Frederick,
I was one of the people that never wonted to take picture before working out, but after one of my jeans cracked on my butt, I did made a decision on taking picture when i just started to work out.. Every time I look at it, it keeps me going. And its not that picture that you saw on my blog spot :) For sure its helps a lot to measure your self and step out of the box and take that picture in the beginning of your transformation….

Hope all is well, love all your posts.

G….

This is timely as I was just thinking I should really take a picture so I can see improvements in my toning/loss of inches just to prove all this hard work is REALLY worth it;)

I am going at my workouts hard (with full body interval, lots of lower body work–squats, lunges). Whereas before I would do interval training with my elliptical for cardio and intersperse sets with weights mostly for upper body and sometimes lunges. Not as much lower body as I feared getting bigger muscle under this layer of fat and never seeing the toning that I so aspire to.

I have been trying to eat 1-2-3 and I do eat very healthy. I haven’t ever eaten as frequently (every 2-3 hours) as you all have suggested but it does make sense so I have been doing that for about a week or so now.
Question-I want to firm and trim down my thighs and butt but I am feeling like my jeans are skin tight today and it is discouraging as it seems I am bigger, not smaller! I did a major lower body workout yesterday. Is it normal for this to happen?
Zuzana, even though none of us see it, you mentioned your thighs were your issue before getting really serious and that you had cellulite (hard to believe;) did you find yourself feeling bigger before you got smaller? I heard you can retain water when you are first working out harder/changing workouts. Is there any truth to this? I am discouraged right now. Maybe I need to eat less? Should I feel a little bit hungry (like a diet) because with the constant eating, I do not feel I am on a diet per se.
An example of what I ate yesterday:
Breakfast: brown rice with splash of soy milk, slivered almonds, blueberries, cinnamon and a touch of maple syrup. Snack: banana with natural peanut butter
Lunch: 1/2 C cottage cheese with 1/2 a small yogurt and 8 almonds
Dinner: Salad of romaine lettuce, chicken, carrots, dried cranberries, a sprinkle of goat cheese and sprinkle of olive oil. I left off the almonds as I had them for breakfast and lunch. I didn’t even have time to eat the other snack due to working out.
I am 5’7″ and 128 pounds and build muscle easily. Although, my butt, legs, hips tend to carry that layer of fat over the muscle and do not show definition like I would like (and cellulite) That’s what I want to rid of! Thanks for any help you can offer.

I’m just starting my workout plan, I’m actually planning on having my pictures taken today for reference against what I look like at the end of my plan. It’s my birthday today, so I figure it’s as good a day as any to start!

Hi Fredrick. I have several pictures of me and sadly looking at them makes me cringe. I also have pictures before I gained a lot of weight (partially due to the meds I’m on) and know that I will never be that thin again.

But now after turning thirty, and being both shy and single and slightly embarrassed about my weight, I have really dived in and hope to lose some weight and get into better shape.

I want to thank everybody involved in the website as I have learned a lot since finding it and have lost three pounds since I last saw my nutritionist. I’m hoping to lose three more before I see her again this month.

Sincerely,

David

Hey does Zuzana have any before pictures? I’d love the see the changes she’s made! : ) Probably not much different though, just more muscle definition.

okay taking pictures is a great way, is it good also to get a pedometer that can track distance walking, runnning, and calories burnt as another way for tracking consistency.?

What is the best time for starting a workout?

The Boot Camp workouts are great! Very innovative exercises.

Speaking of tracking your fitness progress, one thing you can do is add an element of competition (which always makes things more exciting) and time yourself and track reps. This is easy to do with a stopwatch and a piece of paper.

This is a great way to show progress. When I did this last, I was able to improve my pushups from 24 to 50 in a 6 week period. My vertical jump improved 2 inches and my wall squat from 30 seconds to 1:45.

Let me give you an example around your “Boot Camp Circuit Workout”:
Week 1 do the workout 3 times. Rest 60 seconds between each exercise and 2 min between each circuit.

Week 2 do the workout 3 times and rest 45 seconds between each exercise and 1:30 between each circuit.

Week 6 do the workout 1 time with no rest between each exercise and each set.

Basically, each week, decrease the rest period and the number of circuits. At the end of 6 weeks, see how your performance compares to your very first workout. Or, even go back and do the week 1 workout. You will have gained strength and cardio capacity with Zuzana’s awesome workout, so you will perform better compared to week 1.

Obviously you have to adapt the rest periods and circuits to yourself But having a defined rest period makes you work harder and tracking the sets and reps gives you something to shoot for and improve upon.

I’m not a fitness expert, this is just an idea to really show progress that I’ve used and works.

I can’t wait to try it again with the workouts created here. These movements are so simple, yet so unique.

Thank you again BodyRock for your great work!

After reading all the comments about how its good to take a pic, i definitly want to do it, as a matter of fact, im doing it as soon as i leave this reply, lol! I’ve been goin to the gym for the past 6mos., 6 days a week for 2 hours, i should have done it before, darn! As of the now, im keeping track of what i eat in this new book that was given to me by my P.T. at the gym, so im going to start fresh as of today. Wish me Luck!

Frederick and Suzana,

I want to begin working out and I found your website. I really like what Suzana does and I feel ready to begin. The only problem is that I have not worked out for about four months now, and I use to do a little bit of jogging. I have a stability ball now and I like it a lot because I can see results fast. I exercised two weeks ago with a DVD (stability ball) but I think I did too much for the amount of time I had not worked out. How can I begin, with how much should I so that I don’t go over board and get light headed and dizzy when I begin working out? Which video would you recommend me to begin with? I would greatly appreciate this. I want to do stability ball and just anything else. I have the little weights, they are 5 lbs.

What would you recommend me? I am about to turn 22 and I need to lose weight also!

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon,

Esme

ok so um what kind of exercises should i do if i wanted to tighten up my sides of my stomach, i look kinda wide, but when i turn to the side my stomach isnt really flat but close enough. but like i said, when i face forward toward the mirror my stomach seems wide, how could i get that smaller?more tightened up.

are body fat scales of any value in tracking your general body fat loss? i know they are not super-accurate and need to be used at a specific time of the day. is this better than a caliper?

Caliper is known to be the most accurate device for measuring body fat percentage. I have asked this specific question in ISSA question board and that’s what they told me. I know that it would be much easier to use the digital device, but I guess is better to stick to the old good caliper.

Hi Suzana,

since i saw you in youtube i adured you, i believe you are the idol for me and i am looking forward to be like you.

in fact i need your hand and assistance in as i am on progress on my fintness plan…

i have lots of questions: and i would be more than pleased if you give me some time to go through them

i have lost like 20 kls and i am in good shape with cloths but i am not stisfy when i am wearing the swim wear .. :$

i have access skin and i wana get red of this skin plus i need to tone and firm..

i am practising some of your steps and i feel this is my type too the sutiable for me .. its more like i depend on my body and make me stronger

however, i need to know what should i do to get the best resualts ..

i tried personal trainers but none of them convienced me :D i believe your advice is what i am really seeking for and keen to implement :)

waiting for your reply i will appericate if you send me on my personal email :)

Hi Asma, I suggest that you go through my posts and read the fitness and diet tips. Check out my workout routines and have fun! :)

[...] Zuzana – BodyRock.Tv wrote an interesting post today onTracking your <b>fitness</b> progress | free <b>fitness</b>, and <b>exercise</b> videos <b>…</b>Here’s a quick excerpt [...]

[...] Zuzana – BodyRock.Tv wrote an interesting post today onTracking your <b>fitness</b> progress | <b>Fitness</b> Advice, Workout Videos <b>…</b>Here’s a quick excerpt [...]

Hi Zuzana,

How are you? you looking better than ever..

Z, I have a question and not sure where should I ask. Here I go…

Im traveling to Russia for about 3 week and will be off my routine, which is morning cardio and night work out. And eating will be out of control ( you know the drill going back home? ;). Do you have any advise on how to keep it up fitness life style on vacation?????

Thank you so much,

hope all is well;)

Hi Galina,

I’m good thanks. I have checked your blog and seen your progress – awesome! If I was you I would pack a skipping rope with me and I would prepare a body weight exercise program for the whole 3 weeks. If you have a plan and you know what to do exactly every day, it will be easy to keep up with your fitness. I think that you might actually even benefit from this trip, because if you are used to working out with weights, than body weight workouts will be a nice change, that your body needs sometimes to make faster progress. I don’t know much about the russian food, but I think it is probably similar to what we eat in Czech republic, which is pure fat :) Just try to avoid food that is high in fat and stick to clean diet. Enjoy the time at home and good luck with your fitness ;)

Z,

you are so sweet, thanks for fast response.. I think Russian food is fatty just like Czech, I think its will be harder to keep my family off from me not eating home cooking ;) I have a jumping rope, for sure will take that! I think I’ll be able to make it to the gym few times, but most of the time will have to do something different and work out with my own body weight….

Thanks again :)

G…..

Hi, we have been following the exercises that you are showing to us and it really works.
So we are just wondering if we could include your videos in our webside “www.servantes.es”, inside “Ejercicios” section.
Sorry, at the moment it´s just in spanish languaje.
I think you´re doing a really good job and over all been for free.
Thank´s very much for sharing your knowledge with everyone.

Kiss, bye

Hi Fernando, you can absolutely embed our youtube videos on your website. Please just include a link back to BodyRock.Tv

Hi Zuzana, of course I will.
One more question, I´ve been searching around your webside cause I saw a video on youtube about you, doing yoga or pilates, I´m not sure.
Have you got any of this on it?
Thank´s a lot and very soon you´ll be on http://www.servantes.es

Hugs and Kisses, jeje.. bye

Frederick and Zuzana,

I was wondering do either of you keep a written record of your workouts? Do you keep track of exercises, sets, and number of reps?

Thanks,
Daryl

[...] Zuzana – BodyRock.Tv wrote an interesting post today onTracking your fitness progress | free fitness, and exercise videos <b>…</b>Here’s a quick excerpt [...]

I really love this website!!! You guys are such great motivators!!! I took a picture of myself and, looking back at it, i’ve really changed. It always makes me feel better to see that picture. Hope you guys are having a great time!!!!

Hi Zuzana, I included your link in my website,”www.servantes.es” inside “Enlaces Interesantes” section. Which video do you recommend my as a rutine sport for beginners to include in “informacion didactica/Ejercicio” and is there any of this videos that I can follow you in real time?. Thanks a lot,

Bye.