So Anyway, February Chose Violence

One of my 52 in 52 goals this year is to earn an iFit badge every month, either on my treadmill or my indoor bike.

January felt very achievable.

And then February hit.

Bloody hell.

Last month was six sessions on the bike and eight on the treadmill. Easily doable. I knocked them over in a couple of weeks by alternating workouts, throwing in rest days, and sometimes just counting a dog walk as enough for the day.

Not February.

February iFit Challenge

The February challenge is called “Beat the Clock”.

You have the month of February to complete 150 minutes of activity each week. That’s five workouts per week, already curated for you and waiting in the Challenge

-ifit.com

My goal was one badge a month, with a stretch goal of earning both.

Which means ten 30-minute workouts a week.

Dang.

My mornings already look like this:

• Wake up around 5:15am and make my son breakfast (my husband starts work at 6am).
• Get in a 30-minute workout while he eats and gets dressed.
• Walk the dog together for about 45 minutes.
• Get home, shower, and have breakfast.
• Set out my planner for the day and spend about 20 minutes on hobby or craft time, or reading.
• Walk my son to school.
• Come home and start work for the day.

Expanding that out to be a straight hour for the workout means I’m really getting up at an ungodly hour, plus following it up with another 45 minutes with our dog (who does not let you walk slow).

I was faced with a choice:

• Drop my hobby and craft time.
• Wake up stupidly early.
• Accept that I might only earn one badge this month.

Or come up with another solution.

I chose another solution.

My plan is that my 30 minutes in the morning is a bike session. They’re harder for me, and lower impact so it’s better for my knee.

During the day, I’ve been trying to get into the habit of raising my desk, sliding my walking pad underneath, and walking for about 30 minutes – once in the morning and once in the afternoon. It means I’m moving more and sitting less, without needing to carve out extra time.

Enter iFit.

To boost my motivation, I’ve started running an iFit walking workout during one of those desk walks. It’s not as tough as doing it on the big treadmill with incline, but it still counts. I’m still moving. I’m still showing up.

If I can squeeze in 20 walking workouts at my desk while I’m working, I reckon I’ve well and truly earned that badge.

Tracking my Progress

My planner this year has a section for “Missions”, so I’ve drawn up some progress bars to keep track. As I get a workout in, I colour the bar.

Each month I change the colour, so by the end of the year it should have a nice rainbow look to it. Mainly because pretty things are fun…!

This morning I finished workout number 3 on the bike, plus a walk with the dog, and I’m pooped. The session was intervals with heavy resistance, and high rpms. I was a sweaty drippy mess by the end of it, and I loved it.

Unfortunately, my dog was very excited about going for his walk and sprinted out the door, dragging me with him and jarring my knee in the process. Ouch.

I’m hoping a bit of Voltaren will calm it down, because I could definitely feel it grumbling by the end of the walk.

There’s still a long month ahead, but I’m excited to push myself and remind myself that I can do hard things.

I’ll need to do a proper 52 update soon too. I’ve already started ticking them off, and I’m in a much better place than I was this time last year.

2026 is shaping up to be a pretty good year on the 52 front already.