Louisa's Weight Loss Blog

This week has been really hard going as I have found that it is very hard to attempt to do such an intense workout on a daily basis.

I usually find exercise extremely difficult as in my experience, far from any endorphins being released, I actually found myself experiencing terrible mood swings after running. During this challenge, I haven’t experienced mood swings and instead of feeling exhausted and irritable, after exercising on the Versaclimber I’ve felt able to carry on with my day without throwing any china mugs at the wall. I don’t think I can credit the Versaclimber with banishing my post-exercise grumps though!

I’ve tried to do much shorter sessions on the days I’m not attempting to register a time for my challenge. This keeps me motivated as exercising doesn’t feel like a chore anymore.  Like with most things, if you don’t feel like you want to do them then you’ll do a rubbish job or eventually quit.

This week, I managed to do the full 1/4 mile (1320 feet by my calculations) twice. This is a noticeable improvement on last week when I had to attempt to complete the challenge in sections which was a little embarrassing to admit. I’m much more proud of this week’s results!

Thursday: 20 minutes 55 seconds

Sunday: 19 minutes 36 seconds

As I have weak knees, I do try to take shorter steps (about 6inches) as it eases the pressure on them. Swollen and red knees at the age of 24 are just not sexy! I’ve also found that listening to music makes a massive difference to my stamina otherwise after 5 minutes I’m bored and focusing on the ‘burn’ and how I dislike feeling out of breath and sweaty.

What I will say now is that if you’re new to using a Versaclimber, don’t attempt to go for 20 minutes at a time because when you try and walk normally, your legs will feel like jelly and the chances are, you’ll fall over like I almost did!

I wonder what next week will bring!

So I’ve been using the Versaclimber most days for the last month. I’ve lost 5lbs this month just from exercising  more.

If you have sedentary lifestyles due to your career, it  may be best to address your exercise routine before you reduce your daily calorie intake. Not eating enough can slow your brain down and leave you struggling to concentrate, which is why I am suggesting dieters look at exercising before cutting calories intake, especially if you feel your diet is already fairly healthy.

I went to a gig with my sister a couple of weeks ago and as we danced, clapped and cheered one thing I noticed was that the tops of my arms or ‘bingo wings’ weren’t wobbling anywhere near as much as they used to. Now, I am technically only just overweight rather than fat and certainly have never been obese so my arms have never been a part of my body that I’ve paid much attention to but boy, have I noticed the difference.

Anyway, as I’ve seen some promising results, I thought I would share the technique I have been using on the Versaclimber.

My arms feel firmer and I spend roughly 10 minutes a day on the Versaclimber, broken up into 2 minute bursts. I have been alternating my work outs by adjusting the machine so I work slower but the result is that I feel like I’m stepping through treacle or I can work faster and get my heart racing but make the stepping easier.

Using the Versaclimber with the backs of your hands facing you (as demonstrated in the image to the left) you will work your biceps.

If you turn your arms around so that your palms are facing you as you use the climbing machine, you’ll work your triceps. Nice change from having to do ‘dips’ to lose bingo wings!

Versaclimber - an intensive bit of kit

So I said 2011 was the year of exercise, well here is the device that is giving me a fabulous kick start – the Versaclimber.

Because of the involvement I have with looking into the best weight loss methods, I have been loaned a Versaclimber to use and review.

As I work from home at the moment, it’s been really handy to have an exercise machine kicking around. I’m too busy to trek down to the gym, work out for 30 mins to an hour, shower and trek back.  Realistically, that is going to take two hours out of my day and cost me £50  ($80) a month plus the cost of parking three times a week. Like a lot of people who work hard for a living, that is a lot of time and money to invest in your health and fitness when all you want to do after work is rest of the sofa with a glass of wine (red of course for the antioxidants!) There really has to be other options.

Having a Versaclimber at home means I can take 5 minute breaks throughout the day and have intensive bursts on the machine. I find it re-vitalises my mind and helps me to re-focus on my work. It also doesn’t take up too much room which is handy as we live in a modestly sized house with very little space to spare.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be blogging about my training programme and the effects working out on the machine has on my body. I won’t be using any other bit of gym equipment as I’d hate to skew the results.