another downfall of the calendar was that I didn’t actually lose any weight. I know that weight loss is more related to what you eat, but exercising obviously helps you reach a weight loss goal. I mean, I did get fitter from the HIIT and Cardio workouts, but my body didn’t seem to change much. I weighed myself weekly and only saw minor fluctuations up or down, so no real weight loss. In comparison, I have been going to the gym and lifting as heavy as I can without killing myself and I also haven’t lost any weight but I can see the changes that have occurred in my shape.
But for all the reasons the Blogilates calendar didn’t work for me, it worked for me. It was a springboard into a fitness lifestyle mindset and routine. I was moving more regularly, before having the option of going back to the gym. It was a relatively low energy commitment compared to what I might have launched myself into, so it gave me a good starting point to gauge my fitness and strength before stepping back into the gym (let me assure you, I was very weak and unfit). The lower energy requirement was also very suitable when coming off of a night shift (perfect for all my fellow nightshifters to consider!). And I just felt better for moving, even if I didn’t get the aesthetic results I was hoping for.
It’s taken me EIGHT years to finish this goal, and I’m not going to lie: I’m glad it’s finally over. The place and time for me to achieve this was the right one, but I don’t think I’ll pursue another calendar in the near future. As great as pilates is, it doesn’t align with most of my fitness goals, although those “Ab Days” are worth their weight in gold.
Blogilates September 2020 Calendar
PS. I am not receiving any commission for this, this is just my reflections on my journey and written just for fun.
