These past couple of days have flown by.  I have been incredibly busy with work all week so I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the weekend.  In the interim, I have been channeling all of my work related stress into some pretty stellar workouts.  If there is one thing that I have learned from taking on this new BBG challenge, it is that sticking with something will bring progress.  You just have to trust.

I learned this in full force when I went to do the Week 9 Arm workout this week.  I read through the exercises, set up my torture chamber and got started.

As you move through the Bikini Body Guide, you see some of the same moves resurface time and time again, but, to keep it interesting and keep your body guessing, Kayla adds little twists.  Like instead of doing 15 burpees one time throughout both circuits, let’s do 15 burpees with push-ups, and also 15 burpees with a jump forward, and also 15 burpees with a Bosu ball and then a push up.  Lord have mercy.  This workout was a welcome challenge though.  When I first started the BBG, I didn’t have a problem with doing burpees, I just didn’t really like them.  Now, on week 9, when I see a regular burpee I am literally thankful.  These new variations are really testing me and helping me grow though.  The other day, I was casually flexing in the mirror (as one does when they spend a good hour and some of their day at the gym 6 days a week) and I saw a shockingly visible change.  I was so proud.  My arms have been very small, perhaps too small, for a very long time and to see them now harnessing power is amazing.  While the physical changes aren’t too drastic, the mental ones and internal ones are.  I feel faster, I feel stronger, and I feel more fit overall.

My boyfriend used to ask me what my intention was when I went to the gym since I seemingly did the same thing over and over.  A couple miles on the treadmill, some ellipticalling, and then some light weights.  This took me back a bit.  Why was I going to the gym if I wasn’t looking to get something out of it.  I searched far and wide for a program that I enjoyed doing that would help me become a better version of myself.  I started out with a BodyBuilding.com weightlifting routine, but it just wasn’t for me.  Things moved too slowly, I barely broke a sweat, and I just felt like I was lolly-gagging throughout the gym, dragging my feet and counting down the seconds until I got to leave.  I was seeing no results and I think it was ultimately because I wasn’t happy and I wasn’t having fun with my workouts.

When I looked up the Kayla guide with my friends back in February, it seemed like a welcome change.  Fast paced, challenging, and I could do it at home if I so chose.  Now, 9 weeks later, I am so glad I made that decision.  My two friends I started with may have stopped, but I really wish they hadn’t.  If you want to see a true change in yourself and learn about the power your body alone has, try the BBG.

On that note, I will leave you with this beautiful sunset on the river right behind my apartment where I often do some of my workouts.

Blissfully peaceful and serene.

-sj