I tried the workout everyone’s obsessed with now and this is what happened

If you haven’t heard of the Chloe Ting 2-week Shred Challenge by now, I’d be surprised. Rising in popularity as gyms closed all over the country, during the pandemic, people began searching for ways to feel the burn from the comfort of their own homes.

Chloe Ting, a fitness guru, and YouTuber, creates weekly workout videos often in the form of challenges. Some are even geared toward specific goals such as weight loss, abs, leg strength, etc. Ting has several different versions of challenges, such as the 21 Days Get Fit Challenge and the 15-day Intense Core Challenge. But the trendiest, most-talked-about of them all is the 2-week Shred Challenge.

After seeing the 2-Week Shred circulate online — with my favorite YouTubers raving about it, friends encouraging each other through it, and even my little sister trying it out — I decided it was finally my time.

I accepted the #ChloeTingChallenge and this is how it made me feel, below.

What does the 2-week challenge entail?

The 2-week Shred Challenge is exactly what I thought it would be: 14 days full of hard, sweat-worthy workouts. The 2-week Shred aims to:

• Focus in on engaging your core, strengthening abs
• Promote weight loss, if you’re aiming to lose a few pounds
• Provide a full-body workout

The time commitment for each workout depends on the day. Each day of the challenge, Ting incorporates 2-4 videos to follow along to, ranging from 25 to 50 minutes per day.

And you don’t need much to start: a fitness mat, your presence, and a comfortable workout outfit. This shortlist of requirements felt motivating to me. Essentially, I just had to show up on my mat and follow instructions.

Days 1-7

On Day 1 of my challenge, I laid my fitness mat down on the ground of my small studio apartment. It is safe to say that I was not prepared for what was to come.

The mixture of cross-body mountain climbers, burpees, high knee, squats, push-ups, corkscrews, and the many other exercises within it left me almost exhausted about halfway through. I found myself, in the rest moments, feeling the burn. And yes, there were a few moments where I almost gave up. But oddly, seeing Ting persevere through as if she was working out alongside me helped encourage me to keep going.

In the next few days, I definitely felt sore and tired. I had a hard time motivating myself to complete Day 2. But when Day 3 and 4 rolled around, the motivation of getting through the first week of the challenge kicked in. I actually found myself looking forward to completing the day’s exercises.

Before completing the challenge, I did my research and resoundingly, I heard the same things: be prepared to sweat, be prepared to be sore, and be prepared to feel the burn. All of this was true and for anyone looking to try it out, be prepared for the same.

Although getting through the first week was hard, I also felt rewarded. Reaching the 7-day mark, I found some positives that encouraged me to continue through the next week:

• I was more energized throughout the day — especially if I did the workout first thing in the morning
• I found that it was easier to fall and stay asleep each night
• I felt a sense of accomplishment when I walked around my apartment, sore. It was proof that I had done something good for my body.

Days 8-14

The second week of the challenge, although still hard, felt much easier than the first. Maybe it wasn’t that it was easier, but that my body was becoming accustomed to daily movement, varying exercises, and the level of intensity.

Ting incorporates several different workout videos, as each day progresses. This week, the workouts incorporated planks, crunches, burpees, jumping jacks, varying lunges, single-leg deadlifts, and more. On days 8 through 12, I found myself feeling strong, resilient, and ready to tackle the challenge. I even found some workouts to be fun.

With each day that passed, I found a new exercise that I had never done before. I loved that I didn’t need special equipment to complete the workouts, and I could do a different variation of a workout if my body needed it.

On day 13, there were a total of 4 workout videos to complete. And on day 14, the final day of the challenge, I completed a total of 6 of Ting’s workouts. By the end, I found myself still sore, but extremely accomplished.

Should you try it yourself?

Overall, I can say that I loved completing the 2-week Shred. Did I immediately have abs after doing this? No. Did I feel better about doing something for the health of my body? Yes. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to incorporate a new exercise into their life.

Other than the workouts themselves, I found these pros in doing the challenge:

• Anyone can do it. If you can’t handle a certain exercise, Chloe often provides alternative movements if you’re limited.
• It is free — there are no gimmicks, no fees.
• It is motivating and at times, can even be fun.
• All you have to do is show up for yourself with a mat and the perseverance to do it. Once you start, it becomes easier over time.
• It leaves you feeling accomplished and proud of yourself.
• The workouts aren’t based on appearance, but on how you feel, and how healthy you are because of them.

The Chloe Ting 2-week Shred Challenge is exactly that: a challenge. But I think it is a challenge worth completing. If you find yourself in need of motivation to workout, you want to feel more accomplished and you need to incorporate movement in your day-to-day life, this is the way to go. Good luck.