During Lock-down I have gone through many different short lived
"hobbies" to occupy my time. Deciding to follow the trend at first I
tried my hand at being a baker and even made a pretty good looking banana
bread, but I am not a born chef, plus I couldn't find flour anywhere (did
anyone else have this problem or was it just my town where everyone apparently
decided to start a small bakery from their kitchen?!) Next I tried to be the
Couch-Potato but there is only so much Netflix and Disney+ a girl can watch
without getting bored of confirming with Netflix that I am indeed still here
after hour 8 of watching New Girl - I have a slight problem. And after a brief
snacking phase which made me gain a couple pounds I stumbled across The Chloe
Ting Two week shred and thought, how hard can it be?
I'm not a total newbie to fitness, I even have a gym membership -
although I stopped going long before the gyms all had to close. My problem is I
never find a plan to stick to, and I get discouraged early on meaning I never
get to see any real progress. But when I found this Chloe Ting challenge that
was only 2 weeks, but the people that had done it had seen real muscle
definition and an increased fitness level by the end I knew it was perfect for
me.
Going into Day 1 I was a little nervous but it was only 2 videos, even I
could hack 20 minutes of exercise right? Well I was half right, I managed to
finish the videos but I had to pause them SO MANY times to catch my breath and
I really expected to look down and find a blazing six pack by how much my abs
were burning by the end. It was so tiring but I knew I had to carry on - 1 day
down, 13 to go.
Before I knew it, I was already on Day 7 and it was time to take my
first comparison photo. I had decided at the beginning of this process that I
wouldn't be tracking my weight as it's not an accurate measure when you are
trying to lose fat and gain muscle (you would lose weight from losing fat sure
but with the increased muscle that I was looking for you'd also gain some of
the weight loss). So I decided that I would take a comparison photo every week
and look at the physical changes. I wasn't expecting a massive change because
it had only been a week right? Of course I was feeling physically so much more
fitter and stronger and could complete the videos without stopping but it had
only been a week. When I compared my day 7 photos to day 1 I was so shocked -
there was a definite change. With the knowledge that what I was doing was
working, I tried to push myself even harder and actually started to enjoy
working out.
 | | Day 1 |
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 | | Day 7 |
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Things that I wish I had known at the
beginning...
- To add in a warm-up and cool-down. It was a rookie mistake of mine on
day one to not warm up or cool down and I definitely suffered because of this -
my muscles were in AGONY. Since then I do a light yoga warm-up and stretches
after the work out.
- Go at your own pace - it's okay to stop the videos and take a quick
breather, I think it is much better to pause the videos than to just do the
exercises at 50% energy.
- What you eat is SO important - I'm pretty sure the saying is 80% food
and lifestyle 20% exercise. If you don't eat the right foods to nourish your
body properly than I don't think you will see big results because your muscles aren't
being given the right nutrients to grow. I have a blog post about some healthy
breakfast ideas if you needed any inspo ;) The Breakfast Brunch
Before I knew it I was already at day 14! And I went into that workout
excited and full of energy, I think I went harder that day than any other so
far in the program. As I was doing what felt like my 100th "up and down
plank" I couldn't believe how much stronger I had become, don't get me
wrong I still found the workouts challenging but I was enjoying the challenge
rather than just suffering through it and I decided - after a few days to rest
and just do light workouts and walking, that I would do the challenge again -
starting today. Am I mad? Probably. But I am really enjoying exercising
properly for the first time in a long while and I am curious to see what the
results would be after doing the challenge twice.
If you decide to do this challenge for yourself let me know how it goes
in the comments down below! Chloe Ting Two Week Shred
The Final Results...
When looking at the final results, I can definitely see more definition
and tightness in my abs, back and legs - which was my original goal. My waist
is also more noticeably defined. So if you're thinking about trying this
challenge for yourself, do it! If I can get through these 2 weeks so can you
xoxo - Liv, the couch potato and now the home workout newbie.
 | Day 1
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 | Day 14
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