At the close of the first week, I have to say it’s been a roller coaster.  Some days I was gung-ho, full of energy, and ready to take on the world.  Other days I struggled just to get my Challenge exercises done, let alone anything else.  I have managed to keep up with the Challenge exercises, but I have only done cardio a couple of times – and that was just walking or some calisthenics.

Squats and crunches are getting easier.  My 30-second plank today was surprising OK.  Push-ups can suck it!  Even breaking them down into 2 sets of 9, I was STRUGGLING by 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the second set.  AND I wasn’t even doing a full, true push-up – I was on my knees! Clearly I’ve got some work to do on my upper body strength.  I don’t suppose it could be this extra 20 pounds I’m carrying around!

Tomorrow is weigh-in and measurement check.  I have to say I’ve cheated a little already on both (I have no patience to wait), and there has been one area of progress.  I suppose ANY progress is good at this point, so we’ll take it.  The rest of you will have to wait until I do the “official” check and post tomorrow.

In the meantime, I know some people are dying over these squats.  My legs have admittedly always been my strongest muscle group, and I mean by a long shot.  Squats haven’t gotten to me yet (notice I said YET – let’s talk again when I’m doing 100+ per day), but I have also been changing it up, doing some different types each day, and breaking them down into smaller sets.

I made a video of suggested variations to help all of you out there:

How are you guys doing at the close of Week One?