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Some final reflections after completing my 6-week ImpactR challenge, including daily motivation for healthful living, and 3 key takeaways! When I first connected with the ImpactR team about the opportunity to work with them as an ambassador, my initial response had been to send an …
The final Week 6 on this Fitness Journey with the ImpactR, with the theme of ‘Feeling Strong’, a day-by-day account of the week, fav and least fav exercises, and some final thoughts on finishing this 6-week challenge! THE FINAL WEEK Back in Week 2, Deanna …
Week 5 with the ImpactR, with the theme of ‘Just Do It’, the usual day-by-day account of the week, fav and least fav exercises, and 3 more weekly goals going into the final week of this 6-week challenge!
Going into week 5, I was already feeling a bit overwhelmed. It was a busy and hard week for my family, and at the start of it I wasn’t quite sure when or how to even schedule my sessions with Deanna. As always, she was amazingly kind, understanding, and flexible. But after Week 4’s mantra of mindfulness and reflection, this week felt very much…not like that.
I guess it just goes to show that there is ebb and flow to everything in life, including a fitness routine. It’s not always going to go super smoothly or feel like a complete forward progression. Sometimes getting into a new routine feels like two steps forward, one step back, and that’s ok. The overall momentum is moving forward, and that’s what counts.
My attitude for this week was very much let’s get this done and just do it. And we did! All three sessions for Week 5 got completed, and they kicked my butt – but as always, in a good way.
We started Week 5 off very much in the vein of this week’s theme of Just Do It. 9am (8am for Deanna!), mat rolled out, ImpactR ready, let’s go. Deanna shared how she’s a big believer in starting your week off strong, and it felt great to start this week off with an ImpactR session.
I felt very challenged today! By the end my legs felt like jelly. Stairs were a bit challenging for the rest of the morning too. I found myself sometimes modifying the exercises to challenge myself more, and other times modifying a move to be simpler because I’m not quite there yet. Both are good. I’m enjoying listening to my body but also pushing it and challenging it beyond what I initially think I can do. We got through two whole cycles of Deanna’s workout, and had time to squeeze in some extra arm rows at the end, wahoo!
Fav exercise of the day – Plank jacks! I still find these quite fun, and it’s even better when you get into a rhythm and hit a groove.
Least fav exercise of the day – Forward lunges while also lifting the ImpactR. These feel hard enough on my legs, but the arms…my goodness. My arms cannot lift the ImpactR while straight, so I had to modify it into a press up move while doing the lunge. Working on it, but there’s certainly room to grow.
I do believe this week’s sessions are making me sweat more. It’s no bad thing! Today felt fast-paced and challenging, but easily modifiable. Deanna makes the biggest difference in pushing me harder than I ever would myself. I’m positive that I wouldn’t keep the same pace, or push myself to do harder modifications of exercises, if she wasn’t there challenging and cheering me on.
Fav exercise of the day – Definitely one leg deadlifts. These involve bringing the ImpactR down while at the same time lifting one leg up behind you, and it’s a real balancing act. I find it really fun to embrace that balancing challenge.
Least fav exercise of the day – Sit-ups with the ImpactR are still very difficult! I honestly felt each time like I wouldn’t be able to finish the reps, but somehow was able to push through and get them done. I’m sure that was largely thanks to Deanna’s encouragement.
This week has definitely felt on another level, and Day 3 was no different. Less breaks and lots of reps. Today I was noticing how some movements started off feeling almost enjoyable, but as more and more reps were completed began to feel…less so. LOL. That’s a roundabout way of saying I could feel myself getting more tired with the number of reps, and as the workout progressed they felt more and more challenging. We pushed through til the end though. After all, 15 minutes really isn’t too long. And you can do anything for 15 minutes, right?
Fav exercise of the day – Glute bridges, or maybe even rapid slams! I do like getting into a rhythm with the rapid slams, and glute bridges reminded me of gym sessions using barbell weights to complete this same move.
Least fav exercise of the day – Today it was the seated chest press. Sitting down really ups the challenge of this move and helps activates those arm muscles.
It feels crazy to me that we’re almost to the end of this 6-week challenge! I’m proud that we were able to continue the momentum and get this week done, even in the midst of a busy and difficult time. I feel like this week proved to me that 3 15-minute sessions really are accessible and manageable. They’re not too overwhelming to fit into a week’s schedule and can truly make such a difference!
I always feel better after a session and taking even just 45 minutes a week to take care of myself and build up strength and stamina is a really good thing. I hope this helps encourage you to prioritise a bit more time to your own fitness journeys!
If you missed the earlier posts of my ImpactR Fitness Journey series, make sure you catch up with Week 1’s introduction, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4!
Stay tuned for something super exciting coming at the end of Week 6 as well!!
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!
Week 4 with the ImpactR, talking about mindful reflection during a fitness routine, more of my least and fav workout exercises from the week, and as always, a day-by-day account of the week. MINDFUL REFLECTION For me, Week 4 was a combination of ramping up …
Week 3 with the ImpactR, talking about showing up, more of my least and fav workout exercises from the week, and a day-by-day account of how the week went. ‘I’m excited to work out with you this week.’ Could there be a better way to …
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.
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:
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.
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:
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
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?
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.
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!
If you missed Week 1 and my introduction to this series on my ImpactR Fitness Journey, check it out right here!
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!
The beginning of my journey with the ImpactR, as I get back into fitness and building an exercise routine! Exercise used to be a big part of my life and routine. I went through all different kinds of phases. In my undergrad I got into …