Lori Harder 14 Day Challenge: Day 1

So I signed up for the Lori Harder 14 Day Challenge for the second year in a row and I am SO EXCITED it has finally started. I absolutely love this challenge for so many reasons. 

If you’re like me you seriously hate finding an hour to get a workout in. I mean, we’re all busy with work, and life but the 14 Day Challenge is here to fix that. These workouts are max 20 minutes long and whether you want to admit it or not, you have 20 minutes. Even on my craziest busy days I can find 20 minutes to crank out a workout, it’s whether or not I WANT to that’s the issue. 

But these workouts are so fun (believe it or not) that they have me wanting to do them. Lori is so motivating and encouraging that even though your body is feeling the pressure of this awesome workout that you just want to get it done and feel that awesome sense of accomplishment. 

Now remember I said these workouts are only 20 minutes long. But don’t underestimate them. In these 20 minutes you get a full body intensive workout that you’ll definitely feel tomorrow. I do these workouts even outside of challenges because of how quick and simple they are to do. The exercises themselves work the whole body but they are easy enough that even a klutz like me can do them. The trick with these moves is that because they’re so intensive you have to make sure to do them properly to get the full effect. It is possible to do the moves “half way” but that cheats you out of the full effectiveness of the move. That’s why, for myself, I may not get a high number of reps for each move but if I do them properly and focus on really targeting the required muscle groups, I can get an awesome workout in and feel it exactly where I put the work in. 

I love this challenge this time around for a special reason. Lori and her wonderful husband Chris are donating funds to Hurricane Harvey relief for each person who signs up for the challenge. There’s NO cost to anyone for joining, it’s FREE. So you just get to be a part of a wonderful supportive community of awesome women and you get to help your health in only 20 minutes a day. Why not try it? Sign up for the 14 Day Challenge Here.

Here’s my overview of Workout 1:

Side-to-Side Squat & Kick 

DB 45-Degree Bicep Curls 

Squat Jump Tap 

Reach & Row 

Low-Plank Leg Lift 

I remember once hearing “you may feel like you’re going to die but as long as you’re smiling while you do it you’ll be just fine”. This is too true when it comes to working out. Today marks #Day1 of the #LH14DayChallenge and this is my second year of participating. I love this challenge and all it stands for. This isn’t just about exercise for us. This is about a group of motivated, wonderful, kind, and let’s face it, badass women who want to improve their lives. Being a part of this tribe has changed my life. This tribe has given me soul sisters, support, knowledge, health, and so much more. When this challenge showed up I had to say yes. I am so excited to see how much I’ll improve in this short 14 days. These workouts are so powerful and quick that you get the efficiency of an hour workout in only 20 minutes. When I wake up tomorrow and my legs are super wobbly, someone remind me why. Today I did Workout 1 and man was it killer. 

1. Side-to-side squat kick: gotta have those squats. Today was the first time I’ve done squats in let’s just say a WHILE and wow was I feeling them. If I learned anything from the last challenge was to focus on making sure the moves are done well rather than the number of reps. I made sure to engage my glutes and core with each rep to get the full effect of the exercise. 

2. DB 45-Degree Bicep Curls: I love this variation of the bicep curl. With the reps at a 45 degree angle you get a different activation of your bicep muscles and when you make sure to contract with each rep, man do you feel it. I didn’t lift too heavy but next time I want to try and push the amount of weight I can lift to get as much out of this exercise as I can. 

3. Squat Jump Tap: back at it again with the squats. I didn’t do as many reps as I usually do with regular squats but with the jump tap I could keep the movement fluid and make sure it was still done properly. Engaging my core and glutes through the squat and then the jump made it a little harder but that’s the point, no pain no gain right. 

4. Reach & Row: I love this exercise. At first look it seems to be just an arm exercise. When you get into it you see how much of a compound exercise it is. The reach and row engages your arms with each rep but keeping your body in that forward squat position engages your core the whole time. 

5. Low-Plank Leg Lift: This exercise is always the hardest one for me. Planks are such a killer exercise with the need to engage your whole body, especially your core, to do it properly. So doing planks is hard enough but when you add leg lifts to it, oh man. I didn’t do many reps with this exercise because I didn’t want to do them poorly and cheat myself so I did them properly as best I could. This is the exercise I hope to see the greatest improvement in throughout the challenge, we shall see. 

I am so grateful to Lori for putting this challenge together. I am so grateful to have found such a wonderful supportive community of such fantastic motivated soul sisters. I can’t wait to see where the challenge takes me this time. Here’s to day 2.

Lori Harder:

Twitter: @LoriHarder

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