So I jumped at the chance to try the Women’s Health 30-Day Fitness Challenge. A strength training program was exactly what I needed, and this challenge gave me four weekly workout options. I could choose from a full-body, upper-body, lower-body, core-only, and cross-training program. Here’s a rundown
Each workout only took about twenty minutes, and the best part was that I could do all of them from the comfort of my own home. Running, where I could easily push my three young children into a stroller and go, was the only activity I could fit into my schedule.
I couldn’t bring myself to go to the gym. However, it seemed feasible to have pre-set workouts that I could complete at home after the kids went to bed.
I realized that while I could run, I was completely inadequate in every other aspect. Warm-ups, two circuits, and cool-downs or core exercises are the four main components of each workout this week.
I admit I was a little cocky when I saw that the first lower body warm-up consisted of 30 seconds of hip rotations and lateral leg raises, but I was glad that these exercises really got my heart rate up. The pencil jumps also had me nervously checking my stopwatch.
The exercises that targeted my upper body and abs proved to be the most challenging, as I had anticipated. The back push-ups were pretty tough, as I found out very quickly. I almost gave it my all, but I cheated and quit before the end because I couldn’t handle it.
The plank jacks were tough and tiring, but ultimately rewarding.
With the exception of the push-up hold, which required actually doing a push-up, the full-body workout was pretty fun for me. I can’t remember the last time I did a push-up properly. That made it a bit of a challenge.
By the end of the second week, I realized that this was no picnic. Despite the soreness, I enjoyed using muscles that I hadn’t worked in a long time. Finally, I felt things starting to change. This week’s workouts were very similar to the first week’s. While I still found the triceps push-up difficult, this time I was able to complete a full 45-second set.
