Many of you may be aware of Chloe Ting and her various workout challenges. I came across her a few weeks ago and decided to undertake her 2 week shred challenge. After completing it yesterday, I’ve decided to begin her 3 week weight loss challenge. I hope that my review will be balanced and answer some of the questions I had before starting. There were definitely some pro’s and con’s I discovered on my journey. But ultimately, you’ll have to make a decision based on what is right for you and your body. So, what did I think about the workouts? What were the results? And why have I gone back for more?
For 7 Top Tips for Exercise Motivation read here.
The Workouts
There are various workout challenges on Chloe’s website. They vary in length and goal. Each day there are set videos to follow with an optional warm up and cool down video included. The range of videos per day usually total anywhere from 30 – 60mins. This doesn’t include the warm up or cool down. I recommend choosing a challenge which suits your aims but also will fit into your schedule. Anything unrealistic will be self-defeating from the start.
The 2 week shred cycles through a variety of videos. And 2-3 of these videos featured each day. This meant a unique combination daily which I liked. However, the repetition of the same few videos did get boring after a while. And many of the moves featured in a number of videos. On the one hand, this enabled me to get used to them quicker and work on my form. On the other hand, that boredom again. The videos were a mix of HIIT, abs, back or legs. And I liked being able to focus on a different combination of muscles every day. Another plus is the 5-10 secs break between 1-2 moves. This meant I always had a break to look forward too. And each move is normally only 30 – 60 secs meaning if you hate it or find it hard. It’s not long until it’s over. Always a positive for me!
For Your Guide to Creating an Exercise Routine that will Stick read here.
What I Wished I’d Known
Safety Comes First
Chloe isn’t a registered anything. She not a personal trainer and doesn’t have qualifications in this area. However, her videos are high quality. There is a timer for moves, she shows lower intensity options and the set up is excellent. Additionally, many of the moves are familiar to me from other workouts. So, it’s easy to assume that she is. Despite her lack of qualification, I felt safe completing Chloe’s workouts despite the often lack of or very generic safety information e.g. ‘be careful, don’t hurt your back’. Largely because I could apply what I had learned in previous home workout videos by personal trainers.
Don’t Strain
I always remind myself to strengthen not strain. Chloe’s videos are intense and may focus on certain muscle groups more than you are used to. This has made her extremely popular. But be aware of what your body is telling you. Many of the moves focus on tabletops or planks. My wrists quickly became sore and wobbly. Comments under the video revealed many others had the same experience. So, remember to stop when you need to or do the lower intensity versions. It’s important to know the difference between pushing yourself or going too far. Chloe doesn’t usually mention this and it’s easy to get caught up in the challenge to achieve. Likewise, she doesn’t spend much time explaining sometimes complex moves. Or the proper form. So, take your time getting to know the moves. Pause when needed or do the lower intensity to gradually build strength and avoid injury.
Unrealistic Expectations
Chloe freely admits that the titles of her videos are primarily clickbait. They’re meant to draw you in. And therefore they make claims about certain kinds of body shapes. I’ll defer to other reviews that talk about why these may be unrealistic. For example, unless you’re already thin, you won’t see abs in two weeks. Your abs will be stronger but not necessarily any more visible unless you’re engaging in weight loss too. So, think about your own goals for going into the workouts. And don’t hang your hopes on any specific claims the videos may make. With this awareness you’re less likely to be disheartened if your results don’t match your expectations. By challenging yourself you’re already improving your mental and physical health.
For the Amazing Benefits to Exercising Outside read here.
My (Mental Health) Results
If you’re hoping for a review which includes weight or inches lost then I’m going to disappoint you. But know that there are plenty of those available online. I watched a few of them to help me decide whether I wanted to try out one of Chloe’s challenges. I didn’t weigh or measure myself during the 2 weeks and I don’t intend to moving forward. Partially this is to safeguard my own mental health. I am aware that seeing a high number on a scale could be more disheartening than motivating for me. Encouraging me to give up before I start.
The other reason is because, as often is the case with workouts especially combined with lifestyle or diet changes, the scale may not move much or at all. In some cases it could even go up. And yet, people often still report their clothes fitting better and feeling more toned. The simple explanation is that fat takes up more room than muscle. But muscle weighs more. Hence your weight may not change or may go up because fat has become muscle. And yet you’re smaller, because the muscle takes up less room than the fat it replaced. For more on this kind of thing, please do research from responsible sources.
For How to Create a Home Workout Routine read here.
The Actual Results
Why it Worked for Me?
So, what was my experience? The challenge aspect appealed to me. I find it motivating rather than pressuring. I knew finishing would feel like an achievement. And it did. Additionally, Chloe’s workout challenges give you a video schedule. I didn’t have to make any decisions of how to workout or what to do each day. Lastly, my old workout routine was getting stale. I was cycling through the same variety of workouts and felt I wasn’t seeing results. My limited research suggested I needed to change things up. And challenge myself with exercises my muscles hadn’t acclimated to.
My Review
There were a few things I found difficult. In the two week challenge, there were 3 rest days out of 14. I found working out 5-6 days a week difficult to fit into my schedule. Especially as I had a particularly busy week at work. But also my muscles often felt too tired and towards the end of the 2 weeks I found some of the workouts harder rather than easier. I wondered if working out quite so much without recovery time was part of the problem. As above, I also found the repetition of moves and videos quite boring . I was definitely clock watching during some workouts. But I did appreciate that Chloe provides a countdown for each move which kept me motivated to finish.
Overall, I definitely felt a sense of pride in completing the two week challenge. And it definitely was a challenge. I also feel more toned and stronger. I know I am working on areas I haven’t focused on in a while. And whilst this makes it hard and I struggle with some moves. It has motivated me to keep working on these areas. My awareness of the potential to strain has also reminded me to pace myself. I’m usually too stubborn to do lower intensity moves. But the challenge reminded me to do so to make it to the finish line. This line of thinking is definitely healthier and will lead me to grow in strength with time. Finally, because some days the workouts were less than my usual allotted workout time I spent more time stretching. I didn’t use Chloe’s optional 15 mins one so I can’t comment on it. But if you’re not using it, please do your own stretches. It made such a difference to how I felt the next day, my ability to continue daily and committing to a stretch for 10+ mins definitely felt like an act of self-care.
Have you completed any of Chloe Ting’s workouts? What are your experiences? As always, let me know below.
This sounds like a workout I could get behind. I’ll have to give it a go sometime.
Thanks Nyxie. I hope you enjoy it!
I appreciate your honest review! Your tips are very helpful, too. It’s good to know that there are built in breaks and low intensity options. I am very out of shape so I’d have to start out slowly. Maybe I’ll give these a try soon!
Thanks Heidi. I hope it will help you make the right decision for you.
I used to follow Chloe Ting’s workout of YT. But now I’m more into Rebecca Louise, Blogilates, and Susana Yabar.
Oooo I must try them out!!! I have reverted back to my tried and tested workouts now. I enjoyed the challenge but I prefer full body