Thoughts and Conclusion: Peak 10 Challenge #3

I recently finished up my third Peak 10 Challenge, designed by Michelle Dozois.  As usual, it was a challenge.....but it was also fun and effective.  

Motivation

My motivation was higher than ever for this round, since I'd gained weight when I had hypothyroidism, due to my radiation treatment (to treat hyperthyroidism).  Being hypo meant I couldn't lose weight.  My medication finally evened out, as did my thyroid, by the end of the Challenge, and I finally saw some results.

But it was very frustrating to work so hard and see no results.  For five months, my weight wouldn't budge.  I was thankful it wasn't going up, but at the same time, I was eating less and working out more so......  Frustration.  

I timed this Challenge to end right before our Bermuda cruise, which ended up being perfect!  There's nothing more motivating than wanting to look good in a swimsuit.  Ha!

Results

When I started this Challenge, I'd just completed a Les Mills Combat Challenge.  I was in great shape and felt good - outside of some lower back pain caused, I think, by all the burpees in the Combat HIIT workouts.  So when I went to do my Fit Test, at the start of the Peak 10 Challenge, I was worried.  Will I improve by the end of the Challenge?  How can I do better than this?  I didn't look at the numbers from the last Challenge.  I was afraid to.  In the end, I did see improvement, much to my amazement...

                                  Before           After

Squats                          54                65
Lunges                         42                49
180 jump                      46                56
Tuck jumps                  56                68
Pushups (knees)         33                37
Ankle Grabbers           19                24
Sit Outs                         34                42
Frog Jump                    34                40
Fence Hoppers           74                80
Jump Shot                    32                35

Instead of burpees - I'm never doing fast burpees again - I did 180 jumps.  Those are 180 degree squat jumps and show up frequently as "peaks" in Michelle's workouts.

What really inspires me is that I keep improving upon the numbers from past Challenges.  Every Challenge gets me in better and better shape.  I don't lose much ground in between, which is awesome!

Going Forward

It's always hard after a Challenge, to stay at that same level of fitness.  I'll change up my workouts for the next 10 weeks, after the cruise, and we'll see what happens.  I won't do another Peak 10 Challenge until the fall.

I wasn't as exhausted after this Challenge as I was after the last one.  That's a good sign!  My legs have gotten more muscular and Mr. Higgins likes that.  Ha!  I like seeing results and after every Challenge, I see something different.  

As always, I had tons of fun with the PeakFit and Peak 10 workouts.  I can't wait for the next Challenge!