4th of July 100 Burpee Challenge (And Corinna on Getting Back in Shape After Having a Baby)

It’s time for another 100 burpee challenge!

I have no doubt that this is going to be tough for some people—it is Fourth of July weekend, after all.

But holidays are no excuse for not getting your workout in—just get it done early in the day and you can spend the rest of your time watching fireworks, barbecuing, hanging out with your family, or doing whatever else you do this weekend.

You’ve got this, athletes!

Before I remind you of the 100 burpee challenge contest rules, I wanted to check in with Corinna, a seriously awesome 12 Minute Athlete reader, personal trainer in Australia and recent new mom.

Corinna had her son Hugo 7 months ago, and although it hasn’t always been easy, has made incredible progress ever since. She recently knocked her 100 burpee time down by 4:03—seriously inspiring!

Let’s hear from Corinna:

How Corinna has made such incredible progress

Krista: Tell us a little about yourself! What’s your story?

Corinna: As a kid I was as active as any average kid, I guess, but nothing remarkable. My parents thought that music was more worthwhile than sports, so I spent a good number of hours each week tinkling the piano keys and tooting away on my clarinet.

It wasn’t until college when I tried out for the rowing team and started running half marathons with my Dad that I started becoming more active. After that I joined a women’s soccer team, became a high school PE teacher and personal trainer, and joined a gym.

A few years ago I found Bodyrock online which I loved, but quickly got annoyed with all the dramatics involved, which sucked my workout time down… 12MA is similar in concept, but is much more time-effective in terms of figuring out what the workout actually is and smashing it out, so I love that concept.

Krista: What have been some of your biggest struggles since having a baby?

Corinna: Apart from feeling tired pretty much all the time, I’m not loving the wobble-belly. Even though I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight and my abs are getting firmer, my stomach seems to have grown some extra skin throughout the pregnancy that isn’t leaving. With clothes on I look pretty normal, but I don’t think I’m ready to fully rock a bikini just yet for that reason. I’m a bit self-conscious of it, but need to be patient with myself and hope that things will improve.

Krista: What’s your diet typically like these days?

Corinna: Honestly, I’d say my diet has improved since having baby Hugo. Before I got pregnant I ate quite cleanly, but was maybe getting a bit too lenient with my cheat days.

Now I’m more focused on eating sensibly simply for the way it makes me feel (even more so than how I look, although that’s all related too).

Basically, if I feel like crap, taking care of Hugo is gonna be more difficult, and I just don’t have time for that. So whenever I’m about to stick something into my mouth, I ask myself, “how am I gonna feel after eating this?” (or tomorrow morning, etc)?

The best diet thing I’ve found for my busy life right now is this: on grocery days I’ll buy heaps of veggies, come home and stick them straight into a sink full of water and vinegar to soak for 10 minutes (to get rid of the chemicals on them), and then rinse and chop everything.

All the veggies go into clear tupperware containers in the fridge, and then whenever it’s time for a meal I can pull out whatever veggies I feel like having and eat really quickly. Usually I make salads, but I’ve also thrown the veggies onto homemade mini pizzas, or cooked some brown rice pasta and put veggies and tomato sauce on top. Basically, the simpler and quicker the better. If I didn’t have the veggies chopped and ready to go, I probably wouldn’t eat them as much, and they’d end up rotting away in the crisper.

Krista: What’s your current fitness routine? And you have any specific goals right now?

Corinna: In terms of my fitness routine, I’ll get up in the morning and go straight into the family room where all my exercise gear is, choose a 16-minute workout from the 12MA app, turn on my music, and bust out the workout. Then it’s off to blitz through the shower (cold water makes it twice as fast) before getting Hugo ready for the day.

In terms of goals, I’d love to beat my 100 burpee time again for the next few months. I told my super fit friend Heather about the challenge, and she took it on for herself and smashed out 100 burpees in under 6 minutes, so although I made an improvement over the past month, I definitely have not “arrived” yet compared to her. Not sure if beating her is an attainable goal, but if she can do it, I can for sure move in that general direction.

I’m not saying that you need to compare yourself to other people, but a bit of competition can absolutely make you move your butt.

Krista: In last month’s 100 burpee challenge, you beat your previous month’s time by 4:03!!! That’s seriously awesome progress. What do you think were the biggest reasons for your improvement?

Corinna: The biggest reason is that I sucked so bad the first time. By burpee number 10 I thought I was gonna stack it and burst a lung. After that, I spent the next month working on making my burpees more efficient (in how quickly I jump up, etc). Heaps of the 12MA workouts have burpees in them, so I had plenty of practice time.

Krista: What’s your favorite thing to listen to during a tough workout? Any mantras you like?

Corinna: Pretty much any music with a good beat and funky melodies… nothing hardcore like Metallica, etc… just fun stuff. I also really like to listen to fitness podcasts when I work out; there are some really funny ones like “Dr. Fitness and the Fat Guy,” some good info ones like “Fat Burning Man,” and I also listen to a few German ones to keep up the language.

As for mantras, I love the little sayings at the start of each 12MA workout, like “go hard,” and “crush it.” I always try to focus on those words as being my mantra for the next 16 minutes.

Krista: Anything else you want to add? Advice? Motivation? Hope for those just starting out?

Corinna: Motivation: just do it. Carve out 12 minutes every day and make a start with the 12MA app (or whatever you want to use)… see how you do, and you’ll definitely feel amazing.

Another tip: plan ahead in terms of eating. For example, whenever I go out, I take along a bottle of water and a little container of nuts and dried apricots (the non-preservative, non-neon-orange kind). Even when I think I’m only heading out for an hour, it usually ends up being longer, and the worst thing is to be super hungry and stuck with limited snacking options (fast food, etc). Just pack them in your bag and you’ll be set (even if you don’t end up using them that trip). Plus, it’s nice to share around with your friends and their kids if you’re out and about with other people.

Krista: Thanks Corinna! Really, really fantastic advice. You’re awesome—keep up the fantastic work!

July 100 burpee challenge + t-shirt contest

Once again, you’ll follow the same rules as before:

Step #1: You do the 100 burpee challenge. You have by the end of the weekend (a.k.a. July 6th) to complete the challenge.

Step #2: Post your time AND the amount you’ve improved from last month’s challenge in the comments of this post. I’ll try and make sure to look on Facebook/Google+/my inbox as well, but if you want to make sure I see your time, post it here.

Step #3: I’ll look over all the times and send a shirt of your choice to you (or whoever you want)!

Now go work hard, and kick some serious burpee ass!