12 Week Challenge
By Aimee on
It was this picture that was taken at the beginning of December 2018 that really shocked me. I had been taking very small steps towards a healthier lifestyle but none of that had really amounted to much. I was sitting at roughly 72kg, struggling with back pain, sore hips and had no core muscle strength. I was tired all the time and in all honesty had given up and accepted that I was just going to be like this from now on. Also light warning on this very pic heavy post :)
But after this picture I decided that, no, I didn’t want to be like this. So I downloaded Kayla Itsines Sweat app on to my phone and got started. I was really happy that Sam decided to do this with me. We also both did a dry January and he started to exercise too.
So Pre BBG weeks 1-4. This is my before photo (Back/front/side). The one that I have compared all my progress photos too if you follow me on instagram. The first 4 weeks really put me into a routine. Mondays I did legs, Thursdays I did arms and abs, and Saturdays I did full body. At the start because it was school holidays I also rode my bike to work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday which gave me my low intensity work outs. We would also ride our bikes to the markets on a Sunday.
By the end of week 4 I was looking and feeling healthier already and as you can see I was starting to see immediate results. This spurred me on to continue. Workouts were generally achieved during Poppy’s nap. That’s my preferred time but sometimes I did them at night or just when I had a moment and Sam was able to mind the little rugrat that enjoyed working out with us. I loved knowing that she was watching us be healthy and start a healthy habit.
The thing I loved about the app was its versatility. As the weeks went on there were a few times where I didn’t feel like doing a walk, or a bike ride, or even an arms workout. In those moments I changed the program and picked a yoga session, or a fast legs, something different that kept me exercising but made me happier than the workout that was traditionally scheduled.
Weeks 8-12 of the program were the hardest for me. Between easter, school holidays, hard workouts and just a general lack of motivation I didn’t complete what was expected of me in those weeks. I did 2 resistance trainings in those weeks instead of the 3 and maybe 1 to 2 low intensity trainings. It was nice when taking my photo today however that there was still showing improvement in my arms and back muscles even if my tummy looked a little worse for wear. (Did someone say chocolate?)
If you have never heard of Kayla Itsines before or her bikini body guide (BBG) workout system or her app Sweat I suggest having a look. You can pick from a multitude of programs on the app, and a number of them you can do from home. I chose the regular BBG program where you do 3 resistance trainings per week. The idea is that it only lasts 28 minutes (slightly more if you’re doing warm ups, cool downs, and rests). In the first 7 minutes you have 4 exercises that you do for a particular number of sets. You go through these exercises as many times as you can in those 7 minutes. Then after a short rest (timed at 1 minute) you do another 7 minutes of a second circuit. Then you repeat circuit 1 for 7 minutes then circuit 2 for another 7. Hence the 28 minutes. And then it’s done. You do that twice more and you’ve done your resistance training for the week. The app suggests you do 3-4 low intensity steady state or LISS during the week and 2 foam roll and stretch sessions or 1 with a rest day.
In the beginning I was hitting all the marks. By the end not so much but I made sure I did at least 3 workouts per week.
So as you can see by the photos filtered through the article that some great progress has been made. I unfortunately didn’t measure my self but the pictures were pretty good for me. I have also gone from 72 kg to between 65 and 66 kg depending on the day. To which I am pretty happy with. I was 65 kg when I met Sam and haven’t seen that number in a long time. Now weight isn’t always everything. But I can tell you now I can play with my daughter easier without tiring. I can get up off the floor without struggling as much. My clothes fit better, I feel more comfortable within my skin and sexier too. I’m taking better care of my emotional and mental health and listening to my body more. I know now that some foods don’t agree with me as much as others and we have taken on a more pescatarian diet with lots of tofu and fish.
Today I started BBG 2.0 (weeks 13-24) So wish me luck! I am hopefully going to do a few more food posts too as the food we’ve been making lately is fun and different and delicious. I know I post about cakes a bit too but I’ll try a few healthy alternatives. The key to life is balance right?