Our Summer of Fitness: How My Husband Won Farrell’s and I Lost Flab

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Our Summer of Fitness: How My Husband Won Farrell's and I Lost Flab

This summer has been for my family a summer of fitness. After years of bouncing around between failed gym memberships, short-lived home workout routines, and no exercise at all, my husband and I decided almost simultaneously this spring that we were tired of not making exercise a priority. I joined the YMCA, he joined Farrell’s, and together we began working to get back into shape.

My husband’s effort paid off—literally. In early June, he came out on top as the North Ankeny Farrell’s 10-Week Challenge winner. But his journey didn’t stop there. Besides continuing with his healthier eating habits and Farrell’s workouts, he is now training to run the IMT Des Moines half marathon in October. To date, he has lost 25 pounds, 8.5 percent body fat, and 17.5 total inches.

Our Summer of Fitness: How My Husband Won Farrell's and I Lost Fat
Before and After the 10-Week Challenge (And he’s even more toned now!)

Of course, I couldn’t stand by on the treadmill in muscle-less complacency while my husband transformed into this. At the end of May, I got brave and determined enough to add weight lifting to my cardio routine. I knew from prior experience that muscle building is the key to physical change for me—cardio alone just doesn’t cut it—but I guess I’d been hesitant to work that hard.

I took a few body measurements of myself before hitting the weights and took my husband’s hand-me-down advice to heart:

You should fail every time.

It had been years since I’d done any lifting, and his words were liberating to me. It’s okay to fail, because failure means I’m working hard enough. (Let’s be honest—lifting weights isn’t that much fun, so if I’m gonna do it, I wanna make it count.)

Our Summer of Fitness: How My Husband Won Farrell's and I Lost FatIt’s been 10 weeks now since I started lifting weights again, and my measurements prove it’s been worth it. Every set I couldn’t quite make it to 10 (Failure!), every triceps and hamstring lift I wanted to skip (but didn’t – success!), every time I came home from the gym feeling dead… WORTH IT.

At 1.5 inches off my thighs, 1.5 inches off my “mommy pooch,” 1 inch off my upper torso, and 5+ pounds off my weight, my 10-week stats aren’t as stunning as my husband’s; but for the effort I’ve been able to invest, they are good. Progress is good. And I feel good.

My summer of fitness is almost over, and a new back-to-{home}school routine will take over my time, but somehow I intend to keep “muscling” my way to fitness. Because, for a mommy, making exercise fit requires more effort than the workout itself.

Do you make physical fitness a priority? Tell me what works for you!

Our Summer of Fitness: How My Husband Won Farrell's and I Lost Fat

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