I’m halfway through the 21 Fix Challenge that I set for myself at the start of this year!  The goal was to see if I could work out consistently (that means every single day) for the entire 21 days of the program.  I mentioned that I’ve technically done this whole program all the way through many times, but I would do 3-4 workouts per week and would definitely skip weekends.

Well, not anymore!  I’m pleased to report that I have stuck with this, and I have completed 11 out of the 21 days.  I do want to come clean and admit that I technically broke the challenge by Day 2 due to an unexpected 15 hour work day (oops).  However, I made up for this on Day 3 by doing the missed workout and getting back on track with that day’s workout, which included upper body, lower body, and abs. To say I was extremely sore by Day 4 would be an understatement, but I powered through!

So far from a mental perspective, this has actually been easier than I thought.  I went through and scheduled my workouts on my calendar so it’s in my head that I have to do them every night when I get home from the office.  I am a very routine/schedule oriented person, so having it actually written down and announced as a challenge has really helped me stick to it.  I like the consistency and feel like it’s actually helped me feel more organized in January by taking one day at a time, but also not having the option of not doing it has really made me stick with it.    

From a physical perspective, I think that things have gotten easier over time.  I was very sore for the whole first week, and my full-body make up session on Day 3 certainly didn’t help.  Coming right off of the holidays, I was very bloated and had gained some pounds from eating and drinking whatever I wanted for basically all of December.  I was also pretty out of shape from not exercising consistently during December, and not exercising at all during the full 10 days I was home for the holidays (oops).  So, getting back into the workout routine was terrible and hard at the beginning, but the process has definitely begun to improve over time.

So far I’ve lost about 4 pounds (a lot of that was water weight, but bye holidays!) and I feel leaner and stronger.  The soreness is still there, but I don’t feel like I need a full rest day in order to recover.  I definitely feel like I’m back in better shape, and I’m happy that I took on this personal challenge and I’m proud of my accomplishments so far!

The last 10 days will bring a new challenge – finishing strong with a weekend trip to Santa Barbara and a work trip to San Francisco on the calendar.  I will not let either of these things be an excuse from my workouts as I would in the past, and I will plan ahead to finish this challenge strong!