It seems like my lower body workout is getting too easy. I've tried making it harder, like for instance today, I did these excercises for abs where you hang your body by your arms and lift your legs up to your belly. I only used body weight, so I couldn't increase the weight each time, but I still thought it would be next to impossible to do that many reps.

It really wasn't as hard as I expected. My abs seem to be strengthening up to the point where I am not sure what to do to challenge them anymore. Leg extensions were getting stale, so I switched them around, and did weighted squats for most of the excercises and just did one set of leg extensions. Which was too hard without first working up to it.

My calves BURNED at the standing calf raises, but the burn didn't last long. The straight legged dead lift wasn't as hard as it should have been either. I don't get it, I guess I just have a pretty strong lower body already.

On the other hand the upper body workout is usually a little too hard. Particularly because there are 5 sets to get through instead of just the 4 of lower body workout day. I am always running out of time on upper body workout days.

I work out in the morning before work and sometimes I just can't finish it.

Plus I'm still worried about this elbow of mine. I am trying to favor it and allow it to rest as much as possible, but I'm not too sure how to do that and still continue to get my workouts in.

Anyone have any suggestions for some new lower body excercises I can do at home? Using free weights?

on Aerobics yesterday, decided to just dance around for 20 minutes with some music on. It didn't feel like my normal aerobics workout, not near as hard, but I wasn't in the mood for anything hard yesterday.

Today I missed my upper body workout in the morning so did it after work. Just finished up. It felt easier this week, maybe because I didn't try and do that biceps thing, or because I took one day off last week from UBWO. Elbow doesn't hurt right now, hoping it won't start. I'm starting to wonder if part of the elbow thing is from typing on the computer. Trying to rest it more on the arm rest of the chair while typing to see.

Anyway this is week 4 for me. I don't feel like I've had a tenth of the results that Hula Girl had, but the week isn't over with. I'm going to have my hubby take photos on Saturday and then I'm going to have them processed and look at them I want to see if there has been any progress at all. I really can't tell by just looking.

Hi, Sherry!

You know, I've been having the same problem lately. I mean, my workouts are hard, but not HARD! It's like my muscles need to get stronger to get the burn I need.... does that make sense? Very weird, I know.

My cardio's been on the stairmaster (don't like the seat on the exercise bike crunching into my tail bone, and treadmils tend to hurt my knee).

maybe this is a normal trend????

Just switching things around can make a harder workout. Earlier in the week when I did my leg excercises, I thought the workout wasn't hard enough. I'm used to doing my leg extensions on my weight stack machine, and I can do as much as 90 pounds, so when I decided to do squats with free weights (dumbbells) instead, I didn't think it would be much of a workout. My dumbbells are in 5,8,15, and 20 pounds (plus I can make any weight from the dumbbell bars I have), so I just thought I wouldn't be lifting much, (don't like to spend a lot of hassle changing the dumbbell bars so use the preset ones a lot).

Anyway what I learned was that even with less weight than the stack provides, just using different muscles made me a little sore for a few days.

Going to have to come up with something brand new I think for the next 4 weeks.

At this point in time I don't think I need to switch exercises yet. I believe it's just the way things are for me right now. I get a good workout, but it's "me" I think.

I'll switch up later.....I've only been on BFL for 5wks now. Aren't we supposed to switch up exercises every 6 wks, or is it the same throughout the challenge. I couldn't afford to buy the book yet, and I had to take the one I had back to the library.

that you change the workout every 4 weeks, but I could be wrong on that. I guess it would be individual, if you feel like you are still benefiting from what you have been doing then keep on.

I just think that my body is getting used to things and I need to shake it up a little. But then I get bored easily and it may just be that I want to try some new things and see if I find myself getting more sore with different excercises. The soreness to me means that I have worked something new, that I hadn't touched before.

One of my goals when I get through with this 12 weeks is to have all my muscles worked out to such a point that I won't have any undue soreness because of doing any sort of excercise that I hadn't touched before. I want all parts of my body to have a taste of excercise during this 12 weeks, and I'm sure there are a few muscles that I haven't given a solid workout yet.

Sounds like totally kick-butt goals to me!!!

Since I can't buy the BFL book yet, I'm going mosly on guesswork now. No chance of getting the book too soon since my fiance lost 3 days of work because of Isadore, as well as his son. Oh well. I'll just have to see what everyone else is doing.

I think what you're saying is correct for most workouts... that it's best to change up after about 4 weeks. So, on Sunday when my workout week starts over again I'm switching exercises...even though I don't feel like I've taken the ones I'm using to their limit yet.

It's all so darn confusing, ya know?