3 Fitness Challenges I'm Doing Right Now

22 November 2016


If you follow me on instagram or we talk in real life you may know that i've been trying to up my fitness as of late. I've also dropped to only one job so I don't exactly have as much of a disposable income as I used to have either. I had been wanting to get on the fitness bandwagon for ages, I just kept falling off it. For a variety of reasons. Hell I still bring up the time I got really fit and then got a cold that lasted 3 months which completely destroyed all motivation and fitness, and that happened probably 5 years ago. 

One day in October this year I thought screw it! I want to get into shape, for probably the first time ever, and I want to do it now. I just opened the door and went for a run and the journey began. 
So far I've been exercising and eating better for about 6 weeks. I've lost 2kg! 

Which is quite a bit seeing as I'm only small to start with. But it's not about the weight. Not to mention that muscle weighs more than fat. I'm feeling great mentally and when I look in the mirror I feel good about myself and what I look like. It's such a great feeling, and one I'm sure too many people haven't felt before, which sucks. 

I like it when someone tells me what exercises to do, which is probably why love jumping on board fitness challenges. Two of the challenges I'm doing are youtube videos, and everything is free.
Though I do use a paid version of an app, but there are plenty of free ones around. 


The Challenges


Couch to 5k Challenge - Interval Cardio

If you're a regular reader you would have seen my post on this before. I've started and failed two times already but I'm determined to succeed! I have now started over for a third time and am going great! I'm in Week 5 of the challenge, but you can do days over if you feel that the next day will be too tough. So practise on some of the earlier days and then move onto the next one if you feel like you're ready. I've done Day One of Week 5, three times now this week and the difference I've noticed in my endurance is amazing! The third run was a breeze compared to the first and this is in week 5!

Couch to 5k is an app, I have a paid one but there are plenty of freebies out there. I play my music and it tells me when to walk, when to run and when to cool down. If I start moving too slow it says Don't give up! It also lets me know when I'm halfway through the 30 minute session. When I get to that cool down walk at the end of the last run I always feel so great. Like yeah I did it! Josh has been with me on a few runs as well, and having a running buddy is really motivating. 

The challenge runs for 9 weeks, or however long it takes you to get through all 9 weeks. You only need to use it three times a week, for half an hour at a time. So a spare hour and a half a week overall is not usually too tough to find. 

You can check out the full post I did on the Couch to 5k here, and here is the exact app I'm using. It's worth the small one off fee and I love it! Here's a good free one too


The 30 Day Fat Burn Challenge - Strength Exercises

I actually just finished this challenge! 30 days done and dusted. This workout is high intensity aerobics in 10 minute lots. You follow the calendar here and do the video it tells you to on each day. There are 10 different videos that you can find all together right here. Some of the days on the calender have two videos that you have to do. The videos alternate between requiring dumbbells and not. When I first started this challenge I didn't have any weights at all. I was holding a heavy cookbook and it was really hard!

I'm currently using the 1.5kg Dumbbells from K-Mart and they're only $6 each. I enjoyed watching and doing these videos. They were hard but not so hard I thought I could never get through them. Towards the end of the month I was pushing myself harder through each workout, so even though I was getting better at doing the exercises, I was still getting a full workout whilst doing it. 

This challenge is great because 10 minutes a day is nothing! It's half a TV show! It's a quarter of a good length TV show. It's easily fit into your day and I really enjoyed tuning into Astrid & Danielle each day and imagining they secretly hate eachother as I watched and exercises. I still suck at push ups though.



30 Days of Yoga with Adriene - Stretching/Strength

I'm up to Day 13 of Yoga with Adriene and I'm loving it so far. I've always wanted to get into yoga but I'm actually stressed about going into yoga around locally either by myself or with someone who can already do yoga. As I clearly can not. I'm very inflexible too. My legs don't bend very far at all, it's a bit ridiculous.  So Yoga with Adriene on YouTube lets me actually participate in the yoga world from my very own living room. 

A big reason I love doing these videos is Adriene! She's super lovely and likeable. I often just can't help smiling as she talks on during her videos. Probably a reason she does so well. The videos are easy to follow and Adriene gives you advice if you're not able to complete each pose. Her mantra is "Find What Feels Good" and is repeated often. Encouraging you to find your own best way to have yoga in your life. 

The videos range from being 10 minutes to about half an hour. When I'm trying to fit them into my day I usually do one either of an early morning or after I've got home from work. 
Find the 30 Days of Yoga right here. 




I'm loving how I'm looking and feeling right now and I'm exercising almost every day. It's not costing me any money and it's really not consuming that much time either. I love how challenges kind of suck you in and get you really working! Well I'm not done yet! I'm keen to find my next fitness challenge!

Have you done a fitness challenge before? What is it and how do you like it? 
Any suggestions of one I should check out? Pop it in the comments!




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7 comments

  1. okay, you have motivated me to start exercising again! I really like to look of the yoga one, I've been wanting to try yoga for ages!

    xo
    Jenna
    Ironic Minimalist
    www.ironicminimalist.com

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  3. Hey girl

    You look amazing!
    Great minds think alike it seems as I just got into fitness again.
    I put together my own 2 week detox (on the cheap).
    I lost a crazy 5kgs and I actually now love exercising.
    Sweating is so much fun
    thehuntergirl.com xo

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  4. good for you! im doing zumba, body blast and gym sessions and I feel great too. And im currently fighting a cold and it makes me feel that one bit better :)
    Pam xo/ Pam Scalfi♥

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  5. I love Adriene! I got to day 11 of her 30 day challenge and fell off. I should start it again!! Great post, and I'm glad you're doing so well!

    stephlachance.com

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  6. Absolutely love this post �� I've been looking for ways to mix up my workouts and adding in challenges like this is such a great way... Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  7. This is awesome and really motivating. I did the Couch to 5K app a couple of years ago and I still remember how amazing I felt when I finally nailed that 5k. Unfortunately I stopped running as soon as I reached the goal. Fail haha. Definitely checking out the yoga challenge you mentioned!!

    Kayte xx
    imminentbeauty.blogspot.com.au

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Thanks so much for commenting everyone! I read and appreciate every single one of your comments! xx