4-week Challenge: Jenny’s Week 3 Update – Maintaining in Malaga, Spain

Despite vacations, minor set-backs and work commitments, Jenny has done an excellent job staying on track with her 4-week challenge!  If you are trying the challenge for yourself, stay motivated by keeping up with her progress.  Here’s her week 3 update:

“My girl’s weekend in Malaga was really great! I found a nice balance between relaxing, getting in some workouts, eating healthy, and eating whatever I wanted! 🙂 I took the first day off from any kind of activity except for walking around, eating tapas, and drinking wine. But the next two days my friend and I got two solid workouts in at a local gym, and ate mostly salads. We also did a ton of walking around! It wasn’t so hard for me to eat healthy, since I’m actually not a huge fan of Spanish cuisine. But that said, my friend and I didn’t hold back on the Sangria or wine  (Hey, you gotta live a little!). I found that it is much easier to keep up with diet and exercise when on vacation when you are with someone who is also health conscious and likes a good workout!

And now that I am back at home, I feel great – I don’t think I lost any weight, but I don’t think I gained any either. I’ve just gotten back, and I’ve already hit the weights and a spinning session! I love that way I feel after a rest day – super strong and energetic! Now I’m pushing hard for the next three days (spinning every day to get all three classes in + Pilates + Brit’s workouts!) – And then going to a Wedding over the weekend (and plan on looking fabulous in a new dress I bought in Spain!).

So here it goes with the last week of the four-week challenge – wish me luck!”

– Jenny

Brit’s advice for Jenny:

  • Keep your eye on the Prize –   I want Jenny to be extra disciplined this week.  She should revisit the goals she set at the start of the challenge and have FULL CONFIDENCE that she can achieve them!
  • Focus on Food – After a vacation, it’s common to want to hit the gym hard, which is a good thing.  However, Jenny should be extra mindful of what goes into her mouth.  She must be careful not to wipe out all of her hard work in the gym by consuming too many calories.
  • Stretch, Stretch, Stretch – Since Jenny has been away for a few days, it may take a her body a little time to adjust to the hardcore workout regimen.  T0 prevent soreness and injury (and ultimately missed workouts), I want her to stretch for at least 15 minutes per day.

Continue Reading

4-week Challenge Euro Style: Jenny’s Week 1 Update

If you missed last week’s 4-week challenge kick off, make sure you check it out to see the full plan. Below is Jenny’s week 1 progress report. She’s doing a great job – KEEP IT UP JENNY!

Jenny on her way to the Pilates – already feeling more trim after only 1 week!

“Week One: DONE! It’s been great! I did all the workouts this week + added a few Pilates classes #motivationbaby! I have been pretty intense about my workouts, so I really needed my off day. My pants are definitely looser on me. I never usually weigh myself (I think inches are a better indication, rather than kilos), I did this week. According to my scale, I’m down 1.2 kilos (American translation: 2.6 pounds), which is pretty good! SO, I will try to really focus on the diet this week. I have been good about not eating after 9pm, but since I’m going to bed around 10/10:30pm every night (gotta get up early for those workouts!), I think I should try to not eat anything after 7:30/8pm. Brittani has also recommended that I trade my breakfasts of fruit to one of protein, and I have a feeling this will be my ‘game changer’ this week. Let’s see! I have 10 more days until I’m in sunny Malaga, Spain – so I’ve gotta really focus!”

– Jenny

Jenny during Pilates class
Jenny feeling good post-workout
Continue Reading

NEW 4-week tone up challenge: Euro Style with Jenny!

Meet my friend Jenny.  Like Jan from my previous challenge, Jenny is one of my best friends from college.  Unlike Jan, Jenny and I bonded while working as TA’s for a brutal Labor Law professor, not over our love for football players.  We would drag our butts to the gym after long study sessions and keep each other accountable for going hard!

Jenny now lives in Denmark working hectic hours in the Banking sector.  However, the Danes focus much more on work-life balance so she DOES have adequate time to workout 🙂 Over the years, she has become very interested in nutrition and has tried almost every diet in the book (sometimes for a reason, sometimes out of curiosity, but usually because she likes the challenge – we clearly have the same neurotic tendencies). Still, she has had a very ad-hoc workout and diet schedule this past year and would like to re-focus.

Already having several fitness certifications and a long history of sports involvement, Jenny is looking to me for an effective push!  Unfortunately, she’s also suffered from over training, which I had to keep in mind when making her plan.  Her gluten allergy and lactose intolerance also had to be considered.  In her own words, her goals are to:

  1. “Get into those damn jeans – bought them last year when I was about 7 kilos lighter – they are too cute to just sit in my closet! Yes, “kilos” this is the EURO 4-week challenge”
  2. “I have a long-weekend in Malaga with a friend coming up at the end of July – so I’d like to feel super sexy in my bikini!”

Below is her plan and of picture of her today on DAY 1 – we will get an update from her next week!

Wish her luck – GO JENNY!

Me and Jenny in 2006 – getting ready to graduate from college!

Workouts by Brit referenced in this plan:

Continue Reading