Before and After: Burn Boot Camp Challenge

Letting go of a lot of pride in this post, y’all. With as much as I have posted about working out at Burn Boot Camp on instagram lately, I had to share this. I started with their 14 day free trial, then in late August I joined their #commit2fit challenge. It was a 6 week long challenge, and I did my best to work out at Burn at least 4 times a week. I usually went to the 5 am class, but also went at other times if I wasn’t able to make it to the early class. I am still a member and am loving so many aspects of the gym! I wanted to show you my before and after photos of this challenge, and also tell you why I am loving group fitness.

My hope is that this is motivating, and I want to put this out there to keep myself inspired. I don’t want this to come across as bragging. I just want to show that moms can be strong, too. And that it is okay to make ourselves a priority. Working out this hard for weeks in a row felt good. I have more energy, I feel stronger, and more confident. When we went to Mexico recently, I was not embarrassed to wear a bikini. I am not perfect, and I still have goals I am trying to reach, but I can see a difference in the way my body looks, and in how I feel.

As a mom of 2 kids, who went through a ton of hormonal changes with infertility, miscarriages, and fertility drugs years ago, getting to this point feels great. It felt like it took forever to get back into shape after having Ridge. He just turned 2 and I finally feel back to “normal.” I no longer feel sluggish, and the cellulite on the back of my legs has lessened. It’s still there, but it isn’t as bad. My body will never look like it did when I was in my twenties, but that is okay. I weigh more than I used to, and the scale isn’t moving. I’m still trying to be okay with that, to be honest. The way I look has changed, but that number hasn’t.

I felt like I had my eating mostly under control for a while, but I still wasn’t very fit. I was working out at home often, but being in an environment with a trainer, and a room full of motivated women gave me the extra push I needed. I am always excited to go to Burn. They push us hard, and I always leave a sweaty mess, but it’s just so good for me.

This is not sponsored, by the way! 

The times I have been most in shape in my life were times when I was a part of group exercise. When Davis was 2, I worked out in the group fitness classes at the Y, and got in good shape. Then I stopped when our reproductive endocrinologist told me it was affecting my hormones negatively. Looking back, I am not sure I agree with him. He didn’t have any science to back it up, but I was scared, I wanted to be pregnant again, and I heeded his advice. But now being in group exercise again is getting me back into good shape.

This should really be called “Before and During” because I am not finished with my fitness journey.

Here are some of the tips and things that I have learned:

• Don’t be afraid to lift weights. During the first 4 weeks of these boot camps I felt like maybe my arms were getting too big. Then they started to look more toned. The weights I use range from 12 pounds to 25 pounds, depending on the exercise. Building muscle is healthy, helps our metabolism, and protects our bones.
• Be consistent. I think working out 4 times each week (or more if you like) is great!
• Challenge yourself. During the workouts, I turn my brain off and just focus on the physical work. It is a mental shift that helps me push myself.
• Find someone that motivates you, and copy them. Burn has a wide range of members – from never worked out a day in their lives, to super in shape. I love that, because it is accepting of everyone. For me, I like to find the person who I know has been at Burn for forever and try to stay on pace with her.
• Eat enough protein. I did not change my eating very much during this challenge. I just tried to eat some extra protein on the days that we worked our larger muscle groups. I try to eat greens with every meal, and focus on healthy fat and protein to keep myself full. I do eat carbs, though.
• I also stopped weighing myself. I’m pretty sure I gained a few pounds. But my clothes fit better, so I stopped getting on the scale.
• Give yourself at least 4-6 weeks to start seeing results. It’s worth it!
• A spray tan always helps 😉 Just keeping it real – I did an at-home spray tan before our trip, and that boosted my bikini confidence a bit more.

I’m still really new to Burn, but it is something I hope to continue doing for a long time!