When I first started my Move it! project I expected weeks three, four and five might be the hardest. Turned out:

1. they were all hard weeks

2. week eight was the hardest

Once I lost my wheels, I lost my mo-jo.

But that's okay, because I achieved the goal to break the back of my fitness - just. I have got past my extremely poor fitness and moved in to a very low level of fitness (huge improvement) so that 2019 can be an amazing year of even more progress.

My progress included lost weight (poor measurement/don’t recommend it), a bunch of fat (better measurement), decreased my BMI (who cares!) and improved my cardio and strength (yeehaa!!). Over the last eight weeks I managed to attend:

• 13 of 16 Boxfit sessions

• 12 of 16 Circuits sessions

• 08 of 08 Strength training sessions

At the beginning of the 8 weeks I could do:

• 12 press ups - by the end I could do 18

• 15 second plank - 45 seconds by the end

• 2 min 40 seconds to row 500 metres - improved to 2 min 10 seconds

I didn't "break the ton" (drop below 100 kilograms but I am within spitting distance) and I still can't do a chin-up - but I'm closer than I've ever been to achieving both those goals. I expect to see them achieved in the New Year.

I've learned so much in the past 8 weeks. More than anything I've figured out what derails my routine and will be adding "padding" to fall back on during those times when life isn't all she's cracked up to be: 

1. Using a calendar to schedule in time for physical exercise is essential as I build movement into my everyday/work life

2. Mixing up at-home and at-gym and at-work and on-holiday sessions increases successful days

3. Order of exercise matters for me: burning glycogen (primary fuel tank) first through strength and circuit-training before switching over to fat burning (secondary fuel tank) by doing hard (hard) anaerobic exercise before a good session of steady-state aerobic exercise (20 minutes) increases my ability to lose weight through exercise

4. Increasing protein and vegetables/fruits (eat the rainbow!) intake with a good eye for portion size and meal frequency (getting very hungry is a danger-zone for me) to lose weight through food intake

5. Rewards for exercise of exercise (not food) eg: if you do 6 weeks of showing up for all scheduled sessions you get to do a whole week of yoga or swimming or deep stretching as a reward

6. Getting good sleep makes all the difference

7. Drink 2-3 litres of water each day helps the machine work well

8. Competition does not work for me - it is my journey and only my own goals matter

9. Having fun!! saying (groaning/grunting/yelling to) myself "I'm loving this!!" instead of a complaining when it's really hard (and it's always really hard)

10. Taking it easy on myself - if the chain breaks or circumstances are really challenging or I'm (truly) tired, it's okay to de-prioritise physical exercise for a day or two to rest, sleep, eat and hydrate.

Overall, a resounding success. Finite chunks of time really helped me. Knowing that at the end of 8 weeks I could decide to carry on, never do it again, or modify my exercise to better suit really helped the procrastinator in me stick to the job at hand.

I’ve decided to carry on, by the way :)