To make up for the bad day...a skimble workout review

I am the buttless wonder.  Seriously.  Baby got no back here. So I have at least one day a week that I focus very specifically on that specific area in the gym as well as added squats here and there with other workouts throughout the week.  As I've mentioned previously, I have found the Workout Trainer by Skimble to be quite helpful.  My current favorite is the Brazilian Butt Workout. Love it!  Now granted...I have added some modifications such as:

• Squats with a bar in place of circling donkey kicks (eventually I will add weights to this)
• Stationary front to back lunges in place of split squat hops
• Side squats have become more of a hybrid of the side squats and split squat hops using a BOSU ball
• Hip lifts I add either a 20 lbs. kettle bell or dumbbell
• Lunge kicks I have replaced with dead lifts, currently with 40 lbs.

By the end of that 30 minutes, I'm definitely feeling like I've accomplished something...at minimum I have worked up a small sweat.  I have learned, however, that this is not a workout to be done immediately after a 30 minute jaunt on the treadmill.  I tried that once and had a serious case of shaky legs and it was all I could do to finish.

Me = Slacker

Already.  I just started this blog...and I have been slacking on posting.  I have several different subject ideas throughout the day...but ugh...so busy!  And a few nights last week that by the time I got little one to sleep, it was time to head to bed myself I was so exhausted!  So really, there is no point to this post other than to say that I am a slacker.  But hey...since I am here, how about some updates:

• Last week, I posted a product review on the jaybird blue tooth ear buds.  Well...I would still love them...if they worked.  I don't know what the deal is, but seems they are dead all the time.  Won't hold a charge apparently.  This morning, even, I charged them all night, unplugging just before going to the gym, get there...the damn things are dead.  Awesome.  I am planning to write the company but in the meantime, the hubster has given me his (because he has apparently found other earbuds he wants).  I will update once I have some sort of resolution (or even lack of) from the company.
• Yesterday, I bought (and wore) my first pair of skinny jeans that weren't maternity or made for fat chicks!  And...if I do say so myself, they looked awesome!  (Got them from the Gap, Always Skinny).  And because I bought new jeans, I went to therapy (DSW) for new shoes.
• I've tried a few different workouts now on Workout Trainer and, for the most part, I am still really liking this app and have poked around a bit on the website since my review last week. I did do one today, however, that I just don't think I was ready for.  It was the P90X Ab Ripper.  The workout was labeled as intense, which should have been my first clue...but it just proved I have absolutely no core strength.  I need to figure this out...how to strengthen my core.  
• I took the little Peanut to Sylvania Playland yesterday for a play date...not bad.  I mean, she couldn't fully enjoy the place as she is only 15 months...but plenty of activities there for the wee ones.  
• The rest of the weekend, however, she was in full on meltdown mode.  I am kinda feeling it is my fault since I have been so busy...today she was apparently really bad for the hubster...I had to work half a day, and she apparently had a meltdown wherever her daddy took her.  And she also had a huge one for her grandmother yesterday right before the hubster and I went out.  So heartbreaking, I nearly decided to scrap plans and stay home...but really, what good would that have done?

And that's it.  That is my Sunday night update.

App Review: Workout Trainer by skimble.com

Pretty sure I briefly mentioned this app in a post from the other day but wanted to mention it again now that I have had a chance to try it out.  I have the app downloaded to both my cell phone (a Samsung Galaxy that I am not a fan of...I really miss my EVO) and my Kindle Fire (LOVE)!  I found it while just doing a search on different fitness apps available, liked what I saw and downloaded it.

I finally tried a workout this past Sunday after my cardio.  This is the actual workout I did and I gotta say...for a 25 minute workout, it was pretty good!  Almost like a condensed version of the boot camp class I take at the Y a few nights a week.  Some of the features I like about the app are the workout preview so you can check out the entire workout before starting it...this also includes step by step instructions of each of the moves.  A 'trainer' will talk you through the entire workout (the voice is rather annoying, but it is what it is...you could upgrade to the 'pro' version for a few more trainer options).  Rest periods are built into each workout, and it gives you a calorie count (estimated) that accumulates as the workout progresses.  There are so many different workouts available on the free version, I am not sure an upgrade to the pro version will ever be necessary!  You can choose from three different intensity levels, search for workouts based on the area you wish to workout; search by cardio, weights, full body, running, yoga, etc.  I've even come across P90X workouts, CrossFit WODs, army-type workouts...even just a two-minute drill like wall sits or planks.

I think this app really takes away more excuses for people not to workout.  There are short workouts, long workouts, workouts that require no extra equipment...really...no excuses not to workout.