I made it: Jamie Eason’s 12 Week Trainer!

Happy Tuesday! I’m in an especially good mood this week because it’s my birthday week and because there are lots of good things going on behind the scenes for me with Pure Bliss. If you haven’t checked out my website yet, click on that button to the right.

I’m thinking I’m going to make my own ice cream cake tomorrow, like I did for my sister. Ice cream has been giving me really bad stomachaches, so I’d rather just make a coconut ice cream cake….and I might be able to get my sister to help me too.

On Saturday I finished Jamie Eason’s 12 week trainer. Whew. I can’t believe it’s done and I stay committed to it for 3 months. I reviewed the overall plan awhile ago, when I started, but I wanted to fill you in on the end.

I have to say that this kicked my butt the entire time. Jamie Eason changed up the exercises about every 2 weeks. My favorite out of the entire program were the last two weeks. Probably because I was “allowed” to do 30-40 minutes of cardio and it dropped down to 5 days of weights from 6.

Does it work? It absolutely works. I feel much, much stronger and feel more toned. Do I look more toned? I’m not sure. I think my arms and abs do and maybe my legs a little bit. But let me say I did not follow the diet plan OR do less cardio, which she recommends.

The plan calls for the entire first month to do no cardio, which I did NOT follow. I love cardio and I love running. It is my stress reliever, so I didn’t give it up. Eventually in phase 2 and 3, cardio is added back in slowly. I basically kept up the same amount of cardio that I always do, which is usually 30-50 minutes (50 on days I run, 30 on days I don’t, unless I take a class). If I did less cardio I probably would have toned up more. And if I followed the diet plan, I have no doubt I’d be RIPPED (hah!), but eating meat multiple times a day does not appeal to me.

The workouts:

In phase 2 you do about 3 days of cardio and 6 days of weights. The weights are still broken down by each body part, like back then chest & abs, then legs, shoulders, etc. Phase 2 has the longest workouts of all 3 phases. It took a little over an hour to do the workout and cardio. Still not hours in the gym.

In phase 3 you get into doing some sprints, and cardio intervals like burpees and rope jumping. The first two weeks of this phase are a bit long as well, but if you hold out to the last 2 weeks, you’ll be on your way home. Cardio goes up to 4 days in phase 3 also.

Overall thoughts:

This is basically like having your own personal trainer. There is no reason to pay for one if you are committed to your workouts. Yes, you do have to choose what weights you do on your own AND you have to get yourself to the gym 6 days a week; but if you can challenge yourself and get yourself there, then this is for you. Oh yea and it’s FREE!

I loved how every workout was broken down and told me exactly what reps and exercise to do and how long to rest. It’s very specific and if you are unsure of an exercise, watch the video! I also loved how every 2 weeks you were doing new exercises. You don’t ever get bored…and if you hate anything, you only do each day 2x so it’s not so bad.

I would absolutely do this again. Although I didn’t always love that I had 5 or 6 days of weights to do, I love how strong it made me feel. Cardio is my love, but this made me love lifting weights more. Even when I was cringing through leg days, I still loved this trainer…mostly after it was over each day.

If I did this again, I may try to do less cardio. Maybe. Maybe not. As for the diet, I followed the parts that fit with my life, like eat within one hour of waking up and to try to include a protein at each snack. With the schedule I have right now, it didn’t always work. Sometimes I only eat an apple for a snack and sometimes I eat chocolate chip cookie dough balls and probably have more fat than the plan calls for, but I’m okay with it.

Have you stayed committed to a training program like this?  The last program I was committed to was half marathon training, but since it was running it was pretty easy to mentally stick to it.

Something to read: Check out Alexandra & Kymberly’s Holiday Gift Guide...featuring yours truly! They are fellow fitfluentials and so sweet to support me!

Have a great day!

Tagged as: birthday, bodybuilding.com, cake, coconut milk ice cream, Exercise, health, jamie eason, live fit trainer, strength, weight lifting, workout