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Day 1: 30 squats. Oh god I hate this. I also started this at night before bed, which I think may be the worst time, but I’m here. I’m doing it. Let’s get this done. My thighs are not happy with me, and I think may have to improve my technique. I also cannot go down super far.
Day 2: Sadly today I did no squats. What should have been a half day of working with our designer, it ended up being an entire day of chaos. Woke up to a friend needing an emergency move, and spending the second half working. I’m not mad about the reasons, just sad I didn’t realize it was too late until after midnight. Let’s get back on track for day 3.
Day 3: 30 squats. Yoga this morning left my body super weak, and we had a long Costco and groceries trip right after, but I still pulled through. I got my squats in. The first 15 or so squats were fine! It was once I hit 20 to 25 that things started getting a lot tougher. I had modified my squat based on how a few YouTube videos suggested, but I think I just need to work on getting the stamina to really be able to handle them longer.
Day 4: 30 squats. Once again, I’m getting my squats in while dinner is cooking. I’m not sure which was getting tired quicker, my arms or my thighs. So thankful for the massage roller I picked up yesterday. Helping a bit with the recovery.
Day 5: 30 squats. Finally got these in earlier in the day, though right before having to go out to go shopping with friends. Was it the best time to do it? Not exactly, but I luckily had almost an hour of driving right after to help with recovery.
Day 6: 30 squats. Are they getting easier? Am I lasting longer? I think? I didn’t do yoga this morning, but instead walked around a trade show. So not sure if that made there less to recover from for doing squats. Still managed to only get them done right before bed.
Day 7: No squats today. Made a few really hard breakthroughs with my mental health, and it ended up being a pretty rough day. First day binging since I started counting calories and working out every day.
Day 8: 30 squats. Forced myself up to do yoga in the morning. Going to force myself to keep going. Always trying to remind myself that falling down once, twice, etc isn’t the end. You just need to get back up and keep going. It isn’t the end. It isn’t going to destroy all of my progress. Just keep trying and top giving so much power to my faults.
Day 9: 30 squats. Last day before I push myself a little harder. I think I’ll be fine, and I know I can handle it. Today I also realized I could see my reflection in the TV from where I workout. It actually helped to fix my form. Kind of wanting a large mirror now, but not sure if I’m ready to really look at myself that closely.
Day 10: 40 squats! Owe. I did it! My arms were tired by 20, my legs by 30. 40 is definitely my current limit. My body really didn’t want to go passed that. Let’s see how much this changes, and how ready I will be when I up it to 50 per day.
Day 11: 40 squats. Today was a roller coaster, but I’m happy I still managed to get my workout for the day in. Now to try and put out the rest of the fires in my life, and not just the ones in my legs.
Day 12: 40 squats. Today I learned what happens when you try to rush through things. I barely made it to 40. By 38 my knee was screaming at me. I know I could have done it fine if I didn’t force myself to go faster than I could handle. Also may need to once again check on my form.
Day 13: 10 squats. Sadly my back pain was a little too much. I decided not to push myself and make my recovery time longer, as I still wanted to be able to do yoga in the morning. Yay arthritis.
Day 14: 40 squats! I’m honestly surprised I made it to 40. My yoga got cut a bit short this morning due to a migraine, and my back was starting to kill after dinner, but apparently my determination to get this challenge done was strong. Tonight’s dinner was quite calorie intense, so I needed to get some movement in. Happy Valentines day!
Day 15: 40 squats. Today I was oddly motivated. I got more work done around the house than I normally do. Almost every hour I was getting up and getting some sort of quick movement in. I felt great! Though still managed to leave squats till the hour before bed.
Day 16: 40 squats. Another day around the computer. Ended up spending all day writing, but wasn’t as productive as the previous day. Still got everything in and things done! I even think it’s starting to get easier to do the squats. I’m definitely not wanting to fall over by 35 anymore.
Day 17: 40 squats. I can definitely say they’re getting easier. Does that mean I’m ready for 50? Not quite. I can definitely see myself hitting 45, but 50 may be pushing it.
Day 18: 40 squats. That was a challenge. Not entirely sure if it was from still needing to recover after spending the day at the Auto Show, or if it was because I attempted to go farther down in a squat, but ouch.
Day 19: 40 squats. I’m honestly thinking that 50 squats tomorrow will probably not happen. So changing my goal to just get to 50 by the 30th day.
Day 20: 40 squats. Another day, another 30 squats! My legs and arms are exhausted. My back is sore. Now really considering a rest day tomorrow.
Day 21: 50 squats! I did it! I paced myself today, I didn’t try to rush it, or take incredibly long. I just went for it. I’m not even in as much pain as I have been doing 40 squats. I feel find, except maybe for being as winded as I am. Feeling proud!
Day 22: 50 squats! Quite winded and my legs hurt, but I’m managing to hit that 50 mark! Can’t wait to see how much easier they get over the last 8 days!
Day 23: 50 squats. I paced myself today, and held strong till I hit 45, then the pain started ramping up each one. I’m definitely getting stronger.
Day 24: 50 squats. I was so winded by the end. I feel like I might keep doing these after the 30 days are over, just so I can get good at them. I’m really learning how out of shape I am, and how badly I want to change that.
Day 25: 50 squats!
Day 26: 50 squats. Today I am honestly surprised I still went through with them. My arthritis was horrible today due to the weather. I couldn’t even do more than 10 minutes of yoga.
Day 27: 50 squats. Today was another non-yoga day due to pain and scheduling. I still got some short workouts in! I also realized I’m still struggling around the 45 mark, but 50 is less of a brutal number to hit!
Day 28: 50 squats. Healing from a tattoo today, so all of my body hurt.
Day 29: 50 squats. I honestly still can’t get past 45 without it being a struggle.
Day 30: 50 squats! I’ve done it! 30 days! Though I did miss two at the beginning.
How did it overall make me feel:
Let’s just start with how much my arthritis did not like it. My joints were on fire, but that did slowly get better by the week. Some nights I did really need Tiger Balm
Was it worth it?
Any extra exercise is usually good. Honestly, while I am not sure there is any visible improvement, my butt feels better. Not sure if that’s weird to say? I definitely feel that there were some changes to my leg and core strength. I also have realized I can bend down and not be in as much pain as quickly. So that’s a plus!
Would I do it again? Would I add this to my normal daily routine?
Honestly? Yeah. I think I will probably keep doing these daily, or if not daily, every other day. I’m thinking I might change it from 50 consecutively to 2 sets of 25, just to give my body a bit of time to heal and not get as tense.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could hit 50 day after day. At the beginning, when 40 was almost impossible, I definitely didn’t think my body would adjust as fast as it did. I started this as someone who barely worked out, and had only a month prior even started working out. I have lived an incredibly sedentary lifestyle, and in just two months, I’ve learned to really enjoy and even crave these short workouts.
So here’s to the next challenge! I can’t wait to see how I feel after the next 30 days!
Mindful Screams 