The Skins Challenge, Another Look At My Exercise Journal, And A $250 Giveaway!
If you’re reading this and you workout regularly I’d be very curious to know if you’ve ever tried compression gear. I’m guessing you probably have, since the feedback I’ve had since starting my Skins challenge is mostly:
a) people think Skins and compression gear in general (there are other great brands as well of course) is AWESOME and
b) I seem to be the only gym or training junkie out there who has never tried them!
Well, I can honestly say after 3 weeks of wearing my new Skins 3/4 tights nearly 24 hours a day (and actually 24 hours a day on a few recent occasions), that I am a convert with a capital ‘C’! I am definitely going to test out some other brands before I confess an undying love affair with Skins, but the compression wear idea? So loving it! And so never thought I would be! If you’ve never tried them – especially for running (wow, by the way), then I highly recommend it.
this is how i train: skins-style
Mon April 4: Backyard kettlebell workout. Today is Day 1 wearing my Skins on the Skins challenge. Not sure if it was the tights or the weekend leg-rest, but I managed 300 x 24kg swings in 21 minutes when I usually do 240 in 19-20 minutes. Whoo! I also did 2x 20 minute walks this morning, to and from playgroup. I don’t really count walking as training 🙂 … but it is a nice bonus!
Monday review: I’m used to training in shorts only* … I overheat really quickly when I’m training and it takes a pretty damn freezing day for me to wear long pants! Fortunately for me the sun went in right as I started my workout, and I really smasghed through. I was a sweaty mess at the end, so much so that I couldn’t even face real food for an hour and just had a shake. Very unlike me! Not sure if it was the Skins or the weekend rest from legs but I really noticed how much I was squeezing my gluts today; way more than normal.
Tuesday April 5; workout 1: 20 minutes of tready sprints this morning. Thought I’d hate running in long pants but actually liked feeling very snug and secure. Not that (I hope!) I usually bounce around too much anyway though! Workout 2: 45-minute circuit weights workout at Result Based Training. Advanced GBC style.
Tuesday review; written first thing in am: back is absolutely SCREWED this morning; but that’s because I spent 3 hours in heels last night! I gave my 90-minute Lean Living presentation at R.B.T, and stupidly ran around (even vacuuming my office) before it in heels. So basically that is distracting me from any possible comments about my leg fatigue! I’ll be doing sprints later today, as well as some circuit training, so I’m sure I’ll have better feedback at that point!
Wed April 6: 50-minute pure Poliquin GBC workout, highlights being duck leg press, 4021 x 15-20 reps (OUCH!) and one of my faves, L-lateral raises. Plus lots more, including some vein-popping hammer curls. Ran out of time for D1 and D2, so will go back later and finish it off with a bonus 15 minutes (which I forgot; by the way :()
Wednesday review: the Skins thing … to be completely honest I set out on this little challenge thinking it will just be kinda fun to document my training for a few weeks, but not really expecting to notice anything different in terms of recovery. After all, how much of a difference can these supposed wonder-pants make in just a few days or even a week? Well I’m not even quite half-way through the training week, so I guess it’s still too early to say … but I have to admit I’m sort of starting to love these pants. Now I haven’t tried other brands, so I can’t comment on Skins compared to whatever else, but as I mentioned this is my first time wearing compression gear and I really think it’s making a difference. I don’t know if it’s because the pants are so tight or because they’re actually doing something, but I’m definitely not as aware of leg fatigue as what I would normally be!
Thursday April 7: A very simple and to-the-point kettlebell workout: 300 reps in just over 20 minutes 🙂 Sweaty fun!
Friday April 8: I hit the gym for a little made-up-on-the-spot German Volume Training. I had left myself only 30 minutes to train before having to jet off to a seminar, so I smashed out 10 sets of 10 reps of wide grip deads superset with BB military press. Basically zero rest time. This left me so pumped that I hit the treadmill for some tabata-style sprints. I was on a roll so I kept it going until I got to 10 minutes – by which time I’d completely used up my showering and eating time!
Friday and Saturday review: I really gave those tights a run for their money over these two days as I ended up wearing them for 12 hours a day at the conference. Sitting around for hours on end was no fun for my back and hips, but I do have to say that despite all the heavy duty training getting ready for my photo shoot last Tuesday I really think my legs are less fatigued than normal. This is especially note-worthy considering the use of compression gear has coincided with me returning to sprints for the first time since giving birth.
I still haven’t slept in compression gear yet. I’m building up to doing some super-high-speed sprints next week, so I think I’ll save it for then. I’ll let you guys know how I go! I’m also going to test out some other brands of compression gear, just to keep things fair, and I’d also like to try some upper body compression gear. One thing I do really like about Skins is the style; they actually look okay, if not good! I have to admit I was worried about looking terrible but they’re pretty fashion-friendly!
If you’ve tried compression gear and haven’t already let me know your thoughts on Facebook then make sure you drop a comment in the box below!
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