Fitmas is Finished! Week 5 and Thoughts

Over the last five weeks, I have been taking part in Corinne’s Fitmas challenge from her fitness blog Slimmed Cartree. Well I’m happy to say that this week was the final week so as well as updating you on my progress, I wanted to reflect on the challenge as a whole:

Workout 1:
Arms workout, combination of machines and dumbbells

I’ve grown to really love Corinne’s arms workout, especially now I superset a couple of the exercises. It takes about half an hour to complete, which is perfect to fit into a busy day but still feel like I’ve completed a good workout. It’s a workout I’m looking forward to continuing to use even though the challenge has now ended.

Workout 2:
45 mins cardio

I hate cardio. So much. However, another positive from Fitmas is that I have actually done some cardio. After 23 years, I have finally learnt that if I take my iPad onto my treadmill, I can watch videos and make that cardio session much more enjoyable. By watching YouTube videos or catching up on a TV programme whilst working out, I feel like long cardio sessions have become far less of a chore and although I don’t think I will ever be a runner, I’m happy to be including some much needed cardio in my fitness regime.

Workout 3:
4 sets x 12 reps deadlifts
4 sets x 12 reps rack pulls
3 sets x 12 reps bend over rows
superset with 3 sets x 12 reps bent over reverse flys
4 sets x 12 reps lat pulldowns
superset with 4 sets x 12 reps straight arm lat pulldowns
20 mins cardio

I finished my final week of Fitmas with my optional routine – hurrah my brother is back from uni! I’m looking forward to Christmas because I can eat all the food but also justify it because I know my brother is going to make me work out –  he is a great influence on my exercise routine. Today we trained back and finished the workout with some cardio – it was a good session which pushed me the right amount and I’m relying on my brother to keep me motivated over the festive period, especially now Fitmas has finished.

Overall, I am fairly pleased with how Fitmas went but not overwhelmed – the challenge pretty much went how I expected it to for me. The first week was amazing and I was really proud of myself, but I just failed at keeping it up. I can’t pretend that this was a surprise but this is exactly what I was trying to get better at as a result of the challenge; consistency. By attempting shorter workouts, I was hoping that I would go to the gym more regularly but it really is all about motivation for me – proven by the fact that I’ve been to the gym every day since my brother got back from university.

If you didn’t take part in Fitmas, why not try it in January? Check out Corinne’s Fitmas challenge eBook and let me know how you get on!