A new entry from Leanne Cotter talking about her second last week of the 6 week challenge. It really is amazing how Leanne’s mentality has changed compared to the start of the 6 week challenge. At first Leanne struggled with the change but now is embracing it. Feeling amazing and positive. And doing Tough Mudder for the first time was a massive achievement!
Week 5: “Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change.” Jesse Jackson.
A lot of the focus during the challenge had up until this point been on healthy eating and sticking to the food plan, but during week five all my focus was exercise. It’s truly amazing how active and energetic you feel by the end of the fifth week of the challenge and how your food choices become second nature. Turning up to group training becomes easier and motivating yourself to go out and be active is no longer such a mission. In addition to this during week five, I really begun to feel the strength in areas of my body like my abs and arms (areas where I had previously been lacking any definition at all). If you plan on taking the 6 week challenge this will be the week where you really begin to appreciate all the hard work you have been putting in during training and really seeing the results.
For some people I know that exercise can be a bit of a problematic area. There are a heap of reasons why people will tend not to stick to an exercise program. Some of the things you should consider when you begin to exercise are the following:
- If you push yourself too far too fast you can either hurt yourself or make yourself feel sick which will likely result in you not wanting to come back. Take it easy in the first few weeks of a training program and be aware of what you’re limits are.
- Train with someone! It’s much easier to commit to an exercise program if you have a buddy or someone who you enjoy training with as it will help with your motivation. And just because you don’t have someone to train with in the beginning doesn’t mean that you can’t meet new people and train with them! One of Own-it-fit’s benefits is that it has been great for meeting new friends all of who are happy to encourage you to train with them.
- Exercise at a time that is convenient to you – for me it’s way easier to train in the morning then in the evenings. For others it is the complete opposite (this is how our Evening Team Vs The Morning Crew group challenges started!!!)
- Set realistic goals! If you’re expecting to see immediate results you will be disappointed. Muscles and strength take time to build, you will need to regularly commit yourself to classes – at least 4 times per week for the duration of the challenge.
My fifth week ended on an ultimate exercise high in the form of the Tough Mudder Event! Despite the fact that afterwards every muscle in my body ached I absolutely loved this! Being part of the Own-it-fit team tough mudder team was one of the best experiences and almost like being a kid again in a giant obstacle course. I was completely apprehensive about being able to make it through however it wasn’t actually all that bad, and any obstacle I didn’t feel up to doing I could always go around. The highlights for me where diving into an ice bath, jumping off a 3.5 high platform into muddy waters and crawling over giant mud fences. All the training I had with Mel over the past few months had definitely helped even though some people thought we were completely crazy (see the link below for a funny slideshow of what the event is like):
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/31-reasons-tough-mudder-races-are-for-crazy-people
Top tip for Week five: I’m a big fan of competition and events and think it makes it much easier to be active and exercise if you are training towards something. That being said there are so many different forms of exercise and it’s up to you to find something that suits you! For some people this maybe Yoga or Pilates or something like rock climbing or bushwalking.
If you’re unsure – try everything and see what floats your boat! Remember that exercise is not just about weight loss. “Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ~Edward Stanley