Lifestyle

Week 4: Phat Chicks Susie and Meredith give you tips on just how to 'shake it up'!

By Jacqueline Parker

• Change your music – and give your iPod a break too!
• Change your reps and sets...contact a trainer or read up on this.
• Cross train, cross train, cross train.
• If you run all the time, throw in a swim and a bike.
• Change your weight to higher reps, lower weight or higher weight to lower reps weekly.
• Workout with a new partner.
• Keep setting new fitness goals
• Take an active rest
• Get sleep

The Nutritional Stuff

I think I could really get used to this!

So it’s been a month since I started my program with the Phat Chicks and I have to say I’m not only having a lot of fun and meeting great people, I’m really noticing the difference. I’ll admit I approached the whole idea with trepidation. I wasn’t sure I could stick to it, I thought I’d lose motivation and I didn’t know if I had the discipline to force myself to work out at home or to by-pass the trans-fats in order to learn a healthier way of eating.

Did I cheat? Sure I did. The great thing about this program is that it’s a lifestyle choice and not a diet. So if I fell off the wagon and accidentally had a treat or two over the holidays – I certainly didn’t feel bad. “Everything in moderation” as the girls say. So if I had a weak moment I knew I would just make up for it my next meal and it wouldn’t take me long to get back on track again – just a few hours. That makes the whole thing so much easier. The reality is – when you don’t deny yourself – you don’t over-indulge. That’s why a little cheat here and there doesn’t make me feel so bad!

And the best part of the program? I can get a high cardio workout done in my tiny condo in just 30 minutes and then it’s out of the way. I feel challenged by the workout but not pressed for the time or energy to do it. Now I can sway from the weekly meal plan because ‘eating clean’ has become pretty easy to figure out for me now. I can make healthy choices on my own.

The Workout

Hitting plateaus and my hatred for ‘Burpies”

My workouts are changing every few weeks and each one is just as challenging as the last! I’m still thinking of trying to boycott a few of the tougher ones but I suppose that is the point of ‘challenging’ myself, right?

I asked Meredith Hagan and Susie Opie, Phat Co-Founders of Phat Chicks and my personal trainers why my workouts were changing – just when I thought I was getting the hang of the previous one? Susie explained the program and the need to avoid hitting a plateau- you know that point? You are working out just as hard as before you your aren’t seeing any new changes? “Our bodies are always trying to conserve our energy or trying to find a state of homeostasis or maintenance,” says Susie. “So, for example if you run 10 miles everyday, your body will acclimatize to what it is its doing and begin to conserve energy. Meaning, it will not burn as many calories as it did when you first started your fitness program. “ Well put – I guess I’ll let the girls continue to ‘shake it up’ for me.

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