We received a complimentary Total Gym XLS for the purposes of this series; this post also contains affiliate links. This article is an account of our personal experience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any medical condition. Always consult with physician before embarking on any fitness program.

It’s our seventh week with the Total Gym XLS! Measurement time:

This was a rough week; not with the Total Gym, but with everything else. Our schedule with both work and personal commitments has been really punishing and taking good care of ourselves has been a challenge. I made it through the weekend with about 3 hours of sleep, working hard to take care of everything that had to happen, and the lack of sleep has been brutal. When I can’t get to bed until 4 AM, it makes it difficult to work out because I can’t bear to stay awake any longer, especially when I have to get back up at 9 AM – you know what I mean? I hate to even say it because it sounds like I’m just whining, but there’s no avoiding the topic of my schedule since I’m being honest about my fitness journey and quest for better health. Clearly, surviving on a couple of hours of sleep is not anywhere to be found on a list of “Healthy things to do”! 😉

I’ve actually been fighting very hard to reclaim my schedule this month, although you wouldn’t know that by how overbooked I still am! But I’ve been turning down a lot of things and cutting out a lot of stuff – many of this month’s projects are just prior commitments or unavoidable loose ends related to our home renovations that I just had to get through and make the best of. Doing a total DIY renovation is a big challenge at the best of times, and since Jai and I work so many hours each week, the only way we’ve ever been able to make progress on our home improvements is just by creating the time to do it out of thin air – hence, all these late nights!

Although neither Jai or I got to use the XLS as much as we wanted to – I worked out 3 days last week, and Jai did roughly the same – I still had my small wins with it. I’ve been doing crunches on the Total Gym with my legs held up in the air, and I think back to 2012 when I was still having trouble walking and feel so grateful for how far I’ve come. I’m also noticing that some of the exercises are getting a little too “Easy” so I’m thinking I might boost the XLS up to Level 3 for some exercises and Level 2 for others, depending on how challenging they are to me. One thing that is wonderful about having a gym in the home like this is that my idea of a “Bad week” now is only working out 3 times – as opposed to a “Bad week” just a few months ago that would involve zero exercise. By having this in my home, I’m still able to at least hold steady when things get really bad and keep it from going completely out of control – right after my hell weekend was over, I was right back on the Total Gym Monday night. I can’t tell you how many times in the past a “Bad week” has turned into a “Bad month” where I end up skipping the gym for weeks and weeks, so I feel that this definitely helps me to avoid those huge “Two steps forward, two steps back” cycles. Also, I’m noticing that my back is less prone going out when I’m stuck working in front of a computer for long periods of time, and I suspect that this is because I’m able to be more active during these hectic periods and keep everything from seizing up. So while this may not have been the greatest week ever, it’s certainly not the worst.

How do you keep active (and sane) when you’re overbooked?

We’ve been using the Total Gym XLS for 6 weeks now. Here is our progress from last week:

Last week was a blur between the cat-astrophes and late night in Portland. I can quite confidently say that there is no way I would have time to visit my local gym right now, so I am very thankful to have a quick solution in the home. The more we use the XLS, the more we see its versatility. Jai told me this morning that he thought there were a few exercises he wouldn’t be able to replicate on this – he’s more into building muscle and I’m more into toning, so we have slightly different goals and approaches, although there’s a lot of overlap – but he discovered yesterday that he could do those very exercises just by modifying his posture and kneeling on the board rather than sitting. Unlike other home workout equipment that I’ve used, such as dumbbells or ab rollers, this gives me the ability to work every muscle group the way I would at the gym, on one piece of equipment.

Jai moved the incline level up to 6 last week, which is the maximum incline, while I’ve been working on Level 2. I think it’s pretty cool that we can both challenge ourselves with the same piece of equipment and adjust it quickly for our individual needs!

Do you work out with your significant other? How do your routines differ?