Here’s the thing, though: part of me wants to tell you that you should only do things that are fun and that you enjoy, but I’ve learned that some workouts—which sounded totally horrible, painful, and awful—are the ones I feel the most badass about finishing. The days I felt like there was no way I could ever do the workout we had planned are the days I ended up feeling the strongest.
So I actually want to encourage you to try the things you think you could never do, things that make you feel a big uncomfortable, things that might make a mom of six pee on herself—cue the commercial for THINX active underwear ... I’m just being honest, these things do happen when you’re jumping around. It’s okay!
And here’s my other piece of advice: Don’t worry if you never get the “perfect” form. If you have to modify a move, that’s okay too! Just do it the best you can. Often we have a vision in our heads that includes us needing to be perfect at something to be able to participate. This is silly, Momma! You’re a beginner at most of these things. Just ask Jack about my burpees!
Early on in our hard and fast, quick and dirty training, Jack tried to tell me we were going to do 50 burpees. Which didn’t sound too difficult until I actually tried to completeonefreaking burpee. I swear, those damn things were invented by the devil himself. Sometimes my body revolts so hard that I actually have to scrape myself off of the floor. Lying on the ground and then getting up is hard enough 50 times in a rowwithouthaving to actually jump at the top of the movement.
So, I modified and slowed down and kept struggling until the next time we did them they were a tiny bit easier. I say “tiny bit” because I believe nothing on the whole earth will ever make burpees easy. I’ll never like them, but I’m never going to stop doing them either.
Important Note: I’ll never,ever,let anyone but my husband and Karri ever see me attempt to do them ... it’s just a hot mess that no one needs to see.
Which brings up another topic I want to elaborate on: the gym, the public, and exercise. I do think when you’re starting out it’s really important for you to feel comfortable doing some of these basic moves without being watched or judged. We all remember the Playboy Bunny making fun of grandma, right? Not that this will happen to us, but I know people who won’t step into a gym because they’re worried about being judged or laughed at. I had gym memberships at some of my heaviest weights and, honestly, I do feel sometimes having eyes on me made things more difficult, but that’s something you really need to decide for yourself.
I think you should work out whenever and wherever work for you. For us, the home gym is perfect. We use very minimal equipment, and most of it is relatively inexpensive and doesn’t take up much space. You can check out places likeRogue fitnesswhich has great packages for starter garage/home gyms.
Here are some of my favorite starter home gym must-haves (also check your local sports resale store, or Craigslist for great deals on these):
A step for deep lunges and power jumps.
A few sets of free weights or kettlebells: 5 lb, 10 lb and 15 lb are a great start. If you want to invest in a really great set, we love the Bowflex adjustable dumbbells—you can find these on Amazon for about $250 per pair; they adjust from 5 lb all the way up to 52.5 lb!
A jump rope.
A yoga mat.
Exercise stability ball—I like the extra big ones.
A quality weight bench.
Jack and I both love using an Olympic barbell, but you can often use dumbbells for similar movements, so I suggest getting those or kettlebells first because you can get a lot of use out of a good set of those.
A doorway pull-up bar is also nice to have.
A treadmill for when the weather keeps you indoors.
And that’s really all you need to get started. We built our basement home gym slowly, so please don’t feel like you need all of these things right off the bat in order to be successful.
Most of the work I do is with my 15 or 20 lb kettlebells and my mat. There’s so much you can do to work your body with minimal equipment, and even a lot you can do without any equipment at all—Jack will talk more about bodyweight exercises in his chapter.
But, don’t I need a trainer to do these things?
Actually, I don’t think you do. There are so many great videos online, lots of challenge programs and wonderful tutorials that make it easy to work out on your own. We do research a lot, but that’s part of how our writers’ minds work.
I think with some basic movements and equipment, and your wogging, you can achieve some wonderful success at home. Let’s be honest here: I don’t think most of us are planning on entering a bikini contest anytime soon. We just want to have good health and increased physical strength so we can run with the kids and keep up with the basic activities of life without being fatigued and out of breath.
If youarelooking to compete or really build lots of muscles, you might need a trainer or more advanced equipment and techniques, but for basic improvement in your physical ability and strength, what Jack and I are going to lay out is a great place to start. Once you get started you‘ll probably want to keep going; I know this is what happened with Jack and me. It started with a 30-day challenge we did together and now we feel weird if we aren’t doing something to increase the challenge in our workouts. The key, and the hardest part, is just getting started. Let’s get moving!
Jasinda’s Quick and Dirty 30 Days to a Fitter, Stronger You, for Beginners: Wilder Way 2.0
(Don’t forget to take a before photo! I want to see them!)
*Jack has some intermediate and advanced exercises plans coming later on, don’t worry!
Warm up: One mile of walking/wogging or running as fast as you can. It’s okay to stop as needed, just push yourself and get that heart rate up.
Pickany three or fourof these basic strength movements and rotate daily. Yes, you can modify these if needed! They don’t have to be perfect, just get ’em done! Set a timer and see how fast you can do the three movements, and try to beat your best times. This is my go-to workout plan. It doesn’t get old because I just keep changing up the order I do them in and which movements I pick. I love these because they get the heart rate up and they don’t take long. I also record daily what combo I do and the time it takes me to do the sets. If I want to challenge myself I will add weights to some of these and then do some sprint bursting to end my workout. I don’t have time to work out for hours and this will give me great results in a short amount of time. If these numbers start to feel too easy and you are getting through the workout really fast, just add more sets or increase the number you are doing for each exercise.
25 jumping jacks
