let's take the "work" out of workout {Six Month Mark!}

Today marks the end of Week 26 of our workout challenge.

26 weeks, 5 workouts per week, 4 friends: 520 workouts in all!

Everyone is still standing and it's been quite a ride.

I have a feeling we are just getting started.

Here is some of what I have learned in the past six months:

1. Just start. If we hadn't made the choice to say yes 6 months ago, we wouldn't be where we are now. Take it one step at a time. Even when it's hard, overwhelming or scary. Especially then. 
2. It really does take a village. In our culture, we are very individual-based and it seems weak to depend on other people. Let me be very clear: I would NOT have made it past week one without these girls. Get yourself a community. Now.
3. The clothes matter. This might be a girl thing, but you feel better when you workout in something that makes you feel good. Added bonus: great workout clothes don't have to be expensive (Target and Old Navy are two of my favorite sources).
4. I DO have 15 minutes a day. One of the biggest excuses out there is that there isn't enough time. I have found out that I really do have more than enough time especially when I manage my time well. I have more energy and am usually more productive on the days I workout as well.
5. Variety is the spice of life. Since my last update, we have also discovered bike riding, walking, canoe-ing, hula hooping, and 10K training. We have paddle boarding and water aerobics on our summer to-do list as well.
6. Everything exercise is spiritual. True story. We are meant to live our lives as whole beings - it doesn't work to segment things off and pretend one area of our life doesn't effect the others.
7. Yep, I'm worth it. To all you moms: we pour a lot of ourselves into other people. This sounds so cliche, but you need to invest in yourself too. You'll be a better wife, mom, worker, friend, I promise.

The first one of us had a birthday this week which means our 31st year is winding down and we're looking ahead to 32. We were discussing over dinner last night what the past 6 months has meant to us. We have all grown a lot and some of that is due to our experiment with exercise. We started out by wanting to push ourselves physically and ended up pushing ourselves mentally and spiritually as well.

Year 31 means something different to each one of us but some common themes are...

saying yes

becoming aware of the possibilities

intentional living

finding our true selves

giving, choosing & living life.

Proud of what we have accomplished in the past six months. Proud to call these girls friends.

And really, really excited to see what is next.