Sarah's four weeks on Level 2 — "give it time, don't stress about it, just get it done"

The Core Buddy Effect — Edition #05

Sarah, in front.

Sarah Connolly is 39, an accounts assistant in Elgin, and pulls pints part time on top of it. Which is to say her week is already full before anybody suggests adding training to it.

She started Level 2 the way she means to go on — ten minutes done before her morning cuppa. That's the bit I keep coming back to. Not that she's doing it, but when: first thing, before the day has had any chance to fill up with something more urgent.

She'd been looking forward to Level 2 and dreading it in roughly equal measure.

"I was really looking forward to level 2, but was worried at how much of it I would manage."

That's most people, and it's worth saying out loud: the worry isn't a sign you're not ready for something. It's just the bit before you find out.

Here's how the four weeks went, in her own words.

Week one — mostly a heap on the floor

That's her description, not mine. Sarah has zero balance and bendy joints, which means a plank is not a plank so much as a negotiation.

By day two she was ready to pack it in.

"Day 2 I was ready to give up, can't plank as my ankles don't support me. Spoke to my friend and she was like you can do it, just alter it until you can do! So got straight back at it."

What turned it round wasn't willpower. It was a pal telling her to alter the thing until she could do it. That's the whole trick, and it's why the easier versions exist in the app — every move that stops beginners has one, and swapping to it isn't cutting a corner. It's doing the move.

The whole setup. A 4kg kettlebell and a rug.

What surprised her was that she could manage the rest of it.

"It surprised me that I could manage, apart from the dreaded planks which I altered when I could. 10 mins a day is fab. I try get it done first thing, before I have my morning cuppa, very doable. I feel like it definitely does something, you get the burn but in a good way."

She scored week one a five. Not because it was gentle, but because she'd done a workout every day of the free week beforehand — and reckons it would have been a good deal harder if she hadn't. Worth knowing if you're hovering over day one somewhere: the week before counts too.

She wasn't keeping it to herself either.

"I'm trying to rope all the girls in at work but they haven't budged yet."

Week two — halfway, and harder

Week two is where the sessions get longer. Sarah didn't notice.

"I've not really noticed the difference in time, still clock watching haha."

I like that line. Four weeks in and she's still watching the clock — she hasn't fallen in love with it, she's just doing it. That's a far more useful thing for a beginner to read than somebody claiming they now leap out of bed.

Something had shifted outside the ten minutes, though.

"I'm feeling so much better in myself. Never had any issues sleeping, but my general mood seems better."

She scored this week a seven, which is harder than week one, not easier.

"Feeling slightly better about it all, but still blowing out my arse half the time haha."

Both of those are true at once, and that's the honest shape of a month. It doesn't get steadily easier. You get steadily more willing.

On the group side, she opted out, and said so plainly.

"I don't do the challenges to be fair, I just like to concentrate on the workouts and steps."

Which is exactly right. The challenges are there for folk who want them — Lyndsey built a whole week round hers — and Sarah would rather get her sessions done and chase the steps leaderboard. The group is offered, never required.

Week three — Level 2 goes on holiday

Week three is where most people quietly stop. Sarah went to Turkey.

This is the bit I'd point at if you only read one paragraph. She kept going, in a hotel room, on a girls' holiday, because of how little it asks.

"Kept showing up as it is only 15 mins. It takes no time at all. Was easy to fit it in before getting ready to go down to dinner."

"Exercise prep." The bed shoved over, and that's the gym sorted.

She had company for it, too, and this is my favourite detail of the whole month.

"My roomie on holiday, who's a total gym rat, hyrox and marathon addict, was doing it alongside me and even she was struggling haha. It could have been the gin and cocktails beforehand though."

A marathon runner finding Level 2 hard, next to someone who was a heap on the floor three weeks earlier. Keep that in your pocket for the next time you assume everyone else is finding this easy.

She scored week three a five — easier than week two, despite the planks.

"Just so many planks. But I have managed to adjust most of them so definitely feel I'm progressing."

And by now it had stopped being a decision.

"It's routine. I get up and make my cuppa first thing and by time I'm done it's ready to drink haha."

The day she didn't do it

Travelling home: picked up at five in the morning, through the door at half six at night.

"I went straight to bed and didn't do my work out."

Good. That's the correct answer to a nineteen-hour day, and I want it in the post rather than quietly left out. Nothing reset, nothing needed making up, and she carried on the next morning. One day off a month is not the thing that decides whether this works. Deciding you're finished because of one day off is.

A clarification

I asked Sarah what her cat was called, and whether she watched the workouts.

Pixie is a chihuahua.

Pixie, declining a walk.

And the "poor boy" in the other photo, who I had also assumed was a dog, is Lee — Sarah's other half, dragged out for her step prep.

Week four — Level 2 done

"I'm so proud of myself for getting through level 2. There was a few occasions I was ready to give up haha."

Her overall score for Level 2 was a six out of ten for difficulty.

"Some exercises I felt fine doing, others I struggled. Planks are my nemesis. But I adjusted and overcame it. I would score it a 6/10 for difficulty but I think that's due to my balancing issues mostly."

Four weekly scores: five, seven, five, and a six overall. Not a straight line, which is the point. And one other thing had changed that she wasn't expecting.

"Also thinking about a new wardrobe now my clothes are starting to become too big haha. Priorities."

If you're staring at day one

I asked what she'd say to someone about to start next month.

"Give it time, get into a routine, don't stress about it, just get it done."

And she's not finished.

"I'm going to try level 3. Not completely convinced I will manage it, but I'm ready to give it a bash."

Read that next to where she started — worried about how much of it she'd manage — and it's the same sentence, nearly word for word. The worry hasn't gone anywhere. She's just walking towards it now instead of away from it.

That's the whole thing, really. Not becoming someone who finds it easy. Becoming someone who gives it a bash.