The Core Buddy Effect — Edition #03
The after-walk photo, youngest collected from boxing.
Gemma Hay spent four weeks on Level 1 of the core levels. By the end of it the workouts that used to test her were feeling a lot easier — which is exactly when Core Buddy moves you up. So this is a new kind of diary for this series: not someone's first week, but what happens when the app decides you're ready for more.
She's agreed to keep a weekly diary through Level 2. This is week one, in her own words — and it includes a migraine, which is rather the point of keeping an honest diary.
When I first asked her about doing this, her only worry was the photos — "my photos might be a bit repetitive with my walking". Judge that for yourself as you go. I'd say the walking is the story.
Before day one
"I knew Level 2 was going to be harder, because by week four of Level 1 I was finding the workouts a lot easier. So I was buzzing for the challenge."
"Day one, I realised it had definitely upped its game. I've just taken each day as it came."
Then Wednesday happened
Every honest week has one. Hers came with a migraine.
"Wednesday I had a horrendous migraine, so I didn't manage my usual workout in the morning. I struggled through it on Wednesday night and did not enjoy it at all. Thursday was the same — still not a hundred percent, so I waited until I'd finished work to do the workout. But by Friday I was back enjoying it, even though it was definitely harder."
I asked if she'd nearly skipped it altogether:
"Definitely nearly skipped Wednesday when I was ill. But I knew I wouldn't be able to move onto Level 3 if I didn't complete all my sessions, so the struggle was worth it."
Worth saying plainly: workouts move, they don't vanish. An ill day doesn't reset anything — Gemma shifted hers to the evening and the week carried on. And a migraine day is a fine day to rest instead; she chose to push through, and the choice was hers to make.
Stuck in the house with a poorly bairn all day — so the steps came from walking to boxing, then Tesco, then back again.
On whether ten minutes is enough
Five weeks ago she had the same doubt as everyone else.
"When I first started, I didn't think ten minutes was enough to make a difference. But I feel so much better in myself, and I've definitely noticed a weight loss — so it must be doing something."
Who she's told
"I've told everyone about it. I managed to get one of my pals to join up, and she got another friend to join too."
That's Gemma, her pal, and her pal's pal — three folk moving because one person mentioned it. That's how this actually spreads. Not adverts.
Week one, scored
"I'd give this week a five out of ten — purely because I was ill mid-week and I've struggled a bit to get back into it. But I'm raring to go for week two."
A five. From someone who trained through a migraine week and finished every session. That's what honest looks like, and it's worth ten of anyone's perfect week.
Her week in one line
"I knew I wouldn't be able to move onto Level 3 if I didn't complete all my sessions, so the struggle was worth it."
Week two — the sessions get longer
Week two of Level 2 stretches the sessions out. I asked where she felt the difference.
"Definitely felt the difference this week — feeling it in my core more."
Grabbed from the shop on the walk home. The water habit is doing more than she bargained for, as you're about to read.
What's changed outside the workouts
"My sleep has definitely improved — I sleep through the night most nights now. Unless I'm up for a pee because of all the water I'm drinking."
"My mood has improved too. I feel so much better after I've done my workout in the morning, and I feel like I have more energy."
And then there's this, which is the whole reason I run these diaries:
"We went out on our bikes the other day, whereas before I wouldn't have felt confident enough to do that. I'm loving being outside more, whether it's walking or biking."
Out on the bikes — the photo that says more than any number in the app could.
The honest bit
I asked what she makes of the group side — the leaderboard, the holds challenges. She didn't fancy dressing it up.
"I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the holds challenge, purely because I don't like videoing myself. I did a few of the videos but wasn't a fan."
Fair enough, and I'm glad she said it. The challenges are there for folk who want them — Lyndsey loved her holds week, Gemma would rather just get on with her sessions, and both are doing it exactly right. The group is offered, never required.
Week two, scored
"This week has been about an eight. I do still struggle with some of the plank exercises, but I just adjust to what I can do — and this week felt easier than last week."
Adjusting is exactly right, by the way — it's why the easier versions exist. Harder week, felt easier: that's the strength arriving.
Week three — the drop-off week that wasn't
Week three is where most people quietly drop off. Not dramatically — just one skipped morning that becomes two. So I asked what's kept her showing up.
"I think the accountability group definitely helps to keep me going. I've nearly done two months now, so it's definitely more of a habit — just get up in the morning and get it done."
The walk to work. The car would have been easier — that's rather the point of leaving it at home.
The move that was a no-chance
I asked which exercise has gone from no chance to actually alright.
"The side plank crab leg things — I never thought I'd manage them. But every week I've noticed a difference, and I'm definitely improving."
(Side plank clams, for the record. Though "side plank crab leg things" is honestly the better name.)
Routine, or still a push?
"It has just become part of my morning routine now. Obviously there are some mornings where you don't want to do it, but I always feel better afterwards."
On the hard days, for what it's worth:
"I always find the Wednesday and Thursday workouts harder — I don't know if it's because they're halfway through the week, or if it's just the workout. So this week's probably sitting at about a seven."
The woodland walk she dragged the boys out on. Note the sunshine. Enjoy the sunshine.
The same walk, twenty minutes of typical Scottish weather later. Everyone soaked, walk finished anyway.
And there was no sympathy going for the eldest either:
"My eldest is on a weight cut for boxing, as he has his first fight coming up. So I told him a walk in the rain is good for him."
What week-one Gemma wouldn't believe
"I wasn't sure if I would stay consistent with Level 2, as I wasn't doing it for the competition. But I now feel that I'm competing against myself — to make it better than the previous week."
Read that last line again. She started unsure she'd keep going without a competition to chase, and three weeks in she's found the only opponent that was ever going to matter. That's not something an app gives you. That's something showing up gives you.
Week four — Level 2, done
Four weeks, every session, through a migraine week and the mornings she didn't fancy it. Level 2 is finished. I asked what completing it means to her.
"Proud of myself for continuing with my daily workouts."
One line. She's not one for a speech, and after eight weeks of watching her show up, I'd say the work already made it.
Findhorn beach, for a change of scenery. The walking habit's picked up a taste for a view.
Her verdict on Level 2
"Level 2 was probably about a seven for me. I definitely struggled with a few of the workouts, but I never let it get me down — I just adapted and got on with it."
Adapted and got on with it. If you wanted the whole method in six words, that's it.
And one more change, noticed the way the real ones always are — not on a scale, but in the wardrobe:
"Noticed another wee change this month — my jeans are feeling looser, and I'm nearly into my smaller size."
What's next
"Level 3 is next for me, and I'm looking forward to the challenge — as I'm sure it will be."
And here's the text that tells you who she is now. Midway through this diary she messaged me about a wee procedure she's got booked for September — a couple of days of recovery, all being well. Her question wasn't whether she should stop. It was whether she could adapt the workouts so she wouldn't have to push Level 3 back a month.
A couple of days off used to be how these things quietly ended. Now a month's delay is the thing she's negotiating her way out of. That's the change, right there.
When I told her roll on Level 3, she came straight back:
"I can feel the burn already."
Eight weeks ago she wasn't sure ten minutes a day could do anything. Now she's two levels in, sleeping better, cycling with her boys, and eyeing up Level 3. Nothing about that was dramatic — it was ten minutes, most mornings, adapted when it had to be. That's the whole story, and that's rather the point of it.
What she'd say to anyone staring at day one
"Ten minutes is all it takes, and it will make you feel so much better."
Curious what your Level 1 would look like?
The core levels start where you are and move you up when you're ready — ten minutes a day, every move on video. Free to download, and the 30-day free trial covers the lot.
