2

I've been working out at home for about six years using workouts I've found on the Fitness Blender website. I should note that I've never had a personal trainer. The workouts did a great deal for me for the first few years - I lost weight, became more fit, etc. and they still mostly work well. But I've really plateaued in the last several months and also found myself losing interest in working out. I feel like I'm also kind of in a 'skinny fat' stage.

So I thought I'd try out some other free workout programs, and found the BeFit in 30 Extreme videos on YouTube. I did one and it felt really good, leading to a good amount of soreness too.

But it's shorter than I'm used to (I usually do the level 4 / 5 40 minute workouts on Fitness Blender). There's more rest days than I'm used to too.

So I'd like to know - do these shorter workouts especially the BeFit style ones work for strength and fitness? I've struggled to find any reliable reviews online.

NB: I don't want and cannot afford gym membership or a personal trainer just now, sadly.

Improve this question
2
  • what are your goals? Increasing strenght? gain some muscle? etc etc
    – Liiuc
    Commented Jun 8, 2021 at 15:32
  • @Liiuc mostly gaining strength and muscle, yes. I'd like to get out of the 'skinny fat' shape as well
    – ShankarG
    Commented Jun 10, 2021 at 4:15

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

The website contains many workout routines that you have to pay to see, if you could post a sample of a workout routine but here is my answer without writing you a book...

Weightloss is very simple at first, then everyone plateus.. your body adapts to losing weight and starts holding onto weight for survival purposes. This can happen if you do a workout routine too much, such as using a stationary bike 4 times a week (your body will adapt very quicky with this much repetitive exercise). Your body also adapts to calorie deficiencies, and carb cuts. The way to reduce the plateu is usually to cycle the following:

  • keep your workout changing and the intensities. for instance, dont always do low intensity exercises or high even..have a good mix of low and high intensity cardio and resistance training. Also cycle out your exercises everynow and then. switch from jump roping to swimming, etc..
  • cycle from eating less, exercising less(losing weight from diet mostly) to eating more exercising more(losing weight from training) back and forth
  • cycle carbs, have days where you eat more on training days but diet on other days. you can look up carb cycling in your spare time

Also insulin and stubborn fat play a key role in skinny fat.. this is where it can get very complicated and I want to write a book here.. at this point if youre skinny fat but have already dieted and trained, and you cant seem to burn off stubborn fat, you should see a very knowledgeable trainer that can help. most of the time its insulin sensitivity, such as reducing sugar intake and processed foods and eating whole grains and vegetables.

Improve this answer
4
  • These are good points and maybe that's why the BeFit workouts feel so good - new style as compared to the FB one
    – ShankarG
    Commented Jun 10, 2021 at 4:16
  • But am still curious - such short workouts, with three rest days a week (I have not actually been following that, am doing lighter workouts from Fitness Blender on those days...) - do they work?
    – ShankarG
    Commented Jun 10, 2021 at 4:17
  • I don't have a view of your workout, but typically when you plataeu, youll add more exercise at that point, but you dont want to overtrain. overtraining can cause your body to plataeu as well, so I would rest on the rest days, unless youre just walking or something pretty light. I cant see the workout but if youre a beginner Id suggest doing the workout as is, and if you feel you need more intensity, then find another workout that'll give you an extra pump. If you can post the workout it might help. These might be geared towards beginners too, so if youre fit, you may need extra
    – user32213
    Commented Jun 14, 2021 at 17:12
  • I see that you've been doing these workouts for a long time(6 years?). I think you should try a different workout from some other source or try something new, like weight training perhaps? weight training can be used for fat loss, a lot of people falsely think itll make them gain weight or muscle but thats only if youre eating an excess amount of calories
    – user32213
    Commented Jun 14, 2021 at 17:15

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.