The Strappy Dress Challenge: I Owe You an Update
When I wrote about my Strappy Dress Challenge that I started on 24 August 2026, I made a rather definite promise. I was going to spend four months concentrating on building strength, particularly in my arms and legs, and I was going to report back to you every four weeks. Well, about that four-week update… It never happened.
Not because I had given up. Quite the opposite, actually. I have learned rather a lot.
I had imagined that by the time I reached four weeks, I would have something interesting and measurable to tell you. I was so excited when I started this challenge. Maybe I would be able to show you some impressive progress photographs and announce that everything was going exactly according to plan. Instead, I found myself discovering that our bodies do not always work according to the timetable we give them.
So, Where Am I Now?
The first thing I can tell you is that I am definitely stronger. My trainer tells me I am stronger, too, which is rather reassuring because sometimes it is difficult to judge these things when you see your own body every day. Exercises that were difficult when I started have become easier, and I am consistently lifting heavier weights.
That is a real result, and it is one that I do not want to overlook simply because I cannot yet see the dramatic difference in my upper arms that I had hoped for.
When I started this experiment, I wrote that I wanted to stop concentrating quite so much on what I wanted to lose and start concentrating on what I could build. Well, I am building. It just turns out that building muscle and changing the appearance of the body sitting on top of that muscle do not necessarily happen at exactly the same speed.
And perhaps that is an important lesson in itself. We are so used to looking for visible proof that something is working that we can easily overlook the changes happening underneath the surface.
I Have Also Learned That We Do Not All Build Muscle at the Same Rate
My trainer has pointed this out to me, and it has made me think about my own expectations. Some people seem to build visible muscle relatively quickly. My trainer is a good example. She can make changes to her physique more readily than I seem to be able to. Bodies are different.
Genetics plays a part in how readily we build muscle, where we carry fat and how our bodies respond to resistance training. Age also becomes part of the picture, and at sixty-one I am certainly not expecting my body to respond in exactly the same way it might have when I was twenty-five.
That does not mean we are powerless over our bodies. It simply means that two people can follow similar training programmes and see very different results. Training history, body composition, genetics, age, recovery and consistency all become part of the picture.
Then there is my own history. I first became aware of the softness around my upper arms when I was about forty-five. Over the years I have also experienced fairly dramatic changes in my weight. I cannot help wondering whether years of gaining extra weight, losing weight fast and simply getting older have affected the appearance of my arms.
Perhaps I have been expecting my body to rewrite several decades of history in sixteen weeks.
I Have Done My Part Too
I have also been very conscious of giving my body what it needs to build muscle. I have stuck to my protein goals. I have been paying much more attention to getting enough protein throughout the day.
I have also continued with my strength training with my trainer and my home programme.
But I have to be honest about something else. I have not completed every single home workout I planned. There have been weeks when I have done exactly what I intended, and there have been weeks when life has got in the way and some of those independent sessions have simply not happened. Like the time I made our bed and pulled a muscle in my back when shaking out the duvet. That put me back about ten days.
And, to be honest, there were days when I simply did not feel the motivation after a hard day at the office. And that matters. I cannot expect my body to respond to a programme that I have not followed perfectly.
However, I am not going to beat myself up about it. This was never supposed to be a punishment. I am trying to build something that I can maintain as part of my life, not to create a four-month period in which I become obsessed with exercise. There is a difference between being accountable and being too hard on yourself. I am learning that one missed workout does not erase everything else I have done.
My Arms Are Still the Big Question
So here is the part you are probably wondering about. Have my upper arms changed? Well… Not in the dramatic way I was hoping they would. And I think this is where I need to adjust my expectations.
When I started the challenge, I gave myself four months because four months sounded like a reasonable amount of time to see what strength training could do. But perhaps four months is enough time to become stronger without necessarily being enough time for me to see the full visual change I am hoping for. That does not mean the experiment has failed. In fact, I think it means the experiment is teaching me something. And I have realised something important too.
Although my arms do not yet look the way I want them to, I will wear my strappy dresses this summer because I feel happy in my feminine strappy dresses. I am not going to wait until my arms look a certain way before I allow myself to wear clothes that make me feel feminine and happy. I love those dresses. I am going to wear them. I do not need to earn the right to wear them by changing my body first.
Maybe I Need to Stop Thinking of December as the Finish Line
The original plan was simple. Four months. Sixteen weeks. Then I would put on one of my favourite strappy dresses and see what had happened. And I am still going to do that.
I am going to finish the original four-month challenge on 18 December. I am going to take the photographs, look at my measurements, think about my strength and, most importantly, put on that strappy dress. But I am beginning to suspect that December may not be the end. It may simply be the end of Phase One.
Because if I reach sixteen weeks and discover that I am stronger, fitter and more capable, but my upper arms still have some way to go, why would I stop? I do not want to keep exercising simply because I am unhappy with my arms. I want to keep getting stronger because I now understand just how important strength is as I get older. The strappy dress is the fun part. The strength is the bigger goal.
And Then I Had Another Idea
If I am honest, one of the things I have learned during this challenge is that I do not necessarily need another big workout to make a difference. And that has given me an idea. My office chair and desk are about to become part of the challenge. I am calling them my exercise-snack station.
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I am going to build two simple exercises into my working day: triceps dips using my chair and isometric desk presses. Nothing that requires changing into gym clothes or clearing an hour from my calendar. Just a couple of short exercises that I can fit into the working day when I have a few minutes.
I am not replacing my proper strength sessions. Those still matter. These little exercise snacks are simply another way of making movement part of my ordinary working day rather than something that only happens when I am at the gym. And who knows? My desk may turn out to be a surprisingly useful piece of fitness equipment.
What I Really Wanted When I Started This
When I wrote the original challenge, I talked about wanting firmer arms and stronger thighs. I talked about cellulite and definition and wanting to feel comfortable in my summer dresses. All of that is still true.
But somewhere along the way, the challenge has become about something bigger. I want to keep getting stronger so that I can carry on doing the things I love to do. I want to walk, hike, climb stairs, carry things and get myself up from the floor without worrying about whether I am still capable of doing them.
My independence is very important to me, and I want to do everything I reasonably can to protect it as I get older. My arms may be taking their time, but the woman inside them is getting stronger.
So, I Am Carrying On
I started this challenge because I wanted to see what four months of strength training could do.
What I have discovered so far is that I am stronger. I have also discovered that I am not particularly good at sticking to every single home workout I put on my calendar. I am human after all.
I have discovered that my body may need more time than I originally imagined. And I have discovered that comparing my progress with somebody else's is probably not terribly useful, because my body is my body. So, I am going to finish these four months. I will still give you the sixteen-week update I promised. And then I will decide where we go from there.
Perhaps the next chapter will be another four months. Perhaps it will be longer. I do not want to put an unrealistic deadline on something that is ultimately about becoming stronger and healthier for the long term.
So, my lovely accountability buddies, that is where things stand as I look towards December. My upper arms have not transformed overnight, but instead of letting that make me sad, it has made me change direction. I am officially launching Phase Two right from my desk, turning my stationary office chair and desk into my secret weapons for mid-week “exercise snacks” on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
This was never a sprint. It is a lifelong commitment to building a body that keeps me strong, capable and independent.
Sometimes we need to reflect, to adjust and to keep going.
Bring on the strappy dresses!
Are you working towards your own strength or fitness goal? Have you ever given yourself a deadline, only to discover that your body needed a little longer? I would love to hear about it.
Next update: Sixteen weeks — what has really changed?
🌿 Continue Your Journey
If this blog resonated with you, here are three more stories you might enjoy:
I stopped training simply to become smaller and started thinking differently about strength, independence and what I really want from my body as I get older.
I learned that exercise does not have to leave me exhausted to be worthwhile — and that movement can be part of ordinary life, too.
What happens when the things that worked for us when we were younger stop working — and we have to learn to work with our changing bodies instead of fighting them.
— Frannie ☕
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