Adventures in Exercising: Shaun T’s Rockin’ Body Hard-Core Abs
For our Perfect Madness Balance month of January I have decided to focus on exercise. I don’t want to engage in the resolutions of old, but instead I want to change my entire approach to physical fitness. I want to discard the days of body punishing and box ticking. I want to indulge in exercise. I want it to be a gift I give myself. In order for this mind shift to occur, I need to first find exercises I take pleasure in doing, so each week I will try a new form of exercise and report back my experiences, including a rating from 1-5, with 5 being the best experience possible.
This Week: Shaun T’s Rockin’ Body Hard-Core Abs
What is it:
In three words; FUN ENTHUSIASTIC FITNESS! Forget laying on your back passively counting sit-ups, this is an innovative approach to building core strength, and believe it or not, you never even lay down! This is not your mother’s ab workout. Well except that my Mother, the woman who exercises more than any person I know, did actually recommend the exercise to me after I had little Finn three months ago. She hoped it would help with my goal of coaxing my Mommy tummy to take a hike, and more importantly to repair the damage pregnancy imposed on my abdominal muscles.
The exercise is only 10 minutes long! Who doesn’t have ten minutes a day to devote to themselves? The soundtrack is full of pump-you-up vibes, and a cast that make you feel as though you are out for a night of dancing with your friends rather than doing a work-out. But hands down the best part of Shaun T’s Rockin’ Body Hardcore Abs workout? Shaun T! This man brings an excitement to fitness that is infectious.
Benefits:
- Can be done at home when works in your schedule
- Only one off cost of the DVD series
- No equipment needed
- Easy to learn
- Fast workout
- Cardio and core workout in one
- Great for when traveling
- Easy to change-up and keep fresh as Shaun T offers many different exercise DVDs
- FUN!
Drawbacks:
- Takes a few times going through each workout before you learn the moves properly
- Not going to lie, it’s hard work, but because of the enthusiasm of the video you hardly notice how tough you are actually working
- Very sore the next morning
- Constant attention to the task at hand required, which prevents socialising with work-out partners, or time to lose yourself in your thoughts
Rating:
5/5. If I can manage it, I will do this video everyday! It’s a great supplement to any fitness regime, or a change from the usual, and particularly beneficial for moms trying to focus on rebuilding core strength after pregnancy has stretched and weakened the abdominal muscles. I also love the motto of the BeachBody company who creates the Shaun T workout series; Decide. Commit. Succeed. It’s as simple as making the choice to improve your fitness and in doing so improve your life! Also, my favourite quote is Shaun’s motivating “This is your show!” which simultaneously remind me that my performance in that moment matters, so I should be an active and eager participant, and also that I chose to take part in this activity so I should have fun with it!
Main photo by Terry George.
