Hello! I’m Chitlada or Tina for an easy version.
I have been training with Mentor Laetitia in the Xercise Factor Boot Camp. My goal is to gain more muscles mass, improve my upper body strength, learn new bodyweight exercises, and challenge myself by going beyond my previous limitations. Due to our busy schedules, I have had exercise sessions with Laetitia every Sunday and used the gym to practice the exercises and do some cardio on my own during the week.
Exercise journey
Week #1, I performed full body exercises. Laetitia introduced me the plyometric squats which she recommended as it is good for warmup before working on the lower body. I began with the Blue box, which I like it very much as it increases my heart rate. Then I performed 30 kg squat with a free-standing squat rack instead of the smith machine which I were using before. I also performed bench press, deadlift, TRX rows, bodyweight push ups, shoulder press, plank and side plank.
Week #2, I performed full body exercises as well however Laetitia challenged me by adding more weights. I performed deadlifts, push ups, Bulgarian split squat, underhand grip pullups, assist pullups, kettlebell swing, a super set of bicep curls and bicep press, followed by plank and side plank at the end.
Week #3, I practiced similar exercises but challenged with more weight and resistance. Recently, Laetitia let me try pullups with a resistance band on the bar. Also, I started to do cardio on the spinning bikes for the first time, which Laetitia adjusted the cycling programme for me.
Exercises with Laetitia in a nutshell
Upper body: bench press, shoulder press, TRX rows, lateral pulldown, push ups, underhand grip pullups, assist pullups, bicep curls and bicep press
Lower body: plyometric squats, barbell squat, deadlift, bulgarian split squat, kettlebell swing
Core: plank and side plank
Fantastic experience
The Xercise Factor has been keeping me more active, plus training with Laetitia has been a fantastic experience. She gets me out of the machine and introduces bodyweight exercises, which are new to me. At first, I felt it was incredibly hard and more difficult than working on the machines, which I frequently used before. When I performed TRX row for the first time, I didn’t realise my body was heavy because I believed I had performed rowing well on the machine.
I was a little over excited when I performed pullups and push ups, the most challenging exercises for me. I never train these on my own as I felt they are difficult and I was not confident to use the pullups bar or practice push ups.
Laetitia encouraged me a lot said … ‘Practice makes perfect. You thought you could never make it. By practicing little by little, one day you will be surprised on how far you’ve become.’ After few weeks, she has been harder to me by adding 2 more reps when I thought I was going to finish my set. She knew my capability, while I didn’t realise I’ve just become stronger. She is just wonderful.
Challenge Improvement
My improvement on my bodyweight skills have gone very well. I went from pull ups with half range of motion to all the way up and down with resistance band for 5 reps, 3 sets. Similar to push ups, I went from push ups with resistance on the blue box to the green box. My technique has improved very much.
Pull up assistance machine: 3rd to 2nd resistance
Plyometric squats higher: blue box to red box
Barbell squat heavier: 30 kg to 50 kg
Deadlift heavier: 25 kg to 40 kg
Kettlebell swings heavier: 8 kg to 12 kg
Stayed motivated
Apart from exercising with Laetitia, I do cardio on my own every morning. I run on a treadmill and recently I have tried the spinning bike. I ran outdoor for 10 km. If I ever continue with the Xercise Factor, by the end of week #6 I would like to achieve pull ups and push ups without any resistance, deadlift for 50 kg, barbell squat for 60 kg, and probably improve my core, which is to be discussed with Laetitia.
So far, I can say that I have achieved my goal to go beyond my previous limitations. However, there are a lot more to challenge myself, to increase more muscle mass, to be lean, and to reduce chocolates and puddings intake :D. Exercise has become my lifestyle. I live with it – cannot stop it, only to go further. Some people might feel it is hard to start or achieve their targets. For me, consistency is the key to achieve my goal, challenge myself to improve performance, and always keep good diet. Most importantly, tell everyone you go to the gym so you really work out!