Finishing a Workout Program

Yesterday was the last day of Les Mills Pump for me! I love finishing a workout program. There is a real feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. I’m proud of myself! It was hard; some of these workouts are an hour long. I struggled through some of them, and there were some days I didn’t want to start.

Les Mills Pump is a 13-week program, so it’s been part of my life for a while now. Finishing a program is kind of a big deal. If you’re like me, you can probably think back to lots of fitness programs or diets or workout fads you started and didn’t finish.  And I think that might be part of the magic of Beachbody. You commit to a program, and something about the way it’s all mapped out helps you succeed. When you succeed, you feel good, you can see and feel results, and you are motivated to continue. When you commit to a program, see it through  to the end, and complete it you feel so good. You feel proud of yourself. I love this quote about self-esteem and I think it’s so true.

I am proud of who I am as a person, and I’m proud of various things I’ve done in my life. I’m proud of being a stay-at-home-mom. But there are few things I see the finish of day-to-day as a stay-at-home mom. I’m not handing in a project by a deadline or getting an A in a class. I’m tremendously proud of my children, and I have feelings of satisfaction when my children do something, but it’s pride and awe of them and who they are and joy at being the one who gets to watch these moments. I feel good about stuff, and I love being home with them. There’s nothing I’d rather do. But sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the needs and desires of your family, and feel a little lost (as an individual) in the shuffle.

When I finish a tough workout I feel proud of myself. It’s a great way to start the day. And the feeling I get when I finish a whole program is amazing….

I beat myself up about my tendency to start things and not finish them. I also hate the quote, “It’s the thought that counts” because I have terrible follow-through. I’m scatter-brained at home, I write notes to people and don’t send them, I have gifts meant for people from three years ago in my closet…Follow-through is not my strong suit. But I finished Les Mills Pump. And Insanity, and Piyo, and P90X3, and Chalean Extreme, and every other Beachbody program I’ve started. I stick to it and I am so proud of that. I’ve made a commitment to my health and well-being and I haven’t given up, I’ve made changes for life.

This program was great and I definitely feel stronger than I ever have. I did an Insanity workout on one of my cardio days and I could do more than I used to be able to do, and do some of the moves that I really used to struggle with.

I also run faster. When I run up a hill I feel like my quads and hamstrings are powering me up…I feel them engage and think of my workouts! A few years ago I don’t think I knew what a quad was 🙂

I see the glimmer of abs on the horizon, too…my stomach is definitely my most difficult area. I am an apple for sure, and it is very frustrating. I am trying to be patient, but I’ll admit I have days where I get just plain pissed off that my middle isn’t further along. This program definiltey gave them a nudge in the right direction, though. I can see a little bit of definition.

My “core” also feels stronger. I can keep my lower back pressed to the floor during crunches, which I could never really do before. I think having a complete lack of muscle in my core is what’s making it take so long…I think I had so far to go to build any muscle that it made doing the exercises difficult and made for some slow progress. I know if I keep up the clean eating, and stay consistent with my exercise, I’ll see more results. I just have to watch that I don’t get impatient and sabotage my hard work with crappy eating! I’m so good so much of the time, but I still struggle with stress eating sometimes!

So there is a great feeling of satisfaction that comes with completing one of these programs. It’s also exciting! And it’s fun. I loved Les Mills Pump. I am soooo excited to start my next program: Hammer & Chisel. I feel like a little kid over these programs sometimes. I can’t wait for it to start!

Between now and then I will be busy with the wonderful Christmas season. I’ll play around with some workouts I haven’t done in a while or have been wanting to try. I’ll definitely throw a few Pump workouts in there to stay on top of the gains I’ve made. I’ll eat clean hopefully 80% of the time and enjoy the other 20% without feeling too guilty!

What are you going to do to stay on track during the holidays?