Ah, fitness influencers – They are a funny ole breed, right? Who’s telling the truth? Who is offering good advice? Who’s faking the whole thing? It’s a minefield…
I had been following Natacha for a long time, I always enjoy watching her videos, I liked the fact her information was backed with scientific evidence. Plus, unlike others, she’s never promoted anything that could be translated as disordered or made wild claims, that appear, just a little too good to be true…
Therefore, it’ll come as no surprise, that when I hit a fitness funk, I started toying with the idea of trying out one of her workout guides, namely “Cut”. Of course, I’ll be honest, when it comes to parting with my money and my time, I’m pretty fussy, to say the very least. Which, frankly is a long-winded way of saying that I procrastinated about buying this guide for around a year.
There were a few elements that had made me hesitate:
Firstly, was I going to be able to complete the moves? Would I feel stupid trying and immediately want to give up.
Secondly, the time element was a factor, to be successful with this kind of program, you need to prepare to commit the time (ten weeks to be exact)
Thirdly, to put it very simply, I didn’t want it enough.
But then, lockdown started and the timing felt “Just Right” I parted with £42.00, downloaded the cut guide, and put out to the world, that if I managed 3 weeks, I’d be seriously proud. Hey, I know what you’re thinking, but I never claimed to be a fitness professional right? But I’m pretty good at being human, with all my little flaws and quirks, alongside my occasional inability, to stick with something if it becomes too hard.
The first week was tough, I was completely new to Plyometric training, which is something Natacha Oceane makes look so easy! I had an expected, but an unwelcome visit from DOMS. Coupled with the fact that each workout felt as if it was the first time I’d ever picked up a barbell or dumbbell. Yet, something inside me told me to continue, I had a newfound drive and as each workout was so varied I kept ongoing.
Three weeks passed quickly, I’d glided through my “I want to quit” stage, and I was becoming stronger and more confident with the moves. That’s not to say that some days I didn’t get caught out, which meant I adapted my mindset and treated it as a learning curve. Little things like, hybrid wall planks/handstands were becoming achievable, gradually my technique with (assisted) pull-ups were improving and I was feeling happy.
On the other hand, my emotions have been on an incredible rollercoaster of highs and lows, which meant that I started to spread out the workouts to allow my mind and body time to recover. The Aflete application, not only records all your reps, weights, and times, it also guides you with videos and adaptations of the moves. Therefore, if I was a few days behind, I didn’t have the stress of trying to find out where I’d left off and I could also go back over workouts If I felt inclined to do so.
After a month, things started to really change, my running pace rapidly improved and I was feeling the fittest and most confident around weights I’d felt in around 2 years.
I liked the fact I never felt pressured by marketing, I feel like some of the “encouragement” on some these applications have good intentions of being motivational. On the other hand, they can become highly frustrating and disheartening, I’m an adult and I don’t want to be bullied. Alongside the fact, I don’t want false claims, I just want to go at a pace that suits me and see if I can get some results. The Natacha Oceane guide clearly states that I MIGHT lose some fat, it wasn’t making me any promises that it couldn’t keep, the outcome, was down to me.
I was very hesitant about talking about my PB’s set whilst using the plan because these are entirely personal and I don’t want to create a false narrative. So, please remember the results are completely unique:
Fat Loss: Around 1.5% – 3lbs (I’m a Nutritionist – If you’d like fat loss support, give me a shout)
Running Pace Improvement: I went from struggling with 29/30 minutes for 5km to 26 minutes for the first time in around 2 years. With 10km distance, I was running around 65 minutes and then recently ran a comfortable and happy 58 minutes, again for the first time in around two years.
Weight PB – Managed a one rep max of 60kg for Deadlifts and 30 assisted pull-ups
Would I recommend the plan? Absolutely, if you’ve got access to a gym membership or equipment, a sense of drive, and confidence for some of the more “out there” moves, it’s a winner!
Katie x
