Early spring is approaching and sooner than later hunting seasons are going to start up again in full force. Like many of you out there, I’ve been trying to dial in my eating and fitness for the coming events. With spring bear hunts in my near future, I want to make sure that I’m feeling my best and performing to my fullest. In the past, this would mean going on a clean eating diet and spending a hefty amount of time in the gym. With the new world we are living in now, the gym isn’t really in the cards for me. So, when I caught word of the 28 day reboot from Wilderness Athlete, my ears perked up. It was a program that laid out diet, grocery lists, and gym/home workouts. Could this be the perfect reboot for hunting season? Time would tell.
All of us need a kick in the pants every now and then to get back on track. We go through the holidays, get lazy, and become great friends with the couch and sweets. Not to mention all of those covid friendly delivery prices that restaurants are providing everyone. The 28 day reboot is a diet and exercise program that Wilderness Athlete created to help you “reboot.” They actually offer a “reboot” program and a “rebuild” program. The reboot is focused more on fat loss and the rebuild is focused on building muscle and performance. I opted for the reboot to help get rid of that “covid 10.”
So, by purchasing the 28 day reboot, you’re going to get a load of stuff. First, you’ll get 28 days worth of Wilderness Athlete supplements tailor picked for the program. Everything from multi-vitamins and probiotics to meal replacements and their famed hydrate & recover. Along with that there is a workbook. Don’t worry, you’re not going to be assigned homework or anything. This book is going to take you through the program from day 1 until day 28. You’ll first figure out your goals for the program and caloric needs based on your weight. It is imperative that you figure this out if you don’t already know it off the top of your head.
Another thing you’ll find in the workbook at the start of each week is a grocery list. Yeah, Wilderness Athlete literally tells you what to buy at the grocery store. This is something unique from other workout programs I’ve done in the past and much appreciated.
At the start of each day, there will be your daily menu. Breakfast, snacks, lunch, supplements, and dinner are listed right there. Alongside that, there are some areas to list your “to do’s” for the day, priorities, and a section to take notes.
Your workout will be on the following page. Here is another thing unique to this program from my experience. They give an at home workout as well as a gym workout. In the crazy times we’re living in. No excuses! Each week, you’ll workout for 3 days, then have an active recovery day, followed by another 2 days of workouts and an active recovery day. Active recovery days are basically where one gets a break from the workouts and does something like hiking instead. You’ll stay active, but recover from the workouts.
Jumping into the 28 day reboot I was so excited to shake off the dust and get to work. I started the program on March 1st and ended on March 28th, right before my bear hunts started. It was perfect timing.
I’m generally a positive guy, so let’s start out with what I liked about the 28 day reboot.
First and foremost, it’s the workouts that really stuck out to me. They offered the perfect amount of variety/intensity so I didn’t get bored doing the same things over and over again like other programs I’ve done in the past. The first week of workouts were a grind. There always seems to be an acclimation period to these things. I was tired and sore the first week. After that first week though, things were much better, and I felt stronger with more energy. The online portal was super helpful with instructions on how to do the movements. Without that, I probably would have been doing the workouts wrong.
Another thing that was pretty cool about this was the workbook. Each day, you’ll get the opportunity to journal a little bit. As a writer, this appealed to me. It let me write down how I was feeling that particular day, what I was grateful for, and my goals. This might sound monotonous, writing this down every day, but it helped keep me focused. That’s something that is unique with the 28 day reboot. They don’t want you to forget why you’re doing what you’re doing.
The biggest positive for me from the program was the routine and discipline of it all. We all fall short here and there when it comes to this stuff, and I personally operate better when I’ve got some sort of schedule to follow. When things are in a “free for all” state is often when I fall off the wagon. Knowing that I had a workout to do each day, and that I had to do it, was calming and invigorating.
Yeah, yeah. We’ve gotta touch on the other end of the stick. No workout program is perfect. While I enjoyed going through the 28 day reboot, it is no exception to that rule. Let me elaborate.
I found there to be somewhat of a lack of clarity regarding the diet portion of the program specifically. While they do things like tell you what your macronutrients should be and how many calories one needs to eat in a day, there is no way to track this information in line with the program. For example, there are no serving sizes. Information about calories per meal/recipes aren’t present either. This can be confusing, because while I might consider a 4 oz steak to be one serving, my Father in Law considers a 10 oz steak as one serving. Remember me mentioning my exhaustion the first week? That’s because I was eating 1000 calories less than what I should have been eating in a day. I was undereating because of the lack of specification on how much I should actually be eating per meal/snack. This might not be an issue for you, if you’re experienced with calorie based diets, but if you’ve never done it before, you’ll definitely want to download a calorie counter to jump on board.
One of the main supplements within the 28 day reboot is a product called Lean Life. It’s used to curb hunger cravings, attack stored body fat, and give a healthy energy boost to burn even more calories during your workouts. Unfortunately this gave off a less than desirable side effect to me. This was a bummer, because the purpose of Lean Life sounds like an intricate part of the 28 day reboot. To be fair, it sounds like the side effect is more on a case by case situation, but it gave me some pretty gnarly headaches. One of the main ingredients in Lean Life is Chromium and a side effect of Chromium can be headaches. Lean Life has 685% of your daily value. I tested this out multiple times with full doses and half doses. Unfortunately, every time I used this, I got a headache.
I want to point something out here about the headaches bit before we move on, as I don’t want you to think it’s all doom and gloom. There are definitely other things at play here that could have caused the headaches beyond just the Lean Life. Things like hydration, caffeine intake, and simply what seems to be my own sensitivity to the Chromium are all things that could have played a role. From what I’ve read, the side effect is fairly rare, and I’ve never personally heard of anyone else having this issue with Lean Life.
If your time is limited, this program might not be a great fit. Between the workouts and food prep, this could take up hours of your day. Some of the workouts took up 1 hour + on their own. I was oftentimes working out at either 4 a.m. or 9 p.m., because we have a 9 month old at home that keeps my wife and I pretty busy during the day. Not to mention, that pesky thing called work. Of course, where there is a will, there is a way.
Sure, there were some things that didn’t work well for me personally, but they weren’t deal breakers by any means. At the end of the day, my total weight loss for the program was 5 pounds and I truly believe that was 5 pounds of body fat, not me sacrificing muscle. What I got out of the 28 day reboot extends well past those 5 pounds though. My performance during the workouts improved immensely. I saw cuts in my physique that were laying dormant beforehand. And then there was the routine and discipline of it all. Those are two areas, that when lacking, will ultimately lead to bad habits. It happens to all of us from time to time. The 28 day reboot is a perfect way to stomp that into the dirt and get ready for the coming hunting season. Which reminds me, I need to pack for my bear hunt right about now…
To learn more about the 28 day reboot and more products from Wilderness Athlete visit www.wildernessathlete.com.
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