Four weeks ago, I committed myself to a new workout challenge in the form of the 10lb. Slimdown Xtreme workout system. Although I covered most of the reasons as to why I decided to start it in my first post, I’ll briefly outline them a bit again here.
My Main Goals for Starting the Program
- To switch up a routine that had gotten somewhat stale
- To gain extra muscle definition
- *Note: I did not begin the program in an attempt to lose 10 pounds. If a few happened to drop during the process, that was okay. But 10 pounds was never my goal.
When I committed to the challenge, I intended on following the workout plan exactly, with the exception of starting on Day 3, rather than Day 1. Other than that, the only adjustment I made to the challenge was on Day 23 and over this weekend, where I ended up just totally skipping days 27 and 28. Woops.
First, a quick breakdown of each week…
Week 1
The first week focused on total body.
I enjoyed all of the workouts in week 1, and I thought that the variety was laid out really nicely. It incorporated a good mix of all of the workouts and was helpful for transitioning into what was to come next.
Week 2
The second week focused on the upper body.
Week two was probably my favorite of all four weeks of the challenge. I enjoyed all of the upper body workouts paired with the cardio kickboxing. The workouts in week two were slightly more intense than week one, but none left me feeling like it was something I couldn’t handle.
Week 3
This week focused on abs.
Week three started off strong, but started to get a little repetitive for me. With three days of the cardio kickboxing routine back to back (days 18-20), I was beginning to get a little bored. Honestly, I felt like this week was more of a cardio burn for me, rather than a focus on abs. While my abs were worked, they never felt overly fatigued or sore like my arms did occasionally from the workouts in week two.
Week 4
This week focused on the lower body.
Week four was, by far, the toughest week of all. Taking a rest day on Day 23 was super important for me; not only was I extremely sore from the workout from the day before, but I didn’t understand why the lower body would need to be worked so intensely two days back to back. That didn’t make much sense to me? Even though I skimped on the workouts on days 27 and 28, I didn’t miss them.
My Thoughts on the Program
Pros:
- The challenge did a really nice job of increasing the intensity of the workouts as the four weeks progressed. Week 4 was definitely more intense than week 1.
- Chris Freytag was an amazing motivator and I loved working out with her for these past 4 weeks. She has a cheery, upbeat attitude, but she definitely means business.
- These workouts challenged me more than any other workout I’ve done in a long time. There was no lollygagging around with these videos!
- I really enjoyed the amount of strength training with weights that was incorporated. While I’ve never done another workout program such as P90X or Insanity, I’m pretty sure that those focus more on strength training using your own body weight (maybe?).
- The program even challenged me to buy heavier weights.
- My favorite videos out of the series were the Cardio Kickboxing + Total Body.
Cons:
- I did not like how weeks 3 & 4 did not include rest days. I talked on a few occasions about the importance of rest days, and you guys definitely seemed to be right on board with me. They are absolutely necessary.
- By week 3, some of the videos began to get a little repetitive and boredom struck. Even though upper body was the focus of week 2, it would have been nice to still have it slightly incorporated into weeks 3 and 4 (besides in the Total Body video).
- Some of the planned workout days were long (80 minutes) and were hard to find the time to squeeze in for them.
My Results
At the end of the four weeks, I have noticed the following results:
- I did not lose any weight. Not a single pound (see below).
- I have some slight soreness in my right knee, which I attribute to not getting myself out and getting the correct pair of shoes to wear for the program.
- I notice some slight definition in my arms, but I don’t think it’s enough where anyone else would notice.
- I feel stronger. Before this, I was happy with just lifting my little 5 pounders at home, but now the 10 pounders are my go-to weight. I still use the lighter weights when working smaller muscles, such as the front shoulders, but the heavy ones get more of a workout now.
- My leg muscles are tight. Real tight. I need more yoga in my life, asap.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the four weeks, I was rather surprised by the fact that I did not lose any weight. As I mentioned before, these videos kicked my butt harder than any other workouts I’ve done in a long time. There’s no doubt about it. So with a program that claims to help you lose 10 pounds, I found that a little interesting.
HOWEVER…with the 10lb. Slimdown Xtreme program, there is also an eating plan which I did not follow. As I mentioned at the beginning of the challenge, I had no intentions of following an eating plan or doing much to change my eating habits. I’m not sure how restrictive the eating plan is, but I’m assuming that had I followed it, a couple pounds would probably have been dropped.
I also thought I might see a little more in the way of muscle definition, but there really isn’t much. Apparently I was enjoying a few too many pumpkin beers during these last four weeks? 
I do think I’ll still incorporate some of the videos into my regular workout routine, without following the challenge itself.
- Kickboxing – great cardio routine
- Total Body – exactly that; a great total body workout
- 10 min Abs + Buns – both great fill-in videos. The buns video is especially killer!
Overall, I thought the challenge was a great way to switch up a routine that had gotten stale, but I was a bit disappointed with the results. Even though I was ready for another change by the end of the four weeks, I still liked having the workouts ready for me, and there was no second guessing what was going to be done each day.
I know that there are quite a few of you out there who have mentioned either starting the challenge or just incorporating some of the various workouts, so I’m also curious to see what you think! If you haven’t tried any of these workouts, do any of them sound like something you’d want to try?
Feel free to share away in the comment section of this post.
*And if I forgot to address anything, please let me know. By the end of this post, my mind was beginning to turn to mush.
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