I’ve never been one to work out more than three times a week – in fact, that’s the maximum I’d do – and only if I had the mood for it! Don’t get me wrong, I love sweating it out with some cardio or HIIT but just thinking about working out feels like a chore to me. Aside from that, I’ve made it a habit to revolve my workout days around my hair-washing schedule as I’ve got really thick, dry and long hair. I could use a dry shampoo, but I never saw the need for it as I was comfortable with the frequency of my workouts.

Now, you might be wondering why I took on this challenge of working out for a whole week. You see, I’ve had a pretty steady schedule when the MCO 3.0 started, but up to a few weeks ago, I haven’t touched my workout gear at all! The feeling of dread thanks to the restrictions finally sank in and affected my productivity. So, in an effort to turn things around, I decided I’d challenge myself to work out for seven days straight, and here’s how it went:

Day 1

Because I’ve been living like a sloth prior to this, I decided to start my week on a positive note by doing a 30-minute dance cardio workout with The Fitness Marshall. I thought this would be a great way to get back into it and set the tone for the week as he uses the best songs from Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion and more. At the end of the session, I felt good, energised and not as tired as I thought I would be, so that’s a plus!

Day 2

I had a long and busy day, but I didn’t let that stop me from working out. Since I signed off from work later than usual, I decided to do a quick 15-minute yoga workout. I’m not too fond of the exercise as I prefer quicker movements, but I felt like I needed to unwind and take things slowly if I was going to continue doing this for the rest of the week. Needless to say, I was already thinking twice about this challenge. But as always, I felt good after stretching out.

As I didn’t sweat that much today, I decided to give my new dry shampoo a go. Recently purchased from The Mineraw, this one’s got a heavenly chocolate scent as soon as it’s opened thanks to the raw cacao powder it’s mixed with. Because it comes in a pot, you’ll need to use an unused makeup brush, dip it into the powder and apply it to the roots. Then, comb it through and wash it a day later.

Day 3

I decided that I was going to push myself a little further today (a decision I regretted after) with a 30-minute workout combining some dance cardio and HIIT by MadFit. MadFit’s workouts are some of my favourites as she’s got a mix of apartment-friendly, no-equipment and standing workouts which work great for me. However, I was starting to feel it today as I couldn’t give it a 100%. Still, I managed to complete my session and went off to take a much-deserved shower.

Day 4

I was really in the holiday mood today, and thanks to the soreness I felt from yesterday’s workout, I decided to take a day off and let my body rest.

Day 5

I felt so much better today and even surprised myself by waking up quite early this morning. With the extra time I had before work, I did a HIIT workout while following my own pace and with longer breaks in between so as to not strain myself too much – I’d definitely recommend this if you’re just starting out and not used to fast-paced workouts!

Day 6

This was quite a slow and painful day for me as I woke up with body aches all over and was really dreading working out at the end of the day. Nevertheless, I thought I’d end the busy work week and stretch it out with a yoga session. I even turned off my lights, lit a scented candle to set a spa-like mood and put my phone on Airplane mode so that I would be 100% relaxed by the end of it. I’m happy to report that it did work and my body aches were a lot milder! However, the calmness didn’t last long because after that, I found out that we were going into a Full Movement Control Order in just a few days. Sigh!

Day 7

I’m excited to complete my challenge of working out for a whole week (well, almost), I decided I’d end it with my favourite Body Combat Workout by Les Mills this morning. Since the MCO 2.0, this was my go-to exercise because of its fun, quick and challenging moves. However, as it’s quite an exhaustive one, I limit myself to 30 minutes each time and this day was no different, yet I felt even more tired than usual. However, I didn’t mind it because I had planned to rest as much as I wanted to after this.

There were many takeaways I learnt from this challenge and one of them was to plan out exactly what you’d be working on for the week. Of course, you’d have to take into consideration any last-minute changes but having a set plan could probably make the experience a lot better. Besides that, while I was really happy that I managed to work out almost every day, this made me realise how much I love and need my rest days and free time as they don’t only relax my body but my mind too. Moving forward, I’m definitely sticking to my regular frequency but I’m excited to incorporate a workout plan with different exercises that suit me each time.

Featured image: Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

Clickhereto read more of #TheScoopSquad’s FMCO 7-Day Challenge.

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Rachel Thomas Dulis

A lover of fashion and skincare, Rachel is always seeking out the hottest new trends – whether it’s a unique hack or a fresh accessory. When she's not on the hunt, you'll most likely find her discovering new music, battling enemies in video games or getting lost in her sewing projects.

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