30 Days of Challenges

While you are scrolling through your news feed, or getting lost in Pinterest or even cruising the internet, you are often presented with some sort of challenge. Some challenges are for the purpose of awareness, some for social change and some for physical or mental fitness.

Regardless of the reason behind the challenge, one thing it does is make you aware of WHY you are doing what you are doing. And depending on the challenge, it can force you out of your comfort zone or have you pushing yourself further than you thought you could. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Enter my 30 Days of Challenges. Some time ago, I had pinned some fitness challenges to my Pinterest "workout" board. If you search challenges on Pinterest, so many come up and they are all different. Ab challenges, plank challenges, arms, squats, the list goes on. Each makes a similar claim, "30 days to slim thighs", "get your arms tank top ready in 30 days", "banish your belly in just 30 days". So, I picked 3 trouble spots and 3 challenges to target those trouble spots. 

The big question is, do fitness challenges like these work? Well for the next 30 days, we are going to find out. I'm not relying on these challenges alone to see some miracle results. I'm also incorporating healthier eating, walking and fitting in fitness where ever I can. None of these challenges mention a specific eating plan. Hey, carrying groceries and a 20 pound baby up and down a flight of stairs isn't easy and has gotta count for something, right?

I was tossed between 2 separate leg workouts, each included 5 different exercises. I chose 3 exercises from one and 2 from the other. And chose the plan that appeared it would be more successful. The arm workout that I selected was only a 21 day arm challenge, but had the arm exercises I wanted, so I followed the progression pattern and extended it to 30 days. 

Before beginning, I took all my measurements so I had something to base the results on other than the fact that my pre-pregnancy shorts finally fit again. I want numbers! 

Even if there is no significant change, it will have at least encouraged me to exercise more than just huffing groceries and dodging baby walkers. 

Day 22 - Rest

Day 23 - 16 reps each 3x

Day 24 - Rest

Day 25 - 16 reps each 3x

Day 26 - Rest 

Day 27 - 18 reps each 3x

Day 28 - Rest 

Day 29 - 18 reps each 3x

Day 30 - 9 reps each 3x 

I've always battled my weight, frequently gaining and losing. But I have never been at a weight or fitness level that I could say I was 100% satisfied. So, now that we are done having kids, its time to focus on myself snd getting to where i want to be. It's time to feel comfortable in my skin and happy with what I see in the mirror. 

Obviously, if you are at a higher fitness level, these challenges may not be challenging enough. But if you are looking to try something new into your workout, there are so many out there and you will definitely find something. 

So, I hope you will join me and take 30 days to do something just for you! 

Review: Nutra Nail Gel Perfect 5 Minute Gel-Color Manicure

In an effort to save some money to purchase our dream home, I decided to take that money and drop it into savings every month. I am more than capable of painting my own nails. I already did my own pedicure and I was starting to get bored going to get them done. I'd stretch it as long as I could cause I hated sitting there.

The problem with my nails is that I have been blessed with thin nails. If they grow much past the tip of my finger, they break. I knew that there were kits out there that promise to give you the same results as an at-the-salon manicure would do. 

So, I headed over to my local beauty supply store to see what was available to me. They had kits for like $70 that came with the UV lamp. Um, no thanks, next. Then I stumbled across this little gem.

For $11.49, what did I have to lose? Here is a review for those of you that are looking for a gel manicure without the salon prices.

Packaging

The size of the box is very deceiving. The larger box makes the polish bottle look much larger than it is. Honestly, it's like the size of a sample nail polish from Avon. However, included in the box is also the Activator and another bottle to wash the polish brush in between polish coats. The inside plastic packaging also doubles as a nifty little tray to organize your materials while using them.

                                                    

The Process

Here is what I started off with. After peeling away the UV gel for a few days, I filed and buffed my way to this. Some of my nails ended up really thin, but as they grow out, they will get stronger. A good clean base is always best to start with, so I also ran a paper towel soaked with polish remover over them to make sure all the oils were removed. This will help the polish stay longer. I also did not use a base coat. 

                                                           

First you need to brush on the Activator. You need a thick enough coat for the polish to "gel" with the Activator, but not too much where it is like a puddle on your nail or all over your cuticles.

                                                     

Next, you will follow with a thin coat of polish. The instructions suggest doing one hand at a time and definitely do one hand at a time. The Activator starts to dry pretty quickly. 

                                                     

You'll then apply another coat of the Activator and polish and top it off with a layer of Activator. The final coat of Activator must go on while the last coat of polish is still wet, so again, work one hand at a time. This is what your completed manicure will look like. 

                                                     

The polish really does dry rock solid and has an amazing shine to it, but I promise you, this didn't take 5 minutes. They probably meant to say 5 minutes per coat. Yea, I'm sure that's it. Either way, the entire process took maybe 20 minutes. Reasonable amount of time, don't you think?

Staying Power

One of the other reasons I used to get the UV gels done was because regular polish manicures last like a day on my nails. It has always been that way. So, I really wanted to test out the staying power this polish had. After all, saving money wouldn't be so fun if I'm repainting my nails every other day. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Here is what my nails looked like after a week of wear and tear. Not really the results I wanted to see, but to be fair, I put these puppies through heck and back. I typically wear gloves when I do dishes, this week I did not. Another reason, I'm assuming that the polish cracked and chipped is because the nail underneath was very damaged and weak, making it easier for the nail to bend and essentially crack the polish. Once my nails grow out, I will get even better results. 

                                                 

                                                            Left - my primary hand

                                                 

                                                       Right - not so primary hand

The Removal Process

I'll admit, I was most worried about this part of the process. It really did hold up pretty well and I thought it would be a pain to get off. Naively, I busted out the acetone and a cotton ball. I was really hoping it would just "come off". Nope, not even a smear. 

So, out came a cereal bowl. I filled it with acetone and soaked for about 2 minutes. Note to self: next time use clear acetone. Seriously, my finger tips looked like the circulation was cut off. Thankful that went away with a good scrub. 

                                                      

I let them soak for about 2 minutes, as recommended on the instructions. Two minutes was definitely not enough, but it did soften the top layer and I was able to scrap it away. A little messy and sticky though.

                                                 

I dipped them back into the acetone for about another 2 minutes and the majority of it came off with a little scraping. This was the best I could get them .

                                                 

With a little filing and buffing, I was able to get a nice fresh start for next time. I think though that I will go with just a clear coat until they have grown out and are healthier. 

Worth It?

For $11.49 and a little me time, yea, it was totally worth it. I think the application process was relatively easy and took around 20 minutes. I'm sure the more I use it, the better they will look and hold up. As far as the staying power, I was impressed. It certainly held up better than a regular polish even with weakened nails. Removing the polish was a little messy, but nothing so bad as to make me not want to continue using the polish. I do want to mention, though, the colored polish is not sold separately, so for each different color you buy, you will need to buy the entire kit. 

Hopefully, this review was helpful to you. If you have used this product before or are going to give it a try yourself, I'd love to hear about your experience, results and tips!!