My workout routines:

Hello lovely bloggers,

Recently i was asked to make a post about my fitness regime. 
Since my break up, i have lost a fair bit of weight, mainly due to a combination of working out and my diet (with a little bit of stress weightloss in there too).

Height: 5ft7
Starting weight: 61kg/135 pounds
Current weight: 57kg/125 pounds

To give you an idea of my journey, here's a before an after:

I'm not going to lie, it was hard work, and it really is more of a mindset/lifestyle than a diet.
I've written about to stay healthy on a budget and about previous weight loss/diets on my blog as well. 

But for this post, i'm going to show you more of an example of the workouts i actually do rather than my diet. I will be doing another more in-depth diet post though.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO JOIN A GYM TO LOSE WEIGHT.  All the weight i've lost has been done in my own bedroom, or out running round parks. 


Workouts:

HIIT:  This stands for high intensity interval training.  For me, this is the most effective form of cardio. Not only is it known for burning fat quickly, but its incredibly efficient. Unlike going for a 45 minute jog, you can burn the same amount of fat in 20 minutes through this type of training. Its designed to be a short cardio session, but training yourself in intervals. A great example of this is if you run often.  Running for 1 minute as fast as you can, and then taking a 30 second break continuously for 20-25 minutes is much more efficient than simply running at an even pace for 40 minutes. There are so many different forms of HIIT training, but the ones i follow are ones that can be done at home.  So no need for a gym! They're quick and will kick your butt! 

The main workout video i use is this:

I only do this work out 3-4 times a week, with rest days in between. Mainly because HIIT is quite intense, and it would be too harsh on your body to be doing it every day. Your body needs rest days.
On days that i do not HIIT train, i stick with lower intense cardio such as walking (i walk EVERYWHERE) or i'll go for a quick, relaxed run round the park.

That being said, i tone every single day.

In terms of toning, it takes a tiny portion of my day to do.  I'll often do it just after waking up.

The main areas i focus on are my abs, and my lower section.  As someone who is pear shaped, i need to focus on my lower body because its where i store all my weight as opposed to the top.

My average toning workout compromises of this (I've included videos for ideas):

Abs:

- 50 crunches

- 60 side crunches (30 on each side)

- 40 reverse crunches

- 30 leg raises

- 40 bicycle crunches (20 on each side)

Legs and bum:

- Squat challenge every day

- 20 plie squats

- 20 sumo squats

- 40 fire hydrants

- 40 donkey kicks

- 3x 30 second wall sits

Even though i don't focus that much on arms, i still do some of the toning exercise for them.

I have rounded shoulders so in order to bring them back, i've had to strength my back and stretch out my chest.  

If you have bad posture like me, i would DEFINITELY recommend this video, its helped my shoulders dramatically:

As for arm workouts, these are great:

Like i said earlier, you do NOT need a gym membership in order to lose weight. You just need motivation and a good, clean diet.

My next post will be on foods i eat, foods i avoid, and a couple of healthy recipes for clean eating :)