I want a JCORE Body!

This week marks four months since my knee surgery. Has it really been four months already? Sometimes it feels like surgery was so long ago and I feel like I should be able to do all the things that I want to do. Other times, surgery feels like it wasn't so long ago, especially when I tire easily or I can't quite sit cross-legged on the floor. 

I have to admit that it's frustrating when you have the desire to do move and you physically can't, especially when fitness and physical activity is a big piece of who you are and how you cope with life's many stressors. And, having battled body image and disordered eating issues, I'd be lying if I said that body image wasn't a big part of my frustration with the injury and recovery process.

Now, with my physical therapy progressing, I'm able to workout more but I feel like my routine needs a jumpstart. It's been a while since I've really focused on anything from my lower body that I almost don't even know where to start so I was really excited to hear about the JCORE Accelerated Body Transformation system. 

It's a 40-day program created by Jay Cardiello, a celebrity fitness trainer (he's trained 50 Cent!!), wellness expert and author. All you need is a 4x4 space, no weights and 20 minutes a day/4 days a weeks. As a working mom with two young kids, my time (and space here in NYC) is a premium. In order to fit fitness into my life, I need to be able to make the most of the time that I do have to work out. JCORE seems like a good fit for me. 

When I was initially considering the program, I had several questions about the workouts and if they were suitable for me given my injury and rehab. I wasn't expecting Jay to respond to my email personally. He assured me that JCORE was designed to accomodate all levels of fitness and all lifestyles and that the routines are demonstrated at a modified and intense pace so you can work at your own pace. Plus, he has had 13 major surgeries - 6 of them knee surgeries - and understood my concerns which provided an enormous level of comfort.

I started the program yesterday with the Fit Test - basically a test to see how many reps you can complete of 10 different moves. Sunday's test will serve as my baseline and I will repeat this test four more times over the course of the 40 days to track my improvement. Let me tell you, while the whole test took about 15 minutes, it was HARD! Seemingly simple moves challenged my body in ways I wasn't expecting. By the end, I was sweating and breathing hard. I can't wait to see what the rest of the program has in store. 

I missed out on last week's Weekly Chase but I am returning this week. A couple of weeks ago, my goal was to focus on getting more sleep. I was doing well with that one...until I started reading Divergent and then Insurgent (Book 2 in the series). Now that I'm done with both books and since Book 3 doesn't come out until May, I should be able to sleep again.

My other goal for the week is to complete week 1 of JCORE and to improve my eating habits. JCORE includes suggested meal plans. I've never been great at strictly following any diet plan so I know that there will be some flexibility to make this work for me. At the same time, I know that diet and nutrition are a key part of this if I want to achieve the results I want to see. 

How was your weekend? What do you have on tap for the week? Have you heard of JCORE? 

As a Fitfluential Ambassador, I received the complete JCORE Accelerated Body Transformation System to review and received no other compensation. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.