It’s fair to say that I have an extreme hate/love relationship with working out. I complain and dread having to do it – yet everyday it makes my “to do” list. Depending on which workout I decide to go with there may even be some swearing and yelling involved – along with a few “are you kidding me’s?” thrown in for good measure. (Note – I dedicate anywhere from 25-35 mins a day for a workout – which is done on-demand from the comfort of my living room. Typically with at least two of my three kids “helping” and or more likely laughing – great motivator!)

But nothing feels better than that post-workout “sore, never walking/picking anything up again” feeling. The amount of stress released alone makes every minute of torture worth it. However, those aren’t the only reasons I workout. Having a special needs child who is growing and (finally) gaining weight means that I also need to have the strength and endurance to lift him (and his equipment) – both of which are only going to get heavier as he gets older.

So finding a workout that I like and that will continue to challenge me is pretty important. I have done my fair share of workout programs. Some I stick with for weeks on end and others never make it to a second try. It’s not just the workout itself either. If I don’t like the instructor, the music, the “modifiers” or the overall look of what I’m watching – I won’t go back to that workout (obnoxious of me? probably).

Recently though, I have had a hard time sticking with any workout. Old routines I loved to hate the most were even annoying me. So I decided to browse around the on-demand website to see what new and excitingly painful workout I could find. Well as they say, “seek and ye shall find.”

My new obsession is aptly named – although the version I am currently using is actually a shortened version of the full program – to give folks a sample of the program before it was released earlier this month.

Ho-ly hell. It’s one of those workouts that while you’re doing it, you think “is this even working?” or “25 mins of this? yeah NO problem.” And then 20 mins after the workout you can barely move. Four days later my legs are still not speaking to me (which makes additional workouts REALLY fun).

The instructor is actually a favorite of mine so that also helps (although I still totally yell at her). But what’s also nice is that there are portions of the workout that the kids can actually do – the moves aren’t so crazy or convoluted that they can’t get their little bodies into the position required. So I get the benefit of getting stronger (in numerous ways) and releasing some stress while the kids get the benefit of a good laugh – oh and seeing that being healthy is a life long journey.