We’re Over Halfway Through The Sweat Challenge! This Is How Ale, Cara, Emilia & Sharon Are Feeling

Can you believe it’s already week four of the Sweat Challenge!? You know what they say… Time flies when you’re smashing out burpees.

Whether you’re loving the challenge, have faced a setback or two along the way or are finding your motivation is beginning to wane, this is the perfect time to check in with yourself and your goals. Which is why we’re taking the opportunity to catch up with Ale, Cara, Emilia and Sharon at the end of week three.

Together, they’ve completed 20 Sweat Challenges and clocked up an incredible 5,000 workouts in the app. These women know a thing or two about motivation, progress, overcoming setbacks and celebrating the big and small wins along the way.

One thing they all have in common at this point of the Sweat Challenge? A sense of pride.

“I am pretty damn proud that I can now say I’ve worked out six weeks in a row three or more times each week,” says Sharon, who hit restart on her fitness journey three weeks before the challenge begun.

“At the end of this 6-week challenge I’ll be able to say I did nine weeks straight!”

Emilia, who is following Katie Martin’s Strength & Pilates challenge, is proud of herself for trying exercises she wouldn’t have done otherwise.

“I am so proud of myself for actually doing a Copenhagen plank! I didn’t think I could do it, but I gave it a go and I just thought “oh my god, I’m actually doing it!” she shares.

Cara has also been celebrating her progress following OG Kayla, telling us she’s managed to complete two full rounds in at least one circuit.

“The rest have been the usual 1.5 rounds, but I’ve seen improvements in my stamina already.”

“I’ve been loving the workouts and since there’s only three resistance days I can stick to my usual gym schedule, so it’s been easy to stay on track.”

For Ale, who came down with pneumonia a week before the Sweat Challenge began, delaying her start until she gave her body time to recover was a milestone worth celebrating.

“The beginning of the challenge was totally unexpected,” she says. “My actual kick off was week three. This was a great challenge for me. I am the kind of person who struggles with rest days and coming to a full stop was mentally and physically hard.”

Ale found her illness reminded her just how important rest and listening to her body is as she resets her challenge journey and her goals.

“Now that I am recovering from pneumonia, my goals are totally different,” she says. Her original goals for Brit’s Strength & Barre challenge were to use heavier weights and increase the number of reps. Now? “I would like to keep feeling good to complete the challenge, start taking some rest days to recover and listen to my body every time. And overall, feeling good about it!"

Although she may have missed out on weeks one and two of the challenge, Ale is loving Brit’s Strength & Barre program.

“Britany is such a great trainer, always offering options to challenge her workouts or adapt them to you.”

For Sharon, who has recently returned to fitness after becoming a mum and is following PWR Express, the support of the Sweat Community has been a powerful motivator.

“I am feeling happy, strong and confident I will not only finish this but achieve the goal of making fitness part of my life again,” she says.

“I also love following the weekly threads in the Sweat Forum and seeing hundreds of women cheering each other on - it’s so empowering!”

OG Kayla has slotted seamlessly into Cara’s current routine and she’s also made some adjustments to make the program work for her.

“I’ve learned that my knees aren’t as steady as they used to be and so jumping lunges are an exercise I need to modify or substitute,” she says.

But what about those week three motivation lulls?

“Whenever I feel discouraged, that’s when I try to show up most,” says Ale. “I know that after a good workout I always feel better.”

“I think the main thing that’s helped me is that I’ve already developed the habit of working out three days a week, so the motivation part rarely hits a lull at this point,” says Cara. “I keep that habit by always preparing ahead of time so I don’t have an excuse to hit snooze.”

For Sharon, those battles with the alarm clock are all too familiar.

“Waking up early has not gotten ANY easier,” she says. “There is not a single day my alarm rings that I feel “ready to go”. Everyday I just want to snooze and cancel my pre-planned workouts. But I force myself to wake up anyway, even when I don’t want to.”

“I saw a blog post from Sweat this past week that reminded us not to rely on our motivation because that comes and goes, and that could not be more true,” she says, telling us how discipline is what she feels back on on those days where the motivation isn’t quite there.

Emilia says a sense of FOMO is what helps to keep her going.

“I may not post much to Instagram, but I do stalk on stories and I see others succeeding. I would feel like if I didn’t do it I’d feel like I’ve missed out,” she says.

So what’s in store for the final weeks of the Sweat Challenge? Firstly, a soundtrack that’s heavy on girl power. Tracks from the Barbie movie and Taylor Swift made more than a few appearances on their workout playlists.

The other priority? Movement that feels GOOD.

“I would like to do some cardio that isn’t just walking,” says Emilia. “I find it hard to run so I was looking at getting back into swimming. I’m also looking at doing some more yin yoga for recovery. I’ve been finding it’s good restoration for the mind as well.”

Sharon’s hoping to find time for the optional workouts in weeks five and six as she figures out what’s next for her fitness journey after the challenge.

With just over two weeks to go, we can’t wait to see what these women will achieve next.

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