New year new me, that’s what everybody says right? I’ve been dealing with a lot emotionally lately and I won’t get too into it but I needed a change, something to look forward to and I decided that would be getting back into working out!
When I saw Blogilates came out with her workout line at Target I was so excited to get back into working out! I’ve watched Blogilates since I was in high school (I’m now out of college!) and it was such a full-circle moment getting to buy her products at Target. I purchased her workout bands, wrap socks, and fitness journal from the collection as they were things I found I needed most but I honestly would’ve loved to buy it all, especially the yoga mats they were beautiful! After posting about my purchases on my Instagram, I found out she was unveiling an app with a 21-day workout challenge. I knew this was what I needed to jump-start my year! I decided I wanted to track my progress and note my changes here so that I could share everything with you all!
Week 1
Prior to this week, the last time I seriously worked out was July and let me just tell you it shows. I wasn’t extremely sore doing the workouts necessarily but I noticed I had quite a bit of trouble doing certain moves. I also need to state that I don’t have weights so I did almost all of the alt moves provided.
I had to take my before pictures this week which was a rough experience. I don’t talk about it often but I have a pretty odd body shape, my belly button sits low on my body and because I’m plus size my stomach folds in on itself which makes me self-conscious. I’m grateful for high-waisted everything for this reason but to stay true to before and after photos, I took pictures with the band of my biker shorts rolled down. I’m not posting them here but they are a part of my original Instagram post here.
This week as I journaled I had to circle my mood of the day and I noticed my mood was pretty high every day which was a significant change in past weeks! Working out every day helped me to feel accomplished in more ways than one and that helped me focus on completing small goals. I also tracked what I ate, trying to stick to the diet recommended along with drinking 64 oz of water. At the end of every week, there’s a page to look over what you want to do differently and I found I wasn’t eating enough so I made the note to eat more. In total, this week I lost 2 lb which was a pretty decent loss but I knew it was more so because I wasn’t eating as much.
Week 2
This week flew by for me! I felt myself doing the workouts much easier and I wasn’t as sore as I was in the beginning. There’s a particular move I was proud I did well in the abs video this week where it’s sort of a one-hand raised sit-up. I wasn’t able to do it for too long but this was the first time I was able to use my abdominal muscles to lift myself like that!
I made sure to eat more this week as well. With the change in my diet, I felt more energetic and I was able to get a lot more accomplished in my days which was really great! In terms of noticing a physical difference, I didn’t notice much change. I have an incredibly slow metabolism so I already know I won’t notice too much of a difference but the fact I’m feeling great is an amazing start! I gained the 2lb I lost back this week but that’s to be expected since I changed how much I was eating.
Week 3
It’s the final week and I’ve never been more anxious! Internally I’ve felt great but I know externally that doesn’t really show as much in terms of change and I’m honestly really nervous about posting my before and after pictures on Instagram. This week I’m happy to say I aced that move I was still working on in week 2 and I’m so proud! Thinking back on how hard it was from week 1 to now is wild!
I maintained my weight this week so nothing big there but I’ve noticed my workout clothes fitting better and it shows in my after photos as well! I took my measurements again as well and I was down almost a whole inch in every area which was mind-blowing to me! I never thought I would see that much of a difference in just 3 weeks of working out but the numbers can’t lie that’s for sure.
My overall mood has changed as well which is amazing, I can’t think of the last time I’ve had so many good days in a row and I’m grateful to have had this challenge to help with that!
Overall
Overall, I think this challenge is amazing if you have the equipment for it. As someone that had to do alt movements, I still got great benefits from the program but they’re not as extreme as others may have and that’s okay!
This is a great workout for beginners or if you’ve worked out before and are trying to get back into a routine again like me. I’d definitely recommend this to friends & family and if you’re reading this wondering if you should try it I’d say why not? 21 minutes a day is simple and easy to add into your routine and it’s a great start to working out more regularly. If you’ve done this work out let me know what you thought too!