Come on, we’ve all heard it (or thought it) about our T-Tapp workouts: Run faster, jump higher. Do more and more to get results. Don’t skip a repetition or we won’t keep up. Get to the more advanced workouts—surely they hold the magic key to inch loss.
Running to keep up often causes tripping and falling.
Doing more and more can lead to mental and/or physical burnout. Struggling and flopping through every single move and every rep isn’t the key to success. It’s all about full-fiber muscle activation, mind-to-muscle connection and alignment.
Many newcomers have the impression that if they don’t do all the repetitions I recommend, they won’t get results. This is not true! We all have our own personal max—depending on fitness level and flexibility—and it’s important to push ourselves to that point to get the best results. So if you can manage only four or five repetitions when I recommend eight, that’s fine. As long as you go to your max and have proper form you will receive rapid results and get stronger. And as you become stronger, you will be able to add more repetitions with good form.
Here are some thoughts on slowing it down:
Do fewer reps. Either push the “pause” button or do 4-6 reps while the DVD does 8 reps. Focus on form and full-fiber muscle activation. Like Teresa says, “It’s better to do fewer repetitions with proper form than it is to do more repetitions with poor form.”
Do short workouts. But not easy workouts. 15-30 minutes of mindful, slowed-down, strong movement beats 45-60 minutes of loosely flopping just to get through the DVD.
Don’t skip the basics. Having a variety of DVDs is great but it’s not the end-all for successful results. The basics of T-Tapp form are the same across the board. Better to stick with Basic Workout Plus or the Total Workout and really “get it” than to bounce from workout to workout, hoping that a more advanced one will somehow work better. Form issues carry over into any workout, period.
Slow down at night. Get to bed earlier if at all possible. I start heading that way about an hour before I want to be asleep, to allow time for washing my face, brushing teeth, doing a floor move and a bit of reading. Fatigue really affects my workouts so I have to guard myself against going to bed too late.
Listen to your body. On days when adrenal fatigue or fibromyalgia or other health issues are flaring up, that’s the time to do a short sequence or take the day off.
Sneak in T-Tapp all day long. Ribs up throughout the day—sitting, standing, driving. Standing in line with weight in one leg? Knee bent and out, slight tuck. Watching TV, do the clap-pull sequence from the new Public Television documentary video.
At the 2012 Beauty Bootcamp, we did far fewer workouts but the weekend’s inch loss totals were just as good or better than events when we did lots of workouts. We slowed it down, concentrating on alignment and muscle activation. It was actually very encouraging and empowering to see proof that Less IS More with T-Tapp.
There are seasons of time when we can benefit from ramping up the length and frequency of workouts, but only if we can maintain form while doing so. There are also seasons when it’s best to slow down in order to stay consistent and stay in the zone with form. Just going through the motions so we can check off a workout on the calendar won’t give the same results.
Slow it down and see if the resulting concentration and connection help your results with T-Tapp.
***********************
Charlotte Siems is a home-maker, home manager, T-Tapp Trainer, teacher, speaker and author. Her story of losing over 100 pounds with T-Tapp has encouraged thousands of people all over the world. She specializes in making home management and T-Tapp “doable” for real people and real life. She is happy to be a wife and mother of twelve children whom she has successfully taught at home for 25 years.
How Daydreaming Can Help You Reach Your T-Tapp Goal by Charlotte Siems When you envision your future, do you daydream of being out of shape and overweight? When you think about what your ideal, average day would look like, does it include exhaustion and outgrowing your favorite clothes? Probably not. When you…
Grandma lived in the country and she had an outhouse instead of an indoor bathroom. When we visited it was nerve-wracking, walking through the grass with a flashlight in the dark. [break][/break] We spent hours playing on the back porch, cooking mudpies in the wonderful assortment of old tin dishes and gadgets from a box…
Easter at This Lovely Place by Charlotte Siems Easter is a beautiful holiday at This Lovely Place. Over the years we’ve created family traditions, but we don’t do all of them every year. Perfection is overrated, and adds stress to a holiday. Some years we had circumstances that changed the routine a bit and…
Flipping through a magazine, an advertisement caught my eye. A happy woman was pressing buttons on a sleek device. The ad stated, “Stress Free Shopping is just a button away.” The advertised item was an electronic grocery and list organizer that mounts on a wall. Impressive. To use it, you press a button and…
About That Tummy By Charlotte Siems “What exercises can I do to help me get rid of this tummy?” “I seem to be losing everywhere but in the stomach. Help!” “My belly is my worst area!” These are common concerns for women everywhere. Two groups are especially interested in solutions for this body…
A short word to the wise: if you want advice about an area of life, find someone who has achieved what you are aiming for. In general, don’t take marriage advice from people who complain about their spouse, parenting advice from people with unhappy, out-of-control children, and homeschooling advice from people who assure…
One Comment
Thanks 🙂 I have to renew my mind from the way I used to workout.
Thanks 🙂 I have to renew my mind from the way I used to workout.