Tone It Up Recap

I just finished the Tone It Up 8 Week Bikini Series challenge, so I wanted to write a little recap in case anyone was interested in trying out the program. (I’m not affiliated with Tone It Up in any way and I don’t receive any sort of commission or compensation, but I wanted to provide an honest recap of the program!) This was my 4th time doing one of their 8 week challenges and I truly enjoyed it. I knew a few other Tone It Up girls doing the program as well, including my sister in law! It was nice knowing I wasn’t the only one following the program and the accountability made it easier to stay on track.

What I liked about the Tone It Up Bikini Series Challenge:

The meal plan provides a helpful framework for eating. Even though I didn’t follow the exact meals, I followed the overall guidelines for the various 5 small meals a day. I also used a lot of the recipes for inspiration.

•    The workouts keep your muscles guessing and they switch up the muscle groups often. I really need structure when I workout so I liked that every day provided a different workout. I wasn’t seeing results from doing my own thing in the gym, so having a specific plan helped a lot.
•    Every day contained 5 “daily moves” which lasted 10 minutes total, and then there would be a video or two that was sometimes combined with cardio. That might sound like a lot, but I liked how varied it was. No two days were the same!
•    It motivated me to do my workouts in the morning if I knew the day was going to be busy. Normally I’m not a  workout-first-thing-in-the-morning person but it turned out to be a little easier than I thought. I didn’t get up early every morning but I managed to fit in my workouts, even on busy days.

My Results from the Tone It up Bikini Series Challenge:

I know this is the place where you expect me to tell you how many inches I lost or how much the scale moved. I’m supposed to show you a sad, pale before shot and a smiling, tan, beautiful after photo. But the truth is, that would short change the real results of this challenge.

The first thing I noticed is that I’m stronger than I was before. I might not be ready for a power lifting competition, but I can hold a plank a little longer. I can run a little faster. I can throw back tucks in gymnastics with more confidence because I know I can do it. Truthfully, a good portion of this might be in my head. I might have been able to hold that plank or run those miles all along. But sometimes it’s the confidence we’re missing, and that’s the hardest thing to master.

Near the end of the challenge, I ran a 5K with Alex, my brother Mark, and my sister in law Aricka. The Tone It Up plan has you running every once in awhile but it’s certainly not a running program, yet I managed to hit my goal of running the 5K in under 30 minutes! That’s faster than I’ve been able to do it for quite awhile so I was really proud of that. Even more so, I was literally crying through the first mile because I was just so happy. I was so happy to see Mark and Aricka running. I was happy that we were doing the race as a family. I was happy that my husband has been absolutely nothing but supportive of my workouts and quinoa dinners. I was happy Aricka started doing Tone It Up earlier this year and she’s done an amazing job. Seeing her hard work was one of the most motivating parts of this challenge.

I did lose a few pounds, I did lose a few inches, I was able to run a little faster, and I am able to hold a plank a little longer. But if that’s all we measure, I think we lose sight of the true joy that comes with a healthy life!

For more details of the challenge, check out what I ate on the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan:

What are your fitness goals?