ImpactR Fitness Journey – Week 2

Week 2 with the ImpactR, chatting about finding my feet, weekly themes to track, and a day-by-day account of how the week went.

FINDING MY FEET

My theme for this week (keep reading to see what these themes are all about) has been all about finding my feet. You might think that kind of theme would have been more appropriate for Week 1. I certainly did. But it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about this week, in a lot of different areas:

• Coming to grips with using the ImpactR
• Figuring out location – exercising inside or outside, keeping weather in mind
• Sorting out timings – the time of day to exercise
• Being in the right frame of mind to exercise
• Working out on a more consistent basis

I started Week 2 thinking I should have felt more comfortable and already into a routine than it ended up feeling. But I still feel pretty new at this whole thing – certainly using the ImpactR, but also with working out on the whole. There is a lot of discovery and rediscovery going on.

This week I’ve been reminding myself that embracing the discovery and rediscoveries is a good thing. Two weeks and six sessions isn’t too long. There’s plenty of time to get more comfortable and secure with all of this, and the adjustment period is such an important part of the process. So this week I’ve just been leaning into that a bit more.

SOME WEEKLY THREADS TO TRACK

I am very much making up these fitness blog posts as I go. Can you tell? As a way to add more structure and variety to these posts I’m introducing some ideas to track. After all, I don’t want every week’s blog to sound the same. If you have any ideas you’d specifically like to see covered, I am all ears!

Here a few of mine:

• A theme of the week – this is what I started earlier in this post. Every week I’ll pick a word or phrase that encapsulates my focus for the week. I think that’ll help sum up each week a little more succinctly.
• Specific weekly goals – I want to start each week thinking about three specific goals to keep in mind for the week. I don’t think these goals will all be reached in that one week. I’d be shocked if they did! But it gives me a chance to think more specifically about fitness goals, which is different and growing for me.
• Favourite and least favourite exercises of the day – Finally, in my daily round-ups, I want to pick out my fav and least fav exercises of the day. Deanna designs my workouts to use the ImpactR in so many different ways. I genuinely think it’s amazing how versatile a tool it is! This section may help highlight some of those exercises. I think it’ll also be interesting to track what I’m enjoying the most and finding the most challenging along the way. Who knows, maybe some things will change or completely flip (although I don’t ever see burpees becoming a beloved exercise to me)!

WEEKLY GOALS

• Slamming the ImpactR without a rebound
• Lifting the ImpactR in arm presses without arching my back
• Completing tricep exercises without feeling like my arms are going to fall off

WEEK 2 DIARY

Day 1 – April 27, 2021:

Week 2, let’s go! Today felt harder than last week. After one week I thought I would feel more comfortable with the ImpactR and that the whole week would feel easier. Deanna, intentionally she says, kicked the intensity up a notch, and boy could I tell.

The biggest revelation for me today was doing press-ups while sitting down. Now I find press-ups hard enough while standing. But who knew that sitting down could make the exercise so much more challenging?? I sure didn’t. It’s one of the amazing things about the ImpactR that Deanna pointed out at the end of our session. Even just a small adjustment can make a big difference in upping the intensity and challenge!

Fav exercise of the day: One-handed rows! I’m enjoying the challenge of balancing the ImpactR in one hand, and I really feel the engagement of the arm muscles with this move.

Least fav exercise of the day: 100% those sitting-down press-ups

Day 2 – April 29, 2021:

Another session ended with quite a sweaty Bekah. There was more of a focus on cardio today, with jack slams and burpees. Deanna actually asked me if there was one word to describe today’s workout what it would be, and all I could think of was ‘hot and sweaty’. It’s actually really nice to get sweaty and feel like I had a proper workout. Even in just 15 mins!

PS – Deanna’s word of the day is what inspired the weekly themes of these blog posts! I don’t feel like I’m quite ready for the word of the day Deanna offered to me today, but hopefully one of these upcoming weeks I’ll get there (stay tuned)!

Fav exercise of the day – I *think* I really like push-ups! Even just writing that feels a bit wrong…but I find push-ups way more fun when doing them on a bar. Is that strange?

By no means does it mean that I’m good at push-ups on a bar…just that I find them kinda fun!

Least fav exercise of the day – It’s gotta be burpees, made even more challenging by lifting a 16lb ImpactR bar over my head for each one. Burpees are hard enough with bodyweight alone, am I right?

Day 3 – May 1, 2021:

Today was meant to be a leg day. But having just finished up the session, I feel like everything has been worked. We really got into the squats: single leg, curtsy, side – you name it, we did it (not really, but you get my point). It’s very cool incorporating the ImpactR into exercises I have tried before. The balancing act of using a bar that’s more heavily weighted on one side is super interesting. It makes exercise moves much more versatile and adaptable, moving along the bar to make it heavier and lighter. I also like the aspect of focusing on one side of the body, and then switching, and noticing the differences and progress of both sides.

Fav exercise of the day – Today it was possibly squats. It’s been a long while since I really properly worked my legs.

Least fav exercise of the day – Those tricep lifts are quite hard work. My arms, triceps in particular, have been neglected over the years, and moves like this really expose that! But it feels good to know I’m giving them some attention now.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m wrapping this blog post up on Sunday, and I am sore. Getting out of bed this morning, my legs felt like I had done an intense track session the day before. Going down the stairs from my room to the kitchen transported me back to my high school days when I did a short stint on the track team. I distinctly remember days on end having difficulty just standing up and taking stairs very slowly one leg at a time. That’s what my morning looked like.

Fortunately, soreness in general this week hasn’t lasted too long. I did a yoga session this morning, which again reminded me of how much more yoga I should be doing. Stretching truly does make a difference, people. I’m sure the session helped, as well as the long afternoon walk I went on when the day got a bit cooler (summer is coming). Deanna often reminds me to stay loose after a session, and I think movement really helps with recovery. I am impressed with the level of soreness I felt after just a 15-minute session targeted on legs though. Those curtsy squats are no joke.

Overall, I had thought I would find week 2 easier than I did. But I also appreciate that I felt challenged and pushed, thanks to Deanna, her intentional planning of our workouts, and her motivating energy to get me through them. 2 weeks down, 4 more to go!

THE SERIES

If you missed Week 1 and my introduction to this series on my ImpactR Fitness Journey, check it out right here!

DISCOUNT

If you’re interested in trying out the ImpactR for yourself, you can save 10% on their website using the code BEKAH10! This is an affiliate link, and if you purchase through a link/using my code I receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you and it really helps to support me in doing this work. Thank you so much for your support!