The Wag Doll Protocol: Fitness Regime Starting Point. Show me what you're working with!
The Wag Doll Protocol, my regime to 'Eat Clean and Look Lean' is a two fold approach. As I'm sure you've heard, good bodies are made in the kitchen first and then in the gym.
I covered my version of clean eating in this post "Eating Clean, Looking Lean.. what does that mean?" so now let's look at the fitness side of the equation, and my weight, vital statistics and fit test results...the Starting Point!
A quick background, I like to work out (once I get going!), it de-stresses me after work, I sleep better, that niggling ache in my shoulder goes away and the more energy I use, the more I find. So even though my natural inclination is to veg out on the sofa in the evening, I've always tried to do some form of regular exercise. My body doesn't react well to veg'ing, I'm descended from a long line of Irish peasant stock and we're designed to work.
I don't have time to do a lengthy class or long leisurely jog every evening...not even sure why I wrote that as running is never leisurely to me, it's a red-faced sweaty battle of will. But anyway, exercise comes waaay down my list of priorities after family, home, friends and full-time work, it also competes with my other obsessions...sewing, soaps and blogging :-) I'm sure the story is the same for most people.
Realistically I would need to do hours of pure cardio every week to affect my body shape. I mean, have you ever set the treadmill to the 'calories used' mode? It's scary looking at how much effort it takes to burn off that slice of cake! To be honest I don't have the patience to wait months for this type of exercise to give results. An hour of Zumba a couple of times a week will definitely help your fitness levels and is a great way to have fun, and if that's what you enjoy doing then Zumba away my hip-shaking lovelies, but for quick results and a lean body I need to work harder than that.
Thankfully research is showing that short intense workouts give great results, so I'm going to be following this strategy. High Intensity Training (HIT) Bodyweight Exercises will form the basis of The Wag Doll Protocol. Luckily most of these exercises can be done either in the gym or at home, with minimal equipment, so I've no excuse...eeek!
I like to be able to measure progress (and hopefully success), it motivates me to keep going and work harder so I need to record a starting point. Two weeks ago when I began this regime I recorded my stats, so here they are (apologies for only just posting them, my exceedingly wordy 'Eating Clean' posts took up far too much time!)
Saturday 14th April 2012
Height 5' 5.5" (166.5cm)
Weight 9st4lbs (130lbs or 59kg)
Bust - 35"
Waist - 28"
Hips- 38"
Thighs - 23"
And I wear a UK size 10 (in most stores)
I also did a standard fit test on the same day.
8 x rounds of 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, doing as many reps as possible while keeping good form.
Fit Test - Starting Point
Squat jumps - 34
Push ups - 20
Burpees - 15
High knees - 57
Switch lunges 21
Tuck jumps - 20
Tricep dips - 43
Sit ups - 35 (toes tucked under sofa so cheating if I'm honest...but I was knackered!)
Phew what a killer, those 8 minutes felt like forever and I realised I've got some serious work to do.
So what went well with the fit test and what was dismal?
The squat jumps at the beginning killed my legs and by the burpees my poor thighs were reduced to jelly, so my high knees score was atrocious! I really need to strengthen my lower body.
I was pleased with my push-ups score, I did full push-ups and not the 'girl' version, and also my tricep dips felt like a rest after the leg work. So my upper body isn't too bad.
My lungs were on fire, so I need to improve that short sharp burst of cardio fitness.
I've been working out for 2 weeks now and will post regular updates as I go along detailing my work outs and what's going well, or what needs working on. Those of you who follow me on Twitter will be familiar with my updates. I'll also re-do the fit test every month to track my progress (or lack of it!). I'm not sure what to expect in terms of lost weight or inches as it's an improvement in shape, strength & fitness I want, we'll see what happens!
So have a go & join me if you want, there are plenty of videos on you tube to show you correct form for the fit test exercises and you don't need any equipment or even be in a gym, you can do this fit test and indeed The Wag Doll Protocol in your own home.
I'd love to hear how you got on and what you'd like to work on, also what forms of exercise do you prefer and what have you had good results from?
I covered my version of clean eating in this post "Eating Clean, Looking Lean.. what does that mean?" so now let's look at the fitness side of the equation, and my weight, vital statistics and fit test results...the Starting Point!
A quick background, I like to work out (once I get going!), it de-stresses me after work, I sleep better, that niggling ache in my shoulder goes away and the more energy I use, the more I find. So even though my natural inclination is to veg out on the sofa in the evening, I've always tried to do some form of regular exercise. My body doesn't react well to veg'ing, I'm descended from a long line of Irish peasant stock and we're designed to work.
I don't have time to do a lengthy class or long leisurely jog every evening...not even sure why I wrote that as running is never leisurely to me, it's a red-faced sweaty battle of will. But anyway, exercise comes waaay down my list of priorities after family, home, friends and full-time work, it also competes with my other obsessions...sewing, soaps and blogging :-) I'm sure the story is the same for most people.
Realistically I would need to do hours of pure cardio every week to affect my body shape. I mean, have you ever set the treadmill to the 'calories used' mode? It's scary looking at how much effort it takes to burn off that slice of cake! To be honest I don't have the patience to wait months for this type of exercise to give results. An hour of Zumba a couple of times a week will definitely help your fitness levels and is a great way to have fun, and if that's what you enjoy doing then Zumba away my hip-shaking lovelies, but for quick results and a lean body I need to work harder than that.
Thankfully research is showing that short intense workouts give great results, so I'm going to be following this strategy. High Intensity Training (HIT) Bodyweight Exercises will form the basis of The Wag Doll Protocol. Luckily most of these exercises can be done either in the gym or at home, with minimal equipment, so I've no excuse...eeek!
I like to be able to measure progress (and hopefully success), it motivates me to keep going and work harder so I need to record a starting point. Two weeks ago when I began this regime I recorded my stats, so here they are (apologies for only just posting them, my exceedingly wordy 'Eating Clean' posts took up far too much time!)
Saturday 14th April 2012
Height 5' 5.5" (166.5cm)
Weight 9st4lbs (130lbs or 59kg)
Bust - 35"
Waist - 28"
Hips- 38"
Thighs - 23"
And I wear a UK size 10 (in most stores)
I also did a standard fit test on the same day.
8 x rounds of 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, doing as many reps as possible while keeping good form.
Fit Test - Starting Point
Squat jumps - 34
Push ups - 20
Burpees - 15
High knees - 57
Switch lunges 21
Tuck jumps - 20
Tricep dips - 43
Sit ups - 35 (toes tucked under sofa so cheating if I'm honest...but I was knackered!)
Phew what a killer, those 8 minutes felt like forever and I realised I've got some serious work to do.
So what went well with the fit test and what was dismal?
The squat jumps at the beginning killed my legs and by the burpees my poor thighs were reduced to jelly, so my high knees score was atrocious! I really need to strengthen my lower body.
I was pleased with my push-ups score, I did full push-ups and not the 'girl' version, and also my tricep dips felt like a rest after the leg work. So my upper body isn't too bad.
My lungs were on fire, so I need to improve that short sharp burst of cardio fitness.
I've been working out for 2 weeks now and will post regular updates as I go along detailing my work outs and what's going well, or what needs working on. Those of you who follow me on Twitter will be familiar with my updates. I'll also re-do the fit test every month to track my progress (or lack of it!). I'm not sure what to expect in terms of lost weight or inches as it's an improvement in shape, strength & fitness I want, we'll see what happens!
So have a go & join me if you want, there are plenty of videos on you tube to show you correct form for the fit test exercises and you don't need any equipment or even be in a gym, you can do this fit test and indeed The Wag Doll Protocol in your own home.
If you’d feel more confident with some professional help, an expert PT could help make sure you’ve got the right form. They can even do online consultations via video!
I'd love to hear how you got on and what you'd like to work on, also what forms of exercise do you prefer and what have you had good results from?
Comments
well. my legs felt like they were going to drop off after the squat jumps, but i managed to match your 34.
i clearly do not poses your upper body strength, and only managed about 5 full press ups, so i made it up to 20 with the girl-type but with legs stretched as far back as poss - had to try and maintain some dignity...
i suck at burpees, so only managed an embarrassing 10. plus each jump echoed throughout the house, so i was very neighbor conscious - one for the garage perhaps.
high knees were fine - do you count these singly or in pairs? i managed 70 (singles) before i got a stitch and gave in.
the switch lunges and tuck jumps brought back the neighbor nerves, so these were pretty pants as i couldn't put much effort in.
The tricep dips were my downfall - these are really something i need to work on, for both upper body strength and bingo wing reduction. an epically bad 20....
sit ups were ok - i did 30 with the help of the sofa, then did 30 of those where you lay on your back with bent knees and just slide your hands up your legs till your finger tips poke over the tops of your knees - this always gives me mega pain and feels like my entire mid portion is one big ball of cramp, so it must do something beneficial...
gonna hunt for the daily workouts as I'm quite keen to join in.
hope you're all well.
K xxxx
So even if someone can't do any press-ups at all for example, then if in a month's time they can do 1 or 2 then that's a huge achievement to be proud of :-) xx
I had Ed spurring me on (and you know what that feels like!) otherwise my scores would have been even more dismal. And I'm afraid I counted each High Knee separately so that is my total score, you did great on them! I was reduced to just stepping by then, no bounce if that makes sense.
I've only just learnt how to do proper press-ups and I've been a bit obsessed....I suddenly get an urge to just drop and do ten in the kitchen while washing up, so I think that helped.
I so glad you had a go :-) and we're all fine thanks, hope you guys are too.
Bit scared of re-doing the test in case there's no improvement afteer all the bloomin workouts I've been doing....but we'll see! Let me know how you get on if you re-do! B xx
Squat jumps = 46
push ups = 33 (full ones, not the girlie ones!)
Burpees = 14
High knees = 125 (counted individually)
Switch lunges = 66
Tuck jumps = 31 (more an energetic squat jump so need to improve technique)
Tricep dips = 42
Sit ups = 30 (feet under sofa as pretty tired at this point)
I've now got my friend on board so we are going to do a fit test on a Friday morning to see how we are improving (although will be some slight change of exercises for her as she has a dodgy knee).
Keep up the good work misses, I'm sure you will see some improvement after a few weeks with your new exercise routine.
Love, Jo xx
Glad you had a go and loved it, and have a recruit too! But good grief woman...you're an Olympic warrior, your scores are incredible! You should be v proud of yourself.
That's the beauty of the fit test, you do "your" best and then try to improve so doesn't matter how you're doing in relation to others, it's unique to you. You should blog about it too :-) !!!
Bxx
I reckon my running has helped, plus the weekly circuits class (which is just a killer!).
I will be keeping track of my scores so, you never know I may start a blog too!
Jo xx
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