hahha that exercise you showed me and my friend used to do for fun down and back at the gym =DD! try doing it BACKWARDS ! Hardest thing ever!

I’m glad you had fun at your class though! I love switching up my routine and trying out new things.

Frederick I love how you think:) We always have to keep pushing. Just the way nature plays the game. And we want to win!!

wow freddy, this post is awesome. Ive been exercising for a few years now, and for the past year i have been following your daily workouts. I love bodyrock, ive never pushed myself this hard before, and ive reached places i thought were truly impossible. Doing your workouts gives me an inner strength i carry throughout every area of my life…

but my one downfall that has been keeping me away from finally achieving my goals is my diet. When i first started exercising, i would only allow myself to eat lean, clean foods. I ate no sweets whatsoever for over a year, and i mean none whatsoever. but i still never got the body i wanted. Dont get me wrong, i was never and am not fat, but am not ripped like zuzana. Instead of eating sweets, i would go on binges of eating healthy foods. For example, for dinner, i would take huge portions and keep going back for more even after i was full. The food was extremely healthy, but it makes no difference when u eat tons of it. Other things i would do would be to eat snacks, and keep getting more. I would take a handful of nuts and raisins, eat it while watching tv. then go back, repeat, repeat, repeat. i felt so terrible all the time, especially after i would do this. Sometimes it would keep me up at night i felt so bad about it. I was still a teenager, so i needed food to grow, but i still overate. I never got fat, but i never felt good about my body when i did this- i always felt fat. I would turn around for the next few days, not eat a lot, and i would feel awesome. but then i would always fall back into the binges.

it started changing for me tho when i found body rock!!! i never thought of how much portions mattered, and that moderation is key. I started cutting down my huge portions and eating more often. Snacks werent sin anymore, and i started listening to my body and only eating when i felt hungry. Sometimes i would fall back into old habits, sometimes i would go back for more when i wasnt hungry. but each time i did, i got better. i never binged like i did years ago, usually when i become aware of what i am doing i stop. but I have come so far this past year, and am listening to my body more everyday.

this new year, im getting really excited. i feel like diet and exercise are really falling into place for me. I used eat to get away form things, to take a break, to escape form the clutter. Now i ask myself am i hungry? why do i want to eat? why dont i address the problem instead of eating to numb my mind?

it seems that whenever i start to get on a roll, im feeling awesome, fit, lean, strong- i do something that would put me back. I would have some junk when i didnt even want it. i would be eating and asking myself why? i dont want this, stop. but my hands wouldnt listen lol.

i realized that i was afraid of success, im afraid to get there because i dont know where i will go after i do. I had become comfortable in this cycle of success, then giving up. but im done, i realize what id been doing. how id been staying in my comfort zone. These past few weeks i have been really pushing out of my comfort zone in workouts, to completely new thresholds i never knew existed. and this is definitely translating into my life, and my food choices. Im making fewer and fewer slip ups. im staying on track, and if i do mess up a little bit, i get right back on track instead of giving up for a while. Im ready for summer, im ready to work. I can FEEL it, i can feel how amazing i am going to look, how confident, how happy that i won this battle. I know its a battle you have to fight everyday, but im ready to show brutus who is boss. Im ready to live8)

i love you guys, zuzana and freddy, and the whole bodyrock community. it is reallly amazing what motivation they give me, and what positive energy our beautiful little community has. bodyrockers are special, we are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last summer I decided that I wanted something more for myself. I wanted to finally get in to the best shape ever. I started a journey with you guys in June of last year and by September I had almost reached my fitness goals. I looked and felt amazing. I had never looked or felt that way before EVER! Then I lost my job in October. That was the beginning of the slow decline. Right back to where I started. I have gained all the weight back that I had worked so hard to lose. I am now trying to get back to where I was but I must say that it is hard. I am trying to take it one day at a time. Knowing that I am not alone is a comfort but I must say it is hard dealing with the fact that I have slipped right back to the starting line.

“And I was surprised that I was actually strong enough”… what are you talking about?! You’re the strongest person I ever came across (virtually).

I’m glad you brought up this topic. For me, the “slippery slope” has been my exercise reality off and on for the past few years. I love exercising, pushing myself, sweating, feeling strong, you name it. I love the way I feel after working out, and the energy it gives me. I also like eating healthy food.
But even with all of this as part of my personality, I also have a “comfort” side; or more accurately a lazy side. Mr. Brutus! He is the voice cheering for junk food and saying that skipping workouts is okay. I’ve been dealing with this side of myself for a while, and unhappily succumbing to it more than I would like.
But I still keep picking myself up, getting back into the workouts and feeling the burn! I know that I am getting better at knowing myself and knowing the “weak” voice inside me. I think my experiences are a great lesson for me and will allow me to really appreciate long-term fitness goals, goals that need personal work every day. I’m so inspired by Bodyrock, and you’ve helped me from falling all the way down the slippery slope many times! Thank you so much!

thank you for sharing your new capoeira training! i agree with the functional benefits of bodyrock workouts, they’ve made it possible for me to enjoy running and skiing more when i can do that for fun, and do bodyrock workouts for my stamina. i HATED running as a way to get better at running, i don’t care about that, i just like to run around. especially when i’m in a new place, running while exploring is the best kind of running and you need to be fit for it so you can stop when you have explored enough, not when your body has had enough. i grew up in snowy landscapes and i used to even ski to school sometimes, for fun. as i got older i’ve been trying to become this super-skiier with tights and all that jazz, and lost all the fun. i want to ski just for fun, and for that to work i need to be in shape all the time. i’m not a “skier”, i’m not a “runner”, i’m a bodyrocker. i want to do EVERYTHING. :)

I am a beginner. I am starting tonight. So, on the skipping, is it skipping for 20 and resting for 10. I ordered the interval timer, but I have never used one, so I have to get the hang of how to do all of that. I am trying to get familiar with your site and how to use the site and everything else. I am not sure I can do everything, but at least I do not have to have a bunch of crazy equipment and it looks fun to try. I would love to be in better shape. I just need the endurance to stick with it.

Keep fighting :)

Hey, Frederick, I know exactly what you mean. Scenario #2 is definitely the one I was suffering with when I decided to start working out with you and Zuzana a little over a week ago. I’m trying my best to stick with it and intend to push really hard. I was fortunate to come across you guys when I did because soon it will be carnival over here (I’m from Trinidad) and I want to be in tip top shape. Thanks for some wonderful exercise routines.

This is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you.

Hi Zuza and Freddi :) I just wanted to say my first capoeira class was last Thursday it was soooo much fun! I was glad to hear that you started it as well! Thank you for being such an inspiration and have fun at your classes !!

Wow it is so good to hear that you aren’t the only one being stuck. I mean I had a personal trainer last year for 11 months, but it just never seemed to be doing enough, I got sick in September, like really sick, I couldn’t breathe and it lasted for way too long. And right after I was feeling a little better my tooth started hurting. I had a really bad string of luck. I kinda just gave up. Instead of pushing on. I really wasn’t seeing any real results and it just kept looking like a huge waste of money.

Although I have to say that I had hurt my shoulder as well…( lol I know I felt like a gimp). So the trainer was stuck doing legs with me. He had me doing 20 minutes of moderate cardio on an eliptical everyday, which just wasn’t working for me. He told me not to run which is how I got into shape after having my kids. But I have never really had the issue of not having muscle so I just had to burn off the extra fat and running did that for me. Well needless to say I probably should have kept on running.

Your workouts have shown more results in a month than all the work I put in last year!! Which really makes me happy. Seeing results makes me stay motivated. I have always been atletic, I have always been involved in sports or just running for the fun of it. So when I started down the slope after getting sick, I just slid all the way to the starting position. The funny thing is that I gave up after having my second son cause I was skinny after he was born then I just kinda let go, I blamed the weather, no where to workout, I blamed everything else but where it belonged on myself, I was lazy!! I am just really happy that I found this site, it has really helped me out. I am looking forward to completing my goals by summer :D!! Which at this rate I will be ready way before summer haha!

Thank you Frederick and Zuzana,
you have made it worth it to get up and move myself !

For me, getting stuck is a constant battle. Not so much with the exercising part of it since I am a fitness instructor and I used to be a competitive athlete. What gets me is diet.

I have no problem eating 5 times a day, in fact I can eat way more than that. I love food and I love eating. I eat relatively well but it is so hard for me to control portions and not crave something more once I have finished. I will go for a few really good days of portion control, good choices, etc and then next thing I know, I let myself have one little thing and then I lose all control.

This is something that I still have not fully concurred but I find that allowing myself to “cheat” keeps me from binging later on. I am still working on it but having that balance and not being so hard on myself has helped a lot!

Freddy you totally nailed it… specially that #2, drives me crazy.. just when you are about to “sow” what you have worked so hard for.. that tricky Brutus comes to drag you downhill to almost where you started… I have seen that happening several times, and I must say I feel scared of it… however, you guys have showed me how to search for that inner strenght to get things done and not let Brutus win, one day at the time, day after day.
My strong wish to all bodyrockers is that everyday we find the strength to win that fight against our “dark”, “lazy” or “brutus” side of ourselves. :)

I can’t believe it! I was half way writing this post ( http://deeplytrulyelisa.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-i-love-hiit.html ) when I saw your latest post. It really struck me!

I’ve been in both situations over and over and over in my life. As some of you may know, having suffered from bulimia on and of for 12 years, this is pretty common for me, the starting over, the feeling that each and every time is going to be different even tho 9 times out of 10 you know that is not true. And most times that is because we are not truly working on ourselves, we try to patch things up until we can’t do it any more. This is exactly what happened to me.

One year ago I was emotionally broken, very overweight, I didn’t want to go out, talk to nor see anybody. I hit rock bottom with my eating disorder to the point where I could have easily sunk for good. “if we are completely honest we know that we gave up on ourselves, and that can be the biggest let down of all” That is so true. I had given up on my self.

I decided to get every last bit of strength that I could find in me and I got help. I dug deep, deeper then I ever thought I would. Day after day, month after month, crying day in and day out. Digging to find the real answers to why I was deliberately sabotaging myself. One day along the way everything seemed just a bit better. And from that day on it started going better, SLOWLY. Slowly but steadily.

There have been bumps along the way, some bigger than others but I always found the strength to get back up because of what I have overcome, because I finally worked on myself with no reserves allowing to truly help myself FOR GOOD.

What I have gained in return, in terms of self-confidence and most importantly self-esteem is very much ingrained in me now as much as self-loath was ingrained in me before.

And this time I do know IT IS going to be different.

We all have occasional slip ups and that’s ok. But when we see that we have given up on ourselves, that’s when we have to take measures and we have to understand what is truly bothering us so that we can be all over-comers.

Just in case you are interested I’ve talked about some benefits I’ve experienced doing Bodyrock workouts in my last post. I was watching this post’s video and when Zuz talked about her experience with martial arts I was like “Wow, I was going to write about something so similar too!”. I would gladly talk about it on here but it’s 1.30am and it would take way too long and I am a total wreck.

So just in case you are interested here’s the link: http://deeplytrulyelisa.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-i-love-hiit.html

Thanks for bringing back the pictures!
I always wanted to try Capoeira – it requires so much strength. These people are amazing!

Hi Becks! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience – your story – with us. This really captures the cycle that many go through and how getting “stuck” can really hold you back from being the best you can be! When you are constantly pushing, challenging, and overcoming yourself your strength and confidence multiplies. You have so much reason to be proud of your journey!

Hi Heather! This brings such a great big smile to my face!! The community here at Bodyrock makes such a HUGE difference in my day… especially when it comes to working out and eating! I look forward to connecting, challenging, encouraging, and supporting one another. I am so glad that you feel the same way! Keep on rockin’ girl!

About 4 years ago I was training for a figure competition, I was a personal trainer/nutrition counselor at a high end gym, being trained by a fabulous trainer once a week plus working at a gym I was always working out. I was looking awesome, with not huge changes in my diet as I have a BS/MS in nutrition anyway so I wasn’t in need for an overhaul, just minor adjustments to start cutting. I have 3 children and my youngest was about 18 months and crap hit the fan at home. My husband was abusing prescription drugs and dealing. We ended our marriage of 8 years, he went to jail…so I HAD to find a real job with benefits that fit the school schedule of my kids. Being a trainer you have to split your days, from early mornings and evenings, and free time in the afternoon and being a single mom I couldn’t do that any longer. So I quit, found a great job at an ad agency. I still worked out and decided that my competition would have to go on the back burner, but I trained for a half-marathon instead. I did my training runs after my kids went to bed at night. Well, I started to get soft, and working at an ad agency I was ALWAYS out to lunch with clients, treats were being delivered all the time and although I would be careful I just was starting to fill out. And when I say fill out… I mean I traded muscle for fat. I wasn’t changing dress sizes, just how they looked. I hated it. Then I got let go of my job. I about crapped a brick. So, after 3 months of getting advise and searching my heart and soul ( I went back to the gym to at least have a job) I decided to go back to school to get a nursing degree to become a nurse-midwife. I had a million hoops to jump through, and had to find a job that got me “experience”, so I was a full-time student, single mom and worked 3 jobs. I had little time to work out, so I walked everywhere on campus, tried to find time to run when I could, and if a client missed an appointment I worked out. It was SO hard going from moving all day long to sitting for long periods. At this same time I found a guy I was dating pretty seriously and we were talking marriage. Well, all of the sudden… he decides he can’t marry me and I stopped eating. Food wasn’t interesting, it made my stomach feel awful and in about 2 weeks I lost 8 pounds. I was SOOOO stoked about that, but still heartbroken. 2 months later, he and I got back together (married a few months after that and happy 2 yrs later!!!) and my eating resumed. But it came back like a mudslide! I must have eaten 8000 kcals a day because I soon found myself with a spare tire… and not a “mommy” spare tire. I was so disgusted with myself. But, I realized I had gone through a terror ride for a long time and to just take it easy. I still had to do well in school, care for my children, nurture a new marriage etc. So, I did the best I could, signed up for exercise classes as part of my credits each semester… which helped, but that damned spare tire… It remained. To add more to the pathetic “stuck” story, my ex husband OD’d on heroin in June 2010 and it rocked my world. Admittedly, I PRAYED he would die, but I wasn’t really wanting him dead. I thought I wouldn’t grieve, I felt guilty that I did because I was remarried, but then I felt guilty for thinking that because he was the father of my 3 children, and my spouse for 8 years. I had finished all my applications for nursing school (and STILL waiting to hear back from some even now) I wasn’t working, and now all the financial support from my ex was gone. I couldn’t afford a gym pass anywhere, and because I wasn’t a student I couldn’t use the campus gym. I felt trapped in my own world. I have some equipment at home, but was just “tired” of trying so hard, for so long to be good at everything, and not knowing my place in this world with all that had transpired over the years, that working out at home was a chore. I did it. But out of necessity not desire or love of it. I have my youngest at home still and I have been feeling a little weird about social situations since my ex died, so I don’t have many friends, and my neighborhood is super friendly to begin with. So, I am at home a lot, with not much to do, no where to go, not a lot of money to spend and winter time… so one day I was doing yoga from a youtube video… and there on the side was Zuzana. I clicked on it… the rest is history. I was so inspired and have been every day since… 2 months about. The reason I am seeing abs again, definition in my thighs, and my traps are coming out again is because of bodyrock.tv. That’s a benefit for sure… but really… this site has been my “normal”. It keeps me sane. It’s given me courage to talk to neighbors, get out a bit more and to NOT care what my situation is… I CAN find happiness and satisfaction in where my life is at! It’s all in my head. I control me… I can “unstick” myself. I have the knowledge, the discipline and motivation… and I have BODYROCK.TV. I feel like Freddy and Zuzana are my friends who I can’t wait to see each day, and I can’t wait to read all of the followers posts. I admire so many people on here. Thank you Freddy for being an amazing husband to Zuzana, for posting inspiring words, and doing “grunt” work (hahaha), and for being real… not posting stupid crap about the latest fad. You do your research. And Zuzana… thank you for being a real person. I worked in a gym for so long that girls who look like you I just wanted to punch because they were all about them. I laughed at girls who came to the gym twice a day with hair done and makeup like they were going out to the clubs just to be gawked at. You are here because you care, you’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt, but you are comfortable in your own skin. You two make a dynamic team. Thank you for helping me to get unstuck…

this made me cry. mostly because it hit home. i am going through the same food issues right now. i dont mind killing myself with a workout at all (its actually the highlight of my day) but usually…like once a week i have food slip ups where i just go crazy (like yesterday at starbucks) and i think about it nonstop. But like you basically said, its mental battle and you just have to ask yourself do i really want to eat this? how am i going to feel 10 min after i scarf it down?
Im glad you wrote this, its good to know im not alone. :)

I think you readed my mind, those last days were very busy days because the tattoo shop changed place to another shop in the mall we are and putting all the things in boxes killed me, I didn´t worked out for 2 days, so today after went home I did the tik-tok challenge and it took me 28 minutes long, then I did a little workout based on some exercises of the last workouts, and it was:
(60 seconds work/15 seconds rest) 15 minutes total
1-Ninja Jump Pick Up(10kg): 3/3, 2-Runner Push Up: 10/10, 3-Kick up & Hanging Leg raises & Pull Up (combo): 5/5, 4-Side Plank Complete Combo: 6/6, 5-Sunflower Squat: 8/8, 6-Low Jacks: 60/70
Then I did a Time Challenge:
100 Side Bends (10kg), 100 Side Step Knee Up & Round Kick, and it took me 13:45 to complete,
then as usual I did 20 minutes of skipping (freestyle) (60 seconds work/15 seconds rest)
and 10 minutes of stretching…

I had some problems with both stucking times, When I was younger I thought I was pushing myself as hard as I could but my body didn´t change, and after discovering bodyrock I realized that I was not training correct, I´ve been impressed how my body changed since I follow Zuzana´s workouts, but it´s happening because I´ve been pushing as hard as I can (REALLY) that´s why I love to do interval workouts, it showed me that my body could do much more that 3 sets of 15 boring repetitions… lol
That´s why I always say: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Zuzana and Freddy, you are a blessed couple!! ^^ you rock!!

scores for this workout that my hubby gave up on 5 combo’s in… (wus!!!)
1- 3:10
2- 3:11
3- 2:56

No more holding back. I can push myself harder… I’m stronger than I think I am… we all are :)

Wow…. Thank you for sharing your struggles and breakthroughs :) I’m proud of you Ashtromanius!

Your story is really inspiring. You left me really touched. Thank you so much for sharing it with us! Keep strong and remember you are an amazing person!

Hi kids,

First thing I thought of when I saw TiK ToK was Ke$ha’s – TiK ToK …

–Chris

You described exactly how I feel. I have been struggling with the overeating syndrome for a long time, and although it is clean, healthy food, still makes me feel terrible after. In my case there are “off” and “on”(=filling my stomach with snacks) periods (unfortunately “on” is more frequent ) and I’m trying to do my best to keep it “off”. It seams I have to work harder on the “listening to my body” chapter!
Thank you for sharing

This workout was great and I am glad you encouraged me to get unstuck because Brutus was tell me to just stop! I kept going and I feel great!

The days when I’m letting go of working out is when I’m either at my boyfriend’s place, or if he comes at my place.
My problem is that I really don’t like it when someone watches me working out. (Last time my dad came into my room when I was working out, I made it pretty clear that I wasn’t to be disturbed when working out! haha ^^ )
And If I’m at my boyfriend’s place I don’t do bodyrock because I don’t want to make the whole house shake with the exercises I’m doing (wooden floors haha ^^ ) (Especially since his family is living there also). So what I do (if I’m there for more than 2 days or vice versa) is that I go out with him and at least take a walk and some fresh air.

But I have to tell you this bothers me alot. I wish I could just say “whatever” and do my thing without being so embarassed. It’s about self confidence I guess. Afraid that someone might say “look at her, she’s really not good” etc. Although I know that my boyfriend would never say or think that, and he encourages me to keep doing Bodyrock.

And I was also stuck in the past when I was around 16 17 y old (im 24 now).
Back then I went to the Gym 3 to 4 times a week, (fitness classes mostly). And when I went there I made sure to participate in 2 or 3 classes that were held one after an other. I did that for like 2 or 2.5years, until I graduated from Highschool and went to univ.
Thing is: I didn’t improve alot during that time! I felt like going there 3/4 times a week for at least 2h per session wasn’t paying off at all. How frustrating. So when I stopped going I told myself I’d never go back to a gym ever. Because all you get it a small impovement more or less soon after you start, and after that nothing. I always wanted to get rid of some weight and mostly bodyfat around my stomach and lower body (thighs/hips and butt ). But the gym didn’t get me there.

Now I started Bodyrock last october. At first I did it like 2-3 times a week (tops) because I had a hard time keeping up with being sore all over and not being able to do a decent number of reps. I also changed my eating habits, and I’ve been eating healthier since. In December I had lost 3kg and there was a tiny (really very small) improvement around my stomach. It almost looked like I had lost maybe a few gramms of bodyfat at that spot :D .
Then came the Xmas holidays. 2 weeks that I spent at my boyfriend’s = 2 weeks I didn’t do bodyrock (see explanation abovs :( ). Since I’ve been doing bodyrock 4-5 times a week. And lately I really try to do something everyday. I hope I’ll be able to keep this up.
Right now it’s not a problem because my schedule at univ is very light. But on 1 March I’ll start an internship of 5 months for the master degree I’m currently doing.
And I HOPE I’ll be able to do bodyrock when I come home from work. I’m afraid I’ll come home and be totally drained and will have no energy for working out, and I might get stuck again.

Hi all BodyRockers ! :)
Today I pushed really hard and I’m proud of myself – my scores: Combo #1 04:12; Combo #2 03:24; Combo #3 03:26.
Recently my boyfriend broke up with me and I went through a total mental breakdown. They sent me to a psychiatric for a week and I have to say that it was very moving experience. When you see all these people…without any spark in they eyes like they are almost mentally dead… I deciden that I don’t want be like this that I’m too young to lost my senses.
Today when I did the kick ups I was thinking about my ex and I put all the rage and sadness into the workout.
Now I am about to do my stretching…I’ll probably go somewhere out today, it’s nice weather out there.
Keep going, you can always stand up and go on!

This was really powerful thank you for sharing!

Hi Maria, thanks for writing. I agree 100% – and thats why we are building out the forum and profiles to make it easier for BodyRockers to connect and communicate with each other (including Zuzi and I).

Glad to be here :) Funny thing is that I wrote that post and then re-read it so many times out loud before we published it that I was driving Zuzi nuts (and myself too). I almost deleted it because I wasn’t sure anyone would get the feelings that I was trying to describe. I kept asking “does this article even make sense?” I think Brutus was hovering over my keyboard the whole time… I’m glad I posted it because I think that it is something we have all felt at one time or another and reading all of these amazing responses so full of honesty and courage has really inspired me to press on.

Hi,
I just want to personally thank you for sharing your story – it really moved me and I know just by sharing this you have really helped to inspire a lot of fellow BodyRockers. You guys are what makes this place so great.

If you feel up to it – go for it!

Thanks for bringing up this very important topic Frederick. It’s clearly touched a lot of people.

It’s taken more than 20 years of on-again-off-again fitness, yo-yo dieting and buckets of self-loathing before I realized that WHY you do something is just as important as WHAT you do.

I went from being a chubby teen, to a 15 year old anorexic who ate 300 calories a day and weighed 92 lbs (42 kg) at 5’6 ½” (169 cm). Then came bulimia and years of throwing up to stay thin. Finally, I got into fitness, became an aerobics instructor and thought my problems were solved. But even though I liked what I saw in the mirror, my self-acceptance was still dependent on being a certain size. Ffwd ten years, a divorce and up and down body weight and I found myself studying nutrition, thinking this was finally it. Again, I lost weight and started exercising, but again, I wasn’t coming from a place of love. So again, I eventually lost all the progress I’d made. This pattern has played out so many times in my life. In my 30’s I even hired a personal trainer and competed in a fitness competition. It was the best ‘shape’ my body had been in – single digit body fat, ripped abs, muscular arms. It was awesome! But what do you think happened a year later? Yup, lost it all.

It’s only in the last few years that I’ve realized if these changes are ever going to ‘stick’, they have to come from a place of LOVE. Perhaps that’s why I’ve been a little slower to jump into things this time. I wanted to make sure I am exercising and eating well because I LOVE my body, not because I need to change it in order to accept myself. That’s part of why I love this site so much, you guys are constantly reminding us to celebrate each victory and not give in to the negative self-talk.

I’m now a committed full-time Body Rocker and totally in love with the process, myself, you guys and every one of the strong and amazing people in this community. You guys are doing WONDERS for the world by helping people love themselves. There is truly no greater gift. Thank You! :-)

Thanks to all :) Now, I’m all teary eyed…

I started to exercise about 2 years ago. I was 20 and my self confidence was sooo low… My problem wasn`t extra fat… it was cellulite. It was such a problem, that I wouln`t stay nacked in front of my boyfriend… I was always hiding myself and I was becoming sooo unhappy & miserable even if my he was telling me that I was beautiful!! I wasn`t doing any sport at that time…I was a real begginer. I started to buy some exercise books and was doing lots of research on the internet until I found Zuzana`s site!! I started right away to plan my training with old weights workout of her!! It was awesome how a got result sooo fast!! My problem of being Stuck was more on my diet… It was always on and off…but now it`s on ;) I`ve been training for about 6 month with weight to gain mass, but I want it so much to do Zuzana`s home workouts with her.. so I tryed it!!! I never let her go!! Those wourkouts are amazing and we are gaining result sooo fast!!! Zuz is the best traininer ever!! If it`s your fist time on this site… take the time to watch the Diet Section and pleeeaaase… stick with BodyRock… you wont regret it :)
Now, here`s my score for todays challenge ( I pushed reaaally hard with correct form and I had hard time to cool down… I was happy of my scores!!):
Round 1: 3.53, Round 2: 3.00, Round 3: 4.16. Can`t wait to see the next workout :)

Take care BodyRockers

BodyRockers Judith xxx

Things in life doesn´t happen by chance… Zuzana and Freddy are real a blessed couple. I´ve been seeing here that they re helping much people with their effort and dedication. I feel like we are all folks here too, and when my day or anything else doesn´t allow me to come here I feel like I´m missing with my real friends, even each other being so far away from each other. I wanna say that being stronger and stronger is the only way to go sometimes in life because if you not go for yourself no one more will do for you. Keep going with everything and you´ll see this dark time will pass and you´ll feel victorious and will see you can be much stronger than you already know you can!! You´re already a champion!! =)

I am done!!!
For some reason I felt so inspired today! I played a track from my newly discovered favorite person (Dustin Hunter, http://dustysrecords.com/ ), he does some soft music, but also VERY GOOD electronic pieces, I played one on repeat the whole time and I KICKED MY BUTT!!! I can’t even belive my score, I double checked if I was doing it right, and I was, but still my time today is AMAZING!!!! I almost cant belive it :D The fast music pushed me so hard and I almost felt like I am watching myself from outside of my body :D

I added 4 minutes of skipping on the very beginning and to the very end, so I had my skipping covered :D
So I did:
1) 4 minutes of skipping (my way of skipping is: legs together – highknees – legs together – jumping jacks – legs together – one leg skipping on left leg – legs together – one leg skipping on right leg)
2) 10x Combo – time 3:33
3) 4 minutes skipping
4) 10x Combo – time 3:04
5) 4 minutes skipping
6) 10x Combo – time 2:54!!! (really, no cheating!!!)
7) 4 miuntes skipping in agony, pain and sweat

I am so amazed, really, I check again after workout and I did everything right, no cheating, no slacking, I am truly honestly suprised by today!!! Maybe it was the frustration from work I needed to beat, or I just have a good day today :D I was trying not to think about anything else then my body movements and I was only feeling the music, forgot about everything, counting and breathing, trying not to ignore the burn…
Thank you thank you Zuzi and Freddy, and thank you all bodyrockers who support and encourage me :) I will have a good sleep tonight :)

I am proud of you Anna! :) You are such a strong woman!
I had the same today with the kickups, except I was kicking my boss and getting work issues out of my head by that :))))

Keep going, keep bodyrocking, KEEP LIVING! :)

I started Bodyrock because I was tired of being stuck and making up excuses. I’ve always exercised here and there and thought I was a pretty active person. I Wasted 10 years of boring home exercise videos and 3 gym memberships. My food choices were always made out of convenience and never considered important. Now I feel like Bodyrock is a permanent lifestyle. The byproduct here is the obvious losing weight and looking better but more importantly, being healthy. I used to get colds at least three maybe four times a year. I haven’t been sick now for a year and a half, let alone a runny nose…I come to Bodyrock to hold myself accountable for me, my family and you guys here. There’s just too much heart disease and Diabetes in my family and all around us to stop any time soon. I want to be around for my children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren if possible. It’s how we get through these times in our life that makes us who we are today and prepares us for what the future holds. After all, isn’t it our responsibility to take care of these precious bodies? By the way, thank you Zuzana & Freddy for opening our eyes to this ever important topic. Nobody’s perfect and it’s what makes us all human :)

I did manage to complete this challenge with an extra set of skipping afterwards and I really enjoyed this. However, I found that after the jump tuck it was much easier to transition into crab position from a squat landing. So maybe that helped with my times.
2:28
2:48
3:11
I really tried hard to keep my butt off the ground and my hips up in a table position with the kick and it was more intense that way:) Thank you Zuzana for the fun and interesting challenge today!

Nina, we would never think you were cheating. I think you’re making great improvement in strength and endurance! Sweet dreams :)

Thank you Audra, hehe, I was (and still I am) so amazed by the score, it seems so unbeliveable :D I try to imagine myself back in summer 2010, before I started, how hard it was for me to go home from work, we live on a hill above the town, and the road home is quite steep, and in the past I used to run out of breath a few times during my way home :D today I break my personal records and I am so happy about it :D Soooooo surreal :D

I read somewhere (maybe it was Zuzi who said that, i dont remember now) that beginners are lucky to see quite fast progress, cause they are not used to move, so when they start, they progress quickly. I have a weird feeling that I am still progressing fast, even though I am not a complete beginner today :)
Chewing my home made granola now, sipping milk (I looooove milk), and going through posts from other bodyrockers makes me feel so warm inside :D and happy :)

This was my 86th BR workout since starting in late October. Feelin really good!!!!
Score today 2:49, 2:19, 2:15. Sweating like a pig:)

Yesss, that is probably what helped me too, the crab positioning from a squat.

You ARE a superwoman, Audra! :D

I found Bodyrock in a strange way. I am always curious about different ways to get fit. I had a Filipino friend who announced he had to go home and watch the Manny Pacquiao fight. Since he didn’t seem like a boxing kind of guy I checked it out and was amazed at Manny’s accomplishments. I am not interested in boxing myself but I admired how dedicated Manny was to his fitness. Then I tried to google him to find out what sort of workouts he did, and somewhere along the line I stumbled over Bodyrock. I liked the idea of a short intense workout to bump up my workouts and add more cross training moves. After trying a couple of the Bodyrock workouts (ouch!) I discovered I had a hugely embarrassing number of sore muscles afterwards. Since I had been extremely fit up til about 40, when numerous injuries snuck up on me, I decided this would be just the thing to add spice to my routine. The bottom line was the mind was still willing but the flesh was weakening! The ability to perform at peak level was diminishing, injuries were increasing, speed was slowing, and somewhere along the way enthusiasm and good results were slipping down the drain. Nothing new…everyone goes through it eventually. I had to put the fun back into it and find a way to lower the injury level. Enter Bodyrock!

What I love most about Bodyrock is the love and support everyone offers: the ideas, the inspiration, the exchange of helpful information. I love to see newbies get excited about their progress and describe newfound strength, energy, and 6 packs, too! I love to read the articles from the superfit Bodyrockers and wonder how I can get there. I love the accountability of posting our times. And all in the comfort of my home! I look forward to every new workout posted and am so grateful for Freddy and Zuzana for orchestrating all this and providing such a great website. The workouts are challenging, tough, even brutal yet Zuzana takes great care in not leaving anyone behind…no excuses! Thank you so much!!! It is easier to keep at it when you are accountable to a group!
Freddy, you forgot the last category: overtrainers…they train themselves into oblivion and blow up so they can enjoy doughnuts on the sofa. :) Been there, done that one, too!

Hi Janet,

I remember pretty clearly how I found Bodyrock.tv. I was at youtube looking up abdominal exercises and typed “sexy abs workouts” in the search figuring that would give interesting results if not in exercises at least in some nice looking abs. Well the second or third return was a pic of Zuzana. I recognized her and figured she must be doing some effective and cool workouts as she then (almost two years ago now) looked better than ever! And now I’m hooked on the site the people and the fun! Zuzana is nearly a genius in making fun workouts and Frederick truly knows how to shoot his wife to best advantage and you folks (the community) make it a really nice package. Wouldn’t leave again unless the sanitarium administrator/warden says I have to…(it’s a joke…no really I was KIDDING)!

–Chris

man, these bodyrockers are the greatest people in the world. i wish i could meet every single one you guys. :/

Keep rocking Ashtromanius, you’re story is a great story about hardship and triumph! :)

Congrats on your first Capoeira class Zusana! It looks like a lot of fun and I’m sure you’ll be a natural!

Audra, Your words are so true. Wish more people knew that staying healthy means you get to stay with your family longer. It’s sad to see some of the nicest people pass on too early. BTW looks like we are doing the USA (one day delayed) workouts at about the same time and our reps and times are always so close. That is so cool:)

20 minutes of skipping after this workout will be fine :) In fact i might do the same thing :)

Hi BodyRockers!
This post and all of the responses come at the perfect time, right when work and school and all the “life” stuff is starting to pile up it was the perfect reminder that as much as I want to do well in those things, I want myself and my body to do well too. It was the perfect kick in the pants to get going and crank out this workout!
Thanks!
Maggs

All I could think when I saw the jump tuck picture was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon! Zuzana, you make everything look so easy and graceful…and you are just floating in this picture!! Can’t wait to do the workout.

:)

Welcome Marie – I love Paris! Looking forward to getting back there sometime soon hopefully (and not just sitting in the airport).

I’m glad you are enjoying the community and thanks for sharing your comment :)
Zuzana is 165 cm tall and 54kg :)

This is where I’m at as well, as soon as I feel I’ve made some progress I allow myself to some snacks for a few days and then I’m back where I started again. It’s really frustrating, I’m starting to think that this is never going to work, unless I actively eliminate it from the pantry. I am in no condition overweight or fat, but would like to aim for a fitter, slimmer and stronger body. My parents work in a bakery and I work evening shifts in a place two blocks away, so when I make a pit stop at their shop for some rest and am all tired and worn out. I tend to snack on some of the biscuits they have there. I do have my own healthy meal but I just keep thinking, that I deserve a couple of sweets here and there. And slowly I start to slip back, unless I stop it entirely.

On the days where I’ll be eating almost perfectly I can’t tell you how wonderful my body feels. It rarely gets bloated, I feel light and surprising full of energy even though it does seem like I’ve eaten much.

I always push extremely hard with my workouts, but diet is the main problem. I eat lots of healthy food, but it’s usually the quantity of healthy food that is bringing me down and the ‘treats’ I tend to allow myself when I feel like I’m making progress.

Hi Lena,
Would you send us some scans please? I would really like to see it :)

omg just read this! it is crazy how its the exact same way with me. but it helps so much to have people like me on here fighting the same battle, we are all in together. i think it will help if we just setting new small goals when we achieve our last one. give ourselves a quick pat on the back, but get right back on to our next goal so we dont fall off again.

awww this is so nice, and wonderful advice. i will try to come from a place of love more in my life, that will really help

I’m so glad I could help shed some light on this for you. It took me a while to figure it out as well…many tears and confessions have been shared with my dear, patient husband until I finally got to the root of it. I’m so used to being the chubby, jovial, happy (am I really?) girl that i’m afraid that I’ll lose those positives once I change my body composition.
It’s ridiculous to think that something like changing your body composition, which takes alot of personal growth and discipline (nothing wrong with that), might change your spirit. Bottom line is, we are who we are and our spirit is nurtured when we are healthy and connected and, therefore, TRUELY happy. :)

Wow! Ashtromanius, what a story! I would ask you for a thick towel to wipe out my tears. Of all of your experiences, troubles, and now BodyRock helped you pull back to normal, it’s amazing… Freddy, Zuzana, myself and all bodyrockers are so proud of you. Yeah, let’s keep rocking here and motivate each other. :) Thanks for sharing your story with us.

Exactly how I feel. :)

Hello Maria-Australia,
Too many of Freddy & Zuzie’s followers so it’s indeed hard for the couple to reply to all of them. We, as Bodyrockers, we tend to assists, give idea, comment or answer any question we see, just keep reading the thread. We’ll all be here for you.

FYI – I never got reply from them either (Freddy & Zuzie) which I don’t mind because I know how busy there are. Just by designing a daily workout, editing & rendering videos, pictures and uploading it for all of us, I know the hard work and time spent but I value and appreciate their efforts to help me and others stay fit and healthy. :)

You keep rocking Ashtromanius! After all you’ve been through, there’s NOTHING you can’t accomplish once you set your mind to it!

It’s so sad that you didn’t have the childhood you deserved. But it is so great that you have the guts and strength to take life in your own hands now. Have fun with your workouts and diet challenges. I’d like to hear from you later on that how you’re doing :) Nice to meet people from Finland, there aren’t too many of us :)

Thanks Jos!

I know exactly how it is to get stuck… and I got stuck for both reasons Freddie described…
I started working out as a teenager and in past 10 years (I am almost 26 now) I tried about 10 different methods. But it never turned well for me. Mostly it was because I quit when I was just about to achieve my goal – usually in summer, when I did more partying and less working out. But the second problem was, that when I was 16 I broke my ankle and I simply had the idea that “I can not do hard workouts or I shall hurt myself”. Even when I started following BodyRock.tv, my Mom told me to stop it, because I am simply “not built to do that”. Yes, the pain was strong, but THIS TIME I was stronger. Now I can do most of the excercises without problems.
I realised why I never achieved my goal: I only did light workouts, which are a good thing to start, when you never worked out before, but then you should go on with something more intense. You probably do not know how strong you really are… I used to keep my previous behavior for a long time, so I was always doing “beginners” versions of workouts, but after 6 months some voice in my head told me – hey, you are not a little girl, come on, you can do it! So I took a deep breath… and did first regular push up in my life…
And now I know – I CAN DO IT!

It looks like I finally made some “stuck breaktrhough” today which I underlined with my today’s incredible score: 3:16 – 2:45 – 2:45. I’m so happy, I definitely didn’t expect any of the times to be under 3 minutes but I managed to pump up the high speed and the combo moves became so naturally connected as if I was all the time doing only one exercise. In the end of the last round I just stayed lying on my left side and felt the heart beating somewhere under my chest…amazing feeling. Then I had 35 mins of conditional running. I hope I squeezed out of this beautiful weather as much as I could, tomorrow we expect here freezing cold again:(
Anyways: I can’t imagine pushing any harder for this challenge and I also managed to keep the pace of skipping really fast. I also noticed that my pace of basic skipping with legs together has risen from 42/20 seconds to nearly 47/20 seconds and High Knees to 56/20s which is also unbelievable when I take into consideration that by Christmas I couldn’t skip properly at all. Just the idea what would I be able to do in a year for example or more makes me keeping going at least because of curiousity:) So my biggest challenge is the diet but, as Zuzana & Freddy say, that’s what keeps the humanity in the process of getting & staying fit. Thanks for sharing those not only fitness but philosophical thoughts as well with us.

Wow, what a surprise when I saw my message appearing on board instatnly! Great job, guys!

Hey Z &F!!! Its such a beautiful day here! The sun is shining, clear blue skies… and freezing! But there is something to be said for crisp clear days.I just completed this Exercise Challenge and now Im off to take my dog for a walk! Here are my times:
1) 2:30
2) 3:00
3) 2:30
Im a few days behind, but I will catch up sooner or later! :) Have a beautiful day!

My warm up was an hour of paddleboard surfing.
3:06
3:03
2:47
I had to be really slow and careful on the monkey push ups with my shoulder. I am hoping it gets better very soon. Maybe I shouldn’t have enjoyed the nice surf yesterday but I couldn’t resist. Or maybe it was because I took some Advil before I paddled out so I may have made it worse. Time to mix it up more, I guess, and use other mucles. If I fumbled the jump rope I just kept doing high knees
for the set. Phew! Tired!!! Cold shower and thank for the awesome challenge!

This was a tough one!!!
1st half – 20:22
2nd half – 16:46

Mentally, the 2nd half was easier for me. Plus, I was so disgusted with my 1st half time, that I pushed myself very hard for the 2nd half.
Also, it’s humpback whale migration time here in Hawaii. I like do my BodyRock workouts on my back patio facing the ocean and the sight of these majestic creatures playing, jumping and spouting in the water is just a bit distracting.

Truly superb workout. Zuzana you make it look so easy. Keep up the great work. thank you both. Suzanne

Freddy, I was thinking of you two collectively while I was writing this post, just so you know. I know I mention Zuzana specifically, but you encouraging her from behind the camera in the videos. and competing with her, it is really encouraging too. I know you do a lot with this site, and it just as greatly appreciated! Plus, I love that you two compete with each other on the scores! My hubby and I do the same thing. We are both UBER competitive. haha

Welcome Erin:) Muscle soarness will ease with time when your body adapts to moving like this. It’s important to listen to your body. When your muscles are too jammed, move, but not with full effort.

I remember when I did my first workout here, it was The brutal 600 rep workout when Z and F still lived in Canada. I remember not moving properly for like four or five days :D Slowly my body got used to working out though and pretty soon it was possible to do a workout everyday.

please do!! :) Maybe they could post it on the site so we could all see it! :D

Just did it today and here’s my time and score:
Round 1 = 3 mins 55 secs
Skipping = 315 reps
Round 2 = 3 mins 20 secs
Skipping = 302 reps
Round 3 = 3 mins 42 secs
Add’l skipping = 256

I remember myself when I first doing this kick up, it was hard but now, it’s my favorite. :)

Wow, after reading about 20 comments I feel sooooooooooooooooooooo much better now and not alone. I am having the exact same issue as many others do. I eat healthy, all the things that are good for you, but I definately have a hard time with portion control. I think the problem is we do not know how much is enough, yeah, yeah, yeah, we all heard the old saying “just listen to your body” – that’s kind of a b/s to me, my body says I love to eat carbs and drink beer. I mean, when we go out to eat the portions are enormous, probably enough for 3, so I think we kind of got used to seeing those big portions, I am not used to eating a 1/3 of it, it just doesn’t seem right. So….yeah, I feel like it’s a huge lesson to learn how much food is enough. That’s probably the main reason I am not seeing the results as fast as I’d like to. That and using food as a comforting factor. After I work all day, talk to people on the phone that I don’t particularly want to talk to, do things that I am not that passionate about, think about how little time I have for things that I am passionate about -art and fitness of course, I feel let down a bit….so yeah, food has a whole lot of emotions wrapped around it, it isn’t just a fuel to sustain your body. It did help when I saw how much Zuzana was putting on her plate, kind of put things into perspective for me.
Thanks :)

Hi Bibi,

Wow! I’m glade I could help. This make all those curmudgeonly replies I’ve made over the last couple years seem worth the effort! 8-)

Thank you Bibi…and Zuzana and Frederick for supplying the venue!

Take care,
–Chris

There is always a delay with comments posting because they are moderated :)

Before I did this challenge I was like: this is so easy… afterward I saw stars and my hands are still shaking. haha it’s a tough one I tell ya.
1. round: 3:34. i really pushed myself. maybe i discounted reps but i think i didn’t
3. round: 4:26. all those high knees just slowed me down
5. round: 4:10. yay

Happy bodyrocker off to take a shower :D
Greeting from Slovenia

Hi there,
thanks for sharing this – this story gave me goose bumps – you have been so brave! I would love to post this up in the BodyRockers section – it would be a huge inspiration for a lot of people. No pressure either way, but if you would like to share this please email it to us with a picture to this address: bodyrockers@bodyrock.tv Zuzi and I think you have incredible courage and we feel very lucky to have someone of your mettle as part of our community :)

Here are my times:
1: 3:30 (I might have done one extra)
2: 2:52
3: 3:10
I did lots of different skipping: skip jacks, high knees, twists, one leg. Great workout!

Completed this routine this morning:

1. 5:10:20 (3) 5:13:01 (5) 5:0
2. 68-53-50-59-50-55-55-55 (high Knees)
4. 55-50-60-52-52-48-48-52 (high Knees)

Combo 1: 3:27
Combo 2: 3:16
Combo 3: 3:09
The skipping always lands in the low-mid 50′s count.
Interesting that I competed with myself every round and kicked my own butt :D

oops! And added 3 sets of timed 20 hanging leg raises 00:43:29, 00:41:00, 00:41:09

2:49
2:43
2:27 ouch
instead of skipping I had “taste” for some DEAD-LIFTS with 30 #lb bag
thanks

super stoked to do this one in 40 min!! just counting down to get off work!! :)

I did this lastnight! OMG – what an AWESOME one! I was outside, and it was nice and cloudy but not stifling humid, and then it broke, and a light thunderstorm came… I kept going! You should have seen the neighbors!! What is she doing? Is she jump roping in the rain?! HELL YEAH! I’m a BODYROCKER! What else would I be doing?!! My scores are good too – I’m at 4:07 the first round, and 4:13 the second round, and then the last round, was my fastest, as it was POURING… 3:59!!! way to go!!

sooo sooo hard!!!
wow!
because i’m compulsive, at the beginning, i thought, i should add one more round of skipping to make it even (3 and 3). by the end, i was thinking, welllllll….zuzka doesn’t do that, why should i? but the rule is, if i say it before i start, i gotta do it…
whew…

my times were
4:15
4:25
5:02

so hard! i loved it!
thanks, zuzka!!