Flo Gets Fit Week 5: TRX and Tabata-style workout

I've had a hectic couple of weeks with work and a weekend away to London, but have still managed to fit in 3 workouts. I'm really starting to feel like my fitness is improving and Martin is incorporating more advanced exercises into the sessions.

The first session was a kettlebell and bodyweight circuit. The first time I completed the circuit I used a mixture of an 8kg and 12kg kettlebell; doing exercises such as squats, lunges, kettlebell swings, a clean and jerk lift for 30 seconds each. The circuit also incorporated bodyweight exercises such as burpees and walkouts, which ensured that my heart rate stayed elevated and I was using a wider range of muscle groups. I completed the circuit twice, the second time using only the 12kg kettlebell. Although the session was a fairly short one, lasting about 45 minutes, I ached A LOT the next day! I really enjoy doing a variety of kettlebell workouts, especially as I am able to repeat the moves by myself when in the gym and know that I'm doing effective exercises.

Last Monday we were back at the quay, for a session with a mixture of boxing and hill sprints. The first section included doing jabs - a hill sprint followed by 100 jabs then recovery down the hill, then another sprint followed by 80 jabs and recovery, repeated twice with 60 and 40 jabs and a longer sprint finished off with 20 jabs. As there is not much recovery time this was pretty intense cardio exercise! I repeated the pattern twice more, once with upper cut punches and once with hooks. Again, this wasn't a long session, but it was intense and I don't think I could have carried on for much longer!

On Friday, I used a mixture of bodyweight exercises, a kettlebell and the TRX in a tabata-style workout. Tabata is a type of high intensity interval training, where you exercise for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. It's also known as the 4 minute fat-burning workout, as you generally do each exercise 8 times. This was the first time I'd used the TRX, which is a type of suspension training. I was able to do more advanced exercises, such as one-legged pistol squats, as I had some extra support. I also used the TRX for chest presses, rows and planks, as well as doing a range of other exercises such as walkouts and press-ups. The TRX exercises were deceptive - although they don't feel too hard when you're doing them, my legs were in a lot of pain over the weekend!

I tried to at least half think about what I was eating when I was away for the weekend, although this is tricky when you're staying with friends and eating out. I'm hoping that the chilli chock full of beans, chicken and chick pea stew and chicken and sweet potato curry I've been eating as well will balance it all out!

I'm having my measurements etc taken again next week so looking forward to finding out how much of an effect all of this hard work has had.

Martin posts loads of diet and fitness tips as well as his own blog posts. Like his Facebook page to find out more.