I have been so incredibly geeked up about Core De Force since I first heard about it at Summit in July. In the past three years I have done a variety of programs from traditional work outs to crazy cardio to dancing to muscle building. What I have learned in my journey is that my favorite kinds of work outs involve either weight lifting or punching and kicking. I LOVE punching and kicking.

I excitedly did the preview work outs when they were available on Beachbody On Demand. Joel Freeman and Jericho McMatthews are the trainers who created this program. I immediately thought they were awesome and love their personalities. I also loved that I was having fun but also really felt the moves in my muscles. I was READY!!!! Bring on the program!

I got my copy of Core De Force on November 1st and anxiously awaited the 7th to get here so I could start. (I’m OCD about starting my programs on Mondays.) The day before I took my measurements and before pics: (I swear I wiped down that mirror before I took the pic. God only knows what my daughter has sprayed onto it)

Monday morning was day one. The work out on tap was “MMA Speed” which is the work out featured in the previews. I was confident because I had done that one several times before. I sailed through it and felt really strong. Sore…but strong.

Day one of the meal plan was also a winner! We took our two nephews and oldest son to the movie theater to see Dr. Strange. (Loved it!) I was very proud of myself. I got a liter bottle of water and that was it. I didn’t have any snacks at all. Snacks are my Kryptonite. I passed that test with flying colors and followed the plan to a T.

Day Two was dynamic strength and that ish was hard! I thought I was signing up for punching and kicking. However there are a lot of other moves involved. This work out has several variations of push ups. I am not a push up fan!!! But I tried my best and pushed through. There were also lunges to a twist. I did surprisingly well with those.  I missed a yellow container but followed the plan otherwise.

By day three, I was super duper sore. It definitely was a sign that the work outs were having an effect on my muscles. I was thankful that I was scheduled for “MMA Speed” again. That felt like Christmas after the day before. My food was on point and I was feeling great!

Day Four introduced me to the hardest of the work outs so far. I shouldn’t say “Hardest” I should say “The most challenging” Lots of moves I really wasn’t sure I could get my body to do, but then felt amazing when I realized I could! Were they perfect? No way! But I made a great effort and did my best. All I can do is improve.

“MMA Shred” was on the menu for Day Five. I think this one is my favorite so far. We were back to punching and kicking. My body was so sore but I was already feeling stronger and more confident. I took my younger two kids to the movies since they missed Dr. Strange on Monday. I once again just got a liter of water. Woot! Other than that, my food wasn’t great as I was missing a purple and a green. I have trouble eating enough so I need to make sure I’m getting all of my containers in.

Just when I was enjoying the punches and kicks….Dynamic Strength returned!!!! Push ups in all kinds of ways you didn’t know you could do push ups. But you know what? I was SO much better at it this time. I could see how much I had improved in just a couple days. That is an awesome feeling! However, I was grunting and grumbling so loud my son came down to the basement to give me a kiss on my head. 🙂

So today marked the end of week one. It was Active Recovery Day. I really enjoyed the stretching and recovery moves. I did good with the food all week as far as not eating anything that isn’t included in the meal plan, but I need to concentrate on eating everything everything I’m supposed to every day. I am still sore but nowhere near as sore as I was.

I took pictures and measurements and I was actually shocked. I gained a pound and some inches. I could look at that as a failure, but I know better. When you start a new program and you work muscles, you cause microtears in the muscle tissue. This is what makes you sore. Your body heals these tears which in turn, makes your muscles stronger. However the tears cause inflammation. According to an article by Beachbody: The fluid required for inflammatory response obviously weighs something—and that might show up on the scale. When inflammation is allowed to occur in a healthy way, it’s temporary.

I am going to keep pushing forward because I know I am going to get the results I want. I am so excited to see how my body keeps changing in the next few weeks. It is a work in progress. There are people in my group who lost 7 pounds this week! We all have different starting points and body types, but we need to take care of the bodies we’ve been given.

Oh, and a week from today I get to work out with Joel and Jericho. I hope Jericho doesn’t have her hair in a bun that day. I’ve started to notice the crazier work outs require her to have a bun! Yikes!

I was just kidding Jericho!!!!! Oh great, now she’s gonna kick my butt……