Wellness Update: Weeks 5+6

Well, life is crazy. If you don’t take time to slow down and prioritize things, you’ll be like me and realize you need to post 2 weeks in the same blog post. I am thinking though that I might do that moving forward, highlighting two weeks at a time. I’ve been so busy between work, exercise, events, and the rest of life, and it only gets busier as wedding season kicks off soon! And this way, I can focus a bit more on other blog posts I want to work on as well!

Thinking about where I’ve been and how far I’ve come throughout the #barrelifechallenge with Barre District in Bay View, I am filled with feelings of pride and accomplishment. It’s crazy to me that the #barrelifechallenge is almost over! I’m currently in the middle of Week 7 and only one week to go after this! I’m not on track to hit the 45 classes/stickers due to travel days, sick days, and necessary rest days, but I should end up pretty close! I’ve been able to learn and enjoy a new type of movement that I didn’t have much experience with before, all while building strength, improving my flexibility, and increasing my endurance. Even after the challenge ends, I can see myself wanting to continue doing Barre classes 1-2 times a week, in conjunction with another type of exercise or fitness class that incorporates some more cardio!

So let’s see what the numbers looked like for each of the past 2 weeks…

Daily Breakdown (Week 5):

• Monday 4/1 – Rest/Travel
• • 7,066 daily steps
• Tuesday 4/2 – Rest/Travel
• • 4,584 daily steps
• Wednesday 4/3 – Barre (55 min, 326 calories)
• • 6,421 daily steps
• Thursday 4/4 – BarreBase (30 min, 174 calories)
• • 4,584 daily steps
• Friday 4/5 – Barre (55 min, 312 calories) & Walking (30 min, 124 calories)
• • 10,979 daily steps
• Saturday 4/6 – Barre (55 min, 362 calories)
• • 6,258 daily steps
• Sunday 4/7 – Walking (15 min, 84 calories)
• • 3,673 daily steps

Which all rolls up to…

Week 5 Totals:

• Workouts Completed – 5
• Total Minutes – 240 (4 hours)
• Total Calories – 1,382
• Total Steps – 43,565
• Avg. Steps per Day – 6,224

Overall, not a bad week at all! I was traveling again Sunday-Tuesday, but was able to make the most of it, get a decent amount of steps in, and still complete 5 workouts for the week. I’m still working on increasing my average daily step count and get up more during the day while I am at work. I do get the hourly reminder to get up and walk around on my Apple Watch, but depending on the day or what’s going on at work, I could be pretty tied to my desk and my excel spreadsheets. Life of a corporate office worker, am I right? I’ll definitely need to explore and implement some new techniques for making sure I get up from my desk and get in enough activity and steps during the day.

Looking at week 6, here’s where my exercise ended up…

Daily Breakdown (Week 6):

• Monday 4/8 – Rest/Sick
• • 1,663 daily steps
• Tuesday 4/9 – Rest
• • 6,296 daily steps
• Wednesday 4/10 – Barre (55 min, 423 calories)
• • 6,195 daily steps
• Thursday 4/11 – Barre (30 min, 191 calories)
• • 8,708 daily steps
• Friday 4/12 – Barre (45 min, 259 calories)
• • 8,594 daily steps
• Saturday 4/13 – Barre (55 min, 346 calories)
• • 8,489 daily steps
• Sunday 4/14 – Rest
• • 2,335 daily steps

Which all rolls up to…

Week 6 Totals:

• Workouts Completed – 4
• Total Minutes – 185 (3.08 hours)
• Total Calories – 1,219
• Total Steps – 42,280
• Avg. Steps per Day – 6,040

So I started week 6 off with being sick unfortunately, but thankfully was able to still get 4 workouts in for the week.

And here’s where the measurements ended up for the end of Week 6.

• Weight = 208.4 (-3 lbs)
• Bust = 41.75 (-0.25 inches)
• Waist = 37.0 (-1.0 inches)
• Hips = 41.75 (-1.25 inches)
• Right Arm = 12.0 (-.50 inches)
• Left Arm = 12.0 (-0.25 inches)
• Right Thigh = 23.5 (-1.0 inches)
• Left Thigh = 23.5 (-1.0 inches)

And here’s a few progress photos! With my next blog post, I will post them side by side with my starting point photos.

I’m feeling good about all of the exercise I’ve gotten for the past 6 weeks, and am trying not to be frustrated with the scale only dropping 3 pounds during that time, but I know there’s improvements happening in other areas. As long as I stay motivated, focus on fueling my body correctly, getting in plenty of movement throughout the week, I know I will continue to see results!