I love yoga, I think kettlebells are awesome, and I adore Emily and Beth- the fantastic creators of the Boopbod Thrive Guide.
For Christmas I asked my family for kettlebells, yoga pants, a gymboss timer, and money. I really wanted to buy the Thrive Guide.
Before I got pregnant I loved going to Corepower. Three to five times a week I religiously arrived at my 6am or 6pm C2 class. It was perfect. Close to work, fit into my schedule, and the classes were challenging, but easy to follow.
After I had LJ we moved. When I was cleared to start working out again I found it onerous to make it to an actual place. There is no longer a CP close to our home, and they don’t have childcare. I’d need to pump to be able to leave, and I’d need to have someone to watch the baby.
Honestly, I don’t like working out at home. I love the atmosphere of a community yoga class, and I appreciate the amenities a gym has to offer. But I want and need to move my body, so I had to find something.
I’ve never really done a fitness program before, but I took yoga classes with Emily when I went to the University of Iowa, so I knew she was the best. I bought the 8 week Thrive Guide, and in typical Caitlyn fashion, started it the Monday after Christmas.
What’s going well so far…
There is so much to love!! Here are a few of my favorites so far:
The gratefulness journal
I really believe that the physical act of writing things down is SO important. To me, it feels like it makes things more real, and it provokes me to commit it to memory. I look forward to reflecting on my day in the evening, and it’s a nice way to relax before I go to bed.
The daily affirmations
I’ve got my affirmations stuck to my bathroom mirror on sticky notes. It’s such a nice way to start the morning, and, as a bonus, Travis mentioned that they make him feel good too.
The Recipes
We’ve made a handful of recipes so far, and they’ve all been delicious! We really appreciate the focus on simple, yummy whole foods. I love that there is no strict “meal plan” to follow, rather just helpful tips for choosing foods that will fuel your body and make you feel good. These hummus bowls from the thrive guide are so good- we’re definitely adding them to our weekly meal plan rotation.
The Quick Workouts
I don’t have a lot of time in general. We get up early with LJ, we go to work early, we get off late, and we get home late. The workouts are all under 30 minutes or less, and are very effective. I’m glad that they’re quick, because I still have to get up around 4:30 to fit them in, and I’m not sure I could manage any earlier.
The positive online community
Emily & Beth alone are fantastic, but if you’re looking for additional motivation or support, just look to one of their Boopbod Ambassadors or search instagram to find other people working on the #ThriveGuide too!
The journal prompts
The journal prompts are short and sweet. I completed the week two prompt at the Starbucks in Target while I was waiting for LJ to wake up from his nap. Sitting there with my sweet sleeping babe snuggled to my chest while writing and sipping cold brew coffee was such a peaceful, motivating moment in my day.
Challenges
Waking up early/fitting in workouts after bedtime
I’m a “morning person” if, and only if, we consider morning to be somewhere around ~7am. I’ve been getting up around 5 for the last few months to nurse LJ and then happily shuffling back to bed for half an hour. In order to fit in even a quick workout, I set an alarm for 4:30. Something magical happened on the first (and second!) day I started the Thrive Guide. LJ slept in until 6am. That hasn’t happened everyday, so I still get up early to beat him to the punch. On kettlebell days I also need to shower before work, and I wouldn’t have enough time if I didn’t get up super early.
Daily intentions
My mornings are already busy, and I haven’t found a good time to physically write my intentions. It is also really challenging coming up with new words each day. I’m relaxing a bit on this part and allowing myself to organically think of intentions throughout the day.
Squeezing in meditations
I haven’t had time to do either of the mediations. My plan going forward will be to do them on Sundays before the week starts.
Managing time well
Everyone has a lot on their plate, and I really do believe “you have time for what you make time for.” But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to make time or accomplish all you’d like to. Right now I’m challenged with trying to find a balance between completing the Thrive Guide, taking care of LJ, nurturing my relationship with Travis, working on this blog, family, self care, meal prepping, and work.
I think with those responsibilities sometimes comes this feeling of being discouraged when I cant “do it all.” I try to notice when I’m having those negative thoughts and rewrite them in the moment. I’m also all for giving myself a ton of grace.
Overall…
I’m feeling like it’s okay to aim to finish in 8 weeks, but I’m also going to be okay with taking a little longer.
Laken got sick and had an ER visit in the middle of the first two weeks, and I got the stomach flu two days later. That pushed my workouts back a bit.
Since the workouts build on each other, I’m not skipping the ones I missed to catch up. Instead I’m giving myself another week to complete the ones I missed and settle in to a good routine again.
It’s important to me keep my goals in mind. My goal is not to be in a completely different physical shape at the end. The goal is to build the habit of setting time aside to focus on and care for myself, to build strength and mental clarity, and to increase my confidence.
Have you tried a health or fitness program? Did you love it or leave it? Do you think you’d like the Thrive Guide?
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