22 Minute Hard Corps Is NOT My Workout
As I sit here writing this I am excited to share with you my personal experience with this program because it's not your typical "I loved it" review. Instead it's an honest "I hated it" review. First, if you don't know what this program is about you can read more about it here. It is an 8 week Beachbody program that consists of 22 minute (yes just 22 minutes) boot camp type workouts. Sounds perfect, right? That's what I thought...
I have been exercising now for over 5 years. When I first started I went to the gym and used the elliptical machine (that's it and that's all I could do). I built myself up to what I can do now. I also have been running for about 1.5 years and have recently completed two 10 km runs in less than 1 hour each. So I like to think that I am in decent shape and can do a lot of workouts...which is why I have a broad range of workouts I like. Some people have a hard time finding workouts they like but I usually can fall in love with many different types of workouts. I like challenging workouts but I also like workouts that are different.
I ordered 22 Minute Hard Corps thinking that it was going to be the next at home workout program that I would fall in love with. Was I ever wrong! The first workout was alright...and the first week wasn't the best but it would get better right? Well I am on my last week of this program and nothing has gotten better. The workout is only 22 minutes but the exercises are based on reps so some reps are 80-100....some are a lot less than that too but it's HARD to get the reps in. Yes, there is a modifier but honestly the modifier was still difficult (sometimes I found very little difference between the actual move and the modified move). For example, I would be on my 25 out of 30 reps and the program would be moving onto the next move. So I did the best I could do. If I only got 25 out of the 30 reps in so be it. I made sure to get the maximum reps in that I possibly could...but if you are anything like me you want to finish what you are asked to do so it doesn't feel right to just do 25 if you have been asked to do 30. I'm sure that this program would be great for anyone who is okay with just doing as many reps as they can but I wasn't satisfied. Oh and if you are in insane shape to begin with it will definitely help you like the program.
I thought I would get better...faster...stronger. But I didn't find any of that happened. I struggled just as much at the end as I did the very first day. I'm a person that needs to see improvement otherwise I lose motivation FAST. I dreaded doing the workouts and always felt like everything was so fast that I was going to end up hurting myself. And truth be told, I had a slight issue with my lower back during this workout program. It's better now but it made me wonder if I had a small injury because of this program and me focusing on speed rather than form. I have ALWAYS focused on form over speed in the past but this program made me feel rushed (not a good thing for someone who can get anxious quickly).
So for 8 weeks I basically dreaded my workout which made me not care as much about my nutrition either. It really made me realize the importance of finding a workout I enjoy.
There is no such thing as a bad workout (bad nutrition, yes but bad workout, no) but if you don't like your workout you will never do it.
As a coach, I help clients choose their workouts and it's made me realize how important this step really is for them but also how happy I am to be the one to help them choose based on first-hand experience of all the programs I have completed. Because how can someone recommend something if they have never tried it? :) I'm excited that I only have a few more days of this program left. Will I have results? I doubt it - I basically maintained the last 8 weeks (lucky I was able to do that). But I can tell you I am excited to start a new program (Core de Force) and get back into feeling like working out again.
