Hi guys,
I wanted to address the comment raspberrycordial left on my post last night. We've already discussed this earlier (Hi again hun!) but I felt that maybe it would be a good idea to share my response to her on here, in case anyone out there had any of the same concerns as she did but either didn't want to comment or decided not to because it's already been said/asked.
I have to keep reminding myself that whoever reads my blog can't actively see what I'm doing, so if I leave something out, they can accidently jump to the wrong conclusion. Like with last night's post, I wasn't as clear as I should have been, I was looking at it solely from my own perspective, with all of the information in front of me. Rather than from someone else's perspective, who only gets the limited amount of information that I give them.
So, on that note, here is part of my response (copied and pasted, so I hope this doesn't come out looking funny) to her...
'I'm not obsessing over my fat layers, I am very well aware that one cannot spot reduce. At this point I am simply trying to incorporate some balance back into my routine. When I was doing Hip Hop Abs alone as a series, I was losing inches every where on my body but was not gaining any tone or definition. There were no weight workouts, except for one arm exercise which was optional with a light weight. Which was why I wanted to try Chalean Extreme, I wanted to lose the inches AND gain the muscle and muscle definition, rather than just one or the other.
Unfortunately though, since starting CE, I have lost a good deal of inches on my chest and arms but only 1 inch total for both my thighs and calves combined. This routine is definitely upper body focused and although I am very happy with the results I am attaining in my chest and arms, I now feel like my lower body is being completely ignored. I went from one spectrum of the scale, losing more lower body fat with the Hip Hop Abs, to the other side of the scale, losing upper body fat with CE.
This is why I am choosing to only incorporate Hip Hop Abs - Hips, Buns and Thighs into my current workout routine/schedule. My upper body is being taken care of with CE but unfortunately my lower body isn't and for that to happen, I need to incorporate an exercise which is focused on those areas, otherwise there is no balance.
I suppose I should have tried to be clearer about that in my post last night. Thank you for your concern though, it is very much appreciated. But there isn't any need to worry, I promise. If I was making unhealthy choices or trying to get too 'skinny', my Husband would most definitely be the first person to call me on it.'
Now, as an aside, I should clarify a little further for everyone.
I absolutely believe that both Hip Hop Abs and Chalean Extreme are fantastic series, both of which generate fantastic results but neither of them take care of every part of the body. These are both completely different exercises that target different areas/muscles in the body. Yes, they both touch on a lot of the same areas but both do lack in some places of their routines and make up for it in others, every series has its pros and cons and these two are no exception.
Concerning my body shape and how my body responds to these workouts, doing one or the other just is not enough. If I, personally, am going to reach a balanced exercise routine, where all of my muscles are being challenged, then it is in my best interest to mix and match these two series.
I am in no means saying that this is for everyone. I want to be very clear that doing Hip Hop Abs OR Chalean Extreme alone could work very well for someone else and generate the exact results they are aiming for. Unfortunately, on their own, neither series does that for me.
I hope this was clear enough. If anyone has any other questions or concerns, please feel free to ask or state so by comment or private message. I promise I'll try to get back to you as quickly as I can.
Have a great day everyone!
