Rebellion – Week 1 done!

I wasn’t intending on posting about Rebellion until the end of the first phase but I have enjoyed this first week so much that I wanted to get my thoughts down now while they are fresh in my mind. First things first – these workouts rock. Julia has taken some tried and tested moves and combined them with some new and challenging ones into a series of short workouts that I can just tell are going to be super effective.

The workouts are split into three categories – Sculpt which are strength sessions – we’ve had all body, lower body, a swing session, an upper body and a gym ball based session so far. Shred are in the main high intensity workouts where the aim is to elevate the heart rate and burn off the fat. We’ve had HIIT cardio, sprint intervals, a max rep bodyweight session, a kickboxing inspired session and to finish off the week a steady cardio session.

The new addition in this programme is Sustain and something that I’ve never come across anywhere else. A combination of yoga type moves with bodyweight strength and mobility mixed in these sessions are designed to help us recover, but also still work up a sweat. I’ve loved them and can see just how beneficial they are going to be for my overall fitness levels. This is me able to just about touch my toes with straight legs after Monday’s Sustain session. Usually I can get as far as my ankles!

What I’m really enjoying about the programme is the flexibility and the countless combinations for workouts that I can do on any one day. In the main I’ve tried to stick to the schedule of one of each type of workout each day, but on Thursday I fancied a gym session so put two of the Sculpt sessions back to back. It worked really well. On another day I only had time for a Shred and Sustain so I ran intervals outside and then came back inside to finish off the Sustain section. Julia wants us to own our own training and is making that really easy for us to do with 15 different sessions in each Phase for us to mix and match.

Another new element to this programme is AMRAP Anarchy. These are scheduled for Thursdays when some people following a less intense schedule would be taking a rest day. AMRAP stands for as many rounds as possible and this weeks session looked like this. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to do this session this week but will make sure I fit it in next week – it looks intense!

It also features a move that I have previously really struggled with – the Side Tri Riser – otherwise known as the Dying Worm. When I recorded one of my CXXX sessions with Julia back in December I could barely get myself off the floor so was delighted this week to find that I could finally do the move properly and with good height. Definite progress.

So Week 1 is completed except for my steady cardio session tomorrow – the small matter of the Nike Women’s 10K run in Victoria Park. Julia’s session is scheduled for 30mins max, I’ll take at least twice that to complete the race but hey the programme isn’t called Rebellion for nothing!

People are still joining the Rebel Crew – it’s not too late but you probably don’t want to leave it too much longer. Find out more here.