Week#1 of my fitness journey

This week has been challenging and painful {oh, so painful} but also amazing. I have just completed week#1 of my 4-week fitness plan and I am so incredibly proud of myself. Every day hasn’t been without its challenges, but I have still put my trainers on and completed my daily workout. For me, personally? This is a huge achievement. 

Every day, after my workout I have learned a few things about myself, {and not only how painfully unfit I am!} but now I’m even beginning to find them…fun! Which, if you were to ask me a month ago if I’d ever find doing any kind of fitness fun? I would have laughed in your face and thought you were mad. But every day, post-workout, I am feeling stronger, less fatigued and feeling more energetic in the afternoons & evenings than I have in a long time. 

I must say though, this fitness routine of mine is in no way a diet. I think the word or the mere implication of a ‘diet’ can add so much pressure onto your shoulders. Which doesn’t make the idea of dieting any easier. So, knowing this about myself {you may be different} I have just been eating as normal. Aside from eating more fruit than I normally would – which is a banana in the morning and one mid-afternoon. I haven’t changed anything with regards to my eating habits. 

My goal for this 4-week fitness plan is to solely make being active a part of my daily routine. I want to make – taking 20mins out of my day – to do some fitness, into a habit. And sure, some days {and finding making the time} is harder than others but as long as I put on those trainers and work my big-old butt off, then I’m on the right track. 

The first week was always going to be the hardest, so I thought I’d share what I felt each day after my workout. What I learned about myself and what I found easy and or hard throughout my fitness regimes. 

Day#1 – I was excited to get started, but after doing my first running workout – which is run for 2mins then walk for 2mins, for 10mins. I literally thought I might die. This was a massive eye opener for me to just how unfit I had become. I realised that planks are evil and much harder if you’ve had c-sections {I’ve had three!}. So I learned not to be too hard on myself after struggling to do a 15sec plank {on day one}. I also came to the conclusion that wall sits were orchestrated by the devil. My poor thighs the morning after! 

Day#2 – I’ll not lie, it hurt to walk. Going up & down the stairs was incredibly painful! I did the school runs on this day like I was impersonating {although unintentionally} John Wayne. I still got those trainers on and smashed my workout – how painful the running section was {my poor thighs!}. 

Day#3 – Today I found the running aspect of my workout easier. I found a great running song list on Spotify which helped me out massively. I realised that jumping jacks are for five-year-olds and not for someone who has had five children. Tena lady, anyone? 

Day#4 – To my own surprise, the pain began to wear off. Other than a bit of hip pain, which is a result of the running {I think} – I was feeling great. I also came to the realisation that doing sit-ups is incredibly hard when you have a little extra mid-riff padding. 

Day#5 – I had completely forgotten how ab-focused I had made Day#5! From butt kicks to squats and even a 45-second plank! But I managed it. I felt great for completely my first week but I was looking forward to having my weekend of rest. 

It turns out, resting over the weekend felt weird. It felt wrong, even. So I think this week, I’ll just carry it on through my weekend because at the end of the day? It’s 20 minutes! I also didn’t feel as great in the afternoons and evenings over my weekend as I had done during the week. Feeling pumped and energetic is such a great feeling and for someone who would usually be sluggish and lethargic {normally}, I’d prefer to feel the later more, please!

So bring on Week#2! My regime is a little longer, certain exercises will be tougher but I am excited to throw myself into it. Even if I am still sore from last week! But, as they say, no pain, no gain, right? 

Let’s do this!