Project Barbados – Week Four!

Time is flying. Just two weeks until we’ll be sunning ourselves in Barbados. I suddenly feel a bit panicked that I’ve got loads of stuff to organise and not much time left to do it in!

This week saw the start of Extreme Inferno – the new fat loss fitness programme from Julia Buckley that I piloted last year. I have really been looking forward to getting stuck into this. I’ve been following Julia’s workouts for some time but there’s nothing like being part of a structured programme with lots of other people for getting me focussed. This first week has seen us get off to a great start. There’s been an amazing buzz among everyone taking part – Julia is administering everything through a secret Facebook group – and it’s fantastic to have so many ‘virtual’ training buddies.

The really great thing from my perspective is that Julia has developed some new sessions. It means that even though I took part in the pilot it still feels really fresh and like a brand new challenge. This week has seen me do two weights sessions, a bodyweight circuit, two HIIT sessions and an ‘active’ rest session focussed on mobility.

This video mash up gives you an idea of what I’ve been up to. Not all of the exercises are from this first phase but it will give you an idea of what my week has involved.

Despite having done some of the sessions before it’s been a real challenge and there have been satisfying aches in various parts of my body that let me know that it’s working. Next week I’m going to focus on upping my weights for some of the sessions and making sure that I do the most advanced version of the move that I can in the other sessions. I know that the best results will come when I really challenge myself to stay outside my comfort zone – however tough that might feel.

Even after just one week I can feel the difference in my body. Muscles feel tighter and my stomach is definitely flatter – it helps that I’ve kept my diet quite tight for most of the week. Alcohol is the only thing that’s really tripped me up – a couple of nights out have meant my wine intake has been higher than ideal so that’s the thing for me to focus on over the next couple of weeks.

And with just two weeks to go until we fly my mind has turned to packing and making sure that I have everything I need. I was really excited to find that the Sweaty Betty summer sale started this week and meant that I’ve been able to bag some of their fab summery pieces at nearly half price!

I love the turquoise and purple colours on these pieces which will mix and match nicely. I also like the fact that they’re all designed for the beach so I can go for a run along the sand and then jump straight into the sea to cool down!

Just two weeks to go – it’s starting to feel quite exciting!