A quick note about the Challenges themselves: These and any other Challenges on this site are for goal setting, habit changing/forming, focus, accountability, time frame.....they are NOT to overwhelm or burden, so do not plan any Challenge(s) with this mindset. Rather than setting your goals on the mountain summit, set it for the base camp right in front of you and then just keep on climbing until you reach the summit. If we take on more than we can realistically do, we set ourselves up for defeat. Also know that neither this site, nor any fitness/nutrition/weight loss Challenge or content on this site has anything to do with how someone should look.....my focus is and will continue to be on helping people be healthy and able to do their daily activities for a long time to come! Disease and strife do not have to be a part of your story and/or a continuing part of your story, so make the necessary changes in your habits to write better chapters!!!! Discerning Good From Bad Fad
~You should see your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. You should have a complete physical examination if you are sedentary, if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, if you are overweight, or if you are over 35 years old. Please discuss all nutritional changes with your physician or a registered dietician.~
Fit Challenge Info (VEF Shirts INFO)
Each month there will be a Fit Challenge held for anyone at any level that wants to participate. It will be different each month and will be something that will be worked on in the Classes. There will be a $5 participation fee for each challenge with a minimum of 10 participants.....Under 10 participants the fee will be $10. The winner will receive a VEF Tee, their accomplishment on the Challenge Board, and a 1/3 of the participation fees paid in (over the cost of the VEF Tee)! This is a great way to reach your fitness and/or weight loss goals each month to have this to train toward! Get Inspired, Get Fit, Challenge Accepted!!!!
Back To Basics 4 Week Challenge 8/4/13 - 8/31/13
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Need Help With any/all of this? I'm always available: cagib1@charter.net
Haven't been participating in the Challenges but would like to try it out before "officially participating" or would just like to challenge yourself/friends and get focused? Try one of the past challenges.....
PAST CHALLENGES:
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Six Week STEP IT UP Challenge
If you just finished participating in the 6 Week Step-By-Step How-To Succeed Challenge:
Step-By-Step How To Succeed In 6 Weeks
Free Workouts All Levels
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
...Then congratulations and I hope you continue on through this Six Week Step It Up Challenge! If you are on a good even track and want to build some intensity, then this Challenge will be good for you. It is not going to be as detailed or "step-by-step" as the past six weeks have been, but will be based on the habits developed through that process. If you are new to all of this, then review the above links. If you skipped the last Challenge because you felt you were beyond that learning process, but you have not yet reached your goals, then Challenge On. With Goals in hand and firmly established and your starting weight/measurements established (and before pics), then let's get started on this next six week journey!
Plan, do, and consistency are the foundation we built the past six weeks, so you could attain the goals you have based on being specific and attainable. So move forward, checking back for helpful tips and support where needed and move on toward your goals day by day for the next six weeks.
If you are doing this, then do it! All in with no excuses and I'll even help a bit more with that by:
1) Free Monthly Workouts page has the new June workout plus it still has the link for Free Workouts All Levels so that's taken care of unless you want either customized workouts for your particular situation/needs and/or some one-to-one instruction; then,
2) If you e-mail me by Monday, May 27th, your goals as well as your current "before" weight/measurements, then I will e-mail you an additional free workout for you to use the next six weeks for your particular skill level. If you keep me apprised via e-mail of how you are doing throughout the next six weeks and also send me your final "after" weight/measurements and where you landed regarding reaching your goals by Wednesday, July 3rd, you will be entered to win 3 free, hour long, workout sessions with me in addition to the free consultation/assessment which I provide all clients (that's 4 total sessions with me for free).
6 Week Step-By-Step How-To Succeed Challenge: Just One Step At A Time (Final Week & New Opportunity)
Step-By-Step How To Succeed In 6 Weeks + GOALS
Free Workouts All Levels
Week One + The Importance Of Tracking Foods + If Nothing Else Be NEAT
Week Two + The Importance Of Journaling + Move n Move n Move
Week Three + Track Your Food For Best Results + Workout Tidbits You Need To Know
Week Four + Nutritional Targets + Workout Recovery Needs
Week Five + Healthy Foods + Stress Hormone Response
Week Six + The Whys 'n' Hows of Measuring + GOALS
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This Nutrition Challenge should not focus on where you are not, what you are yet unable to do, what you can or should not have. This Challenge should however focus on where you are, what you can do, what you can have, what you can achieve! 12 Weeks to a better functioning, healthier you! 12 Weeks to a trimmer, toner you! 12 Weeks to a different mindset about what your body CAN do and how you feel about what you put into your body and how you treat your body! The dates of this 12 week Nutrition Challenge are January 9th - April 3rd, 2013.
Whether you are doing this Nutrition Challenge all by itself with no other additional Challenges or whether you are tackling every Challenge posted this week, below are the rules for this particular Challenge. Note that it is highly recommended that you at least combine the efforts of the Fitness Challenge alongside the Nutrition Challenge for best results!
1) Establish at least 3-5 nutritional goals and the course of action you plan to take to accomplish these goals during this Challenge. Keep in mind that these need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (in that the time frame is the 12 weeks of this Challenge). It will not do you any good to make goals that you cannot reasonably attain in this 12 week period. Treat your established goals and plan as a contract with yourself for these 12 weeks. This is not a "New Years' Resolution" that you abandon in 4 days! If you are stuck for goals, there are some samples below this section.
2) Weigh and measure yourself (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Weigh/Measure throughout the Challenge on these dates following the initial weigh/measure on Jan 9th then: February 6th; March 6th; and finally on April 3rd.--If you are also participating in the Fitness Challenge you only need to measure once each week so go with the Fitness Challenge dates.--
3) If you are doing this Challenge in part for weight loss, then I strongly encourage you to take before and after pictures. This is not for me or anyone else, but for you to track your fat loss journey (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Your before photos should be taken on January 9th and your after photos should be taken on April 3rd (again using Fitness Challenge dates if participating in both Challenges).
4) Plan your meals. Account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them.
5) Assess your goals and how your plan is going half way through the Challenge on February 20th (or 19th). This is a time to determine what is working and what is not. You will be half way through the Challenge at this point so this is a great time to tweak what needs to be tweaked for the final 6 weeks.
6) Where did you end up? On April 3rd (the end of the Challenge) do a final assessment of the previous 12 weeks and where you are in relation to your goals. Reflect on what the 12 weeks entailed, what obstacles you overcame to accomplish your goals, what you learned about yourself in this process and how you can apply it going forward beyond this Challenge.
Samples of Nutrtional Goals:
*Eat 8-10 fruits/vegetables daily, no excuses
*Preplan all meals
*Track all meals
*No BLTs (bites, licks, tastes) (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No more than 3-4 PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No unplanned PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Drink water daily to stay hydrated (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Stay within daily nutritional targets (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
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This Fitness Challenge should not focus on where you are not, what you are yet unable to do, what you can or should not have. This Challenge should however focus on where you are, what you can do, what you can have, what you can achieve! 12 Weeks to a better level of fitness! 12 Weeks to a trimmer, toner you! 12 Weeks to a different mindset about what your body CAN do and how you feel about what you put into your body and how you treat your body! The dates of this 12 week Fitness Challenge are January 8th - April 2nd, 2013.
Whether you are doing this Fitness Challenge all by itself with no other additional Challenges or whether you are tackling every Challenge posted this week, below are the rules for this particular Challenge. Note that it is highly recommended that you at least combine the efforts of the Fitness Challenge alongside the Nutrition Challenge for best results!
1) Establish at least 3-5 fitness goals and the course of action you plan to take to accomplish these goals during this Challenge. Keep in mind that these need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (in that the time frame is the 12 weeks of this Challenge). It will not do you any good to make goals that you cannot reasonably attain in this 12 week period. Treat your established goals and plan as a contract with yourself for these 12 weeks. This is not a "New Years Resolution" that you abandon in 4 days! If you are stuck for goals, there are some samples below this section.
2) Weigh and measure yourself (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Weigh/Measure throughout the Challenge on these dates following the initial weigh/measure on Jan 8th then: February 5th; March 5th; and finally on April 2nd.
3) If you are doing this Challenge in part for weight loss, then I strongly encourage you to take before and after pictures. This is not for me or anyone else, but for you to track your fat loss journey (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Your before photos should be taken on January 8th and your after photos should be taken on April 2nd.
4) Plan your workouts (if you are working out with me this is done for you). Account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them.
5) Assess your goals and how your plan is going half way through the Challenge on February 19th. This is a time to determine what is working and what is not. You will be half way through the Challenge at this point so this is a great time to tweak what needs to be tweaked for the final 6 weeks.
6) Where did you end up? On April 2nd (the end of the Challenge) do a final assessment of the previous 12 weeks and where you are in relation to your goals. Reflect on what the 12 weeks entailed, what obstacles you overcame to accomplish your goals, what you learned about yourself in this process and how you can apply it going forward beyond this Challenge.
Samples of Fitness Goals:
*Complete all planned workouts, no excuses
*In addition to all planned workouts, do my 10,000 steps daily
*Incorporate and complete all planned yoga/stretching practices, no excuses
*Progress to full blown, hard core push ups
*Progress planks to certain level and/or certain time in an isolated hold
*Progress a certain fitness move that you have struggled with to the next level
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted pull ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted pull ups
*Incorporate and complete all planned walks, or runs, or walk/runs, no excuses
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This Bible Challenge should not focus on past failures. It should focus however on the very real possibility of reading through the Bible start to finish whether it be for the first time or for another time through. Whether it be from Genesis to Revelation or whether it be in Chronological order. It should not overwhelm you with the information you do not know, but enlighten you as you go. The beauty of reading the Bible through as you would any other book in your possession is that you will ascertain understanding and foundation you might otherwise miss. You can make notes throughout your daily readings of deeper studies you want to go back and do. The dates of this 12 week Bible Challenge are January 7th - April 1st, 2013.
By doing the 12 week Bible Challenge, you are in essence signing on for a 90 day reading Challenge short 5 days. Whether you decide to adhere to a 90 day schedule and double on five days; or just be five days shy of completion of your 90 days schedule; or take these 85 days to be 85 days in on a six month or year schedule; take this opportunity to get on your journey to a better understanding of the Bible!
For various timeline reading schedules, just Google whichever you are interested. Know that for a 90 day schedule, you will need to be able to set aside at least an hour each day for your reading. Less time for a six month or year schedule. Be very honest with how much time you will give to this so you do not get defeated and quit. Even if you fall behind, keep going because the important thing is your efforts and time with God in His Word!
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Surviving the Holidays and Everyday Stress 10/15/12
Weekly Challenges:
Foundation
Food Challenge
Think First, Act Second
Body Care
To Thine Own Word Be True
Yoga For Everything
New Burpee Challenge
Desk Job Fix
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8/26/12 - 9/22/12 Challenge
Fitness Track
If you are at a place in your journey that you feel a 4 week focus on fitness goals would best benefit you, then the Fitness Track is definitely the track you should choose. First, you need to pick either 3 fitness goals to achieve or 1 main goal focus with 3 goal markers for achieving your 1 main goal. However you decide to go, you will need to not only establish your goals, but also the plan for which you will go about accomplishing those very goals.
Examples:
1) If you want to go the 3 goals direction, it might look something like this: 1st goal=Strength Gains (way to achieve could be taking the workout you would do for 4 weeks and plan out reps with progressive increases over the 4 weeks, breaks in between sets, increase of sets from 2 to 3 to 4, and progressive weights increases during reps with strength and muscle hypertrophy in mind). 2nd goal=Intensity of Workouts (way to achieve could be doing a timed workout by either doing a timed Pyramid Workout, Stacked Tabata Workout, Circuit Workout, or simply striving to complete all sets/reps within a designated time each workout). 3rd goal=Intensity of Intervals (could be achieved by always doing one extremely intense move such as rock star jumps, 180 squat jumps, tuck jumps, box jumps, etc, and one slightly less intense move such as knee highs, mountain climbers, burpees, etc., and alternating them each active work round for a 40x20 for 15 min interval set; pushing each time for more and more number of reps and higher intensity). Other types of goals you could go for are simply completing your workouts three times a week with no excuses; OR flexibility goals of in between workout day stretches of 20 min or more 3-5 times each and every week; OR running goals, etc., list is endless.
2) If you want to go the 1 main goal direction, it might look something like this: Main Goal=Full On "Triceps" Push Ups.....the 3 goal markers if you are starting out with kneeling push ups could be 1st=negative push ups down, palm release hands, plant knees and push up part knees & part feet for the first 4 workouts then moving to 2nd=negative push ups down, palm release hands, push up feet only working on core stability for next 4 workouts then moving to 3rd=Full On Push Ups for final 4 workouts working on core stability. Another example could be ... Main Goal=Chin Ups....the 3 goal markers could be 1st=chair assisted negative chin ups for first 4 workouts then moving to 2nd=chair assisted chin ups for next 4 workouts then moving to 3rd=Unassisted Chin Ups for final 4 workouts. The list can be endless here as well such as the various plank holds, various active planks, running, cycling, swimming, plyometerics, etc.
Weight Loss Track
If you are at a place in your journey that you feel a 4 week focus on weight loss goals, specifically fat loss goals would best benefit you, then the Weight Loss Track is definitely the track you should choose. First, you need to honestly assess what has been your hang ups in the past. Second, you need to weigh and measure yourself the first day of the Challenge and then weekly thereafter up and until the final day of the Challenge (reference Measuring Results). Third, you need to plan the three main areas that dramatically affect fat loss: 1st=Workouts...plan them and stick with them for 4 weeks with no excuses (reference Workout Tidbits). 2nd=Nutrition...plan your meals, especially your PIs. Eat clean 90% of the time (which will require you to actually stick to your preplanned meals and PIs 100% of the time with no UPIs...reference Eating Supportively). 3rd=Rest....without adequate sleep consistently and recovery days from workouts you will not have the fat loss success you are seeking. Establish a consistent bedtime and wake up time and stick with it for 4 weeks. Be sure you are working out with a day of recovery rest in between and at least one full day off each 7 days (not a day of sitting on the couch and not moving...this is stipulated for all the folks out there who workout 3 days a week, plus run, plus do yoga, etc....they need a full day of none of those activities).
Nutrition Track
If you are at a place in your journey that you feel a 4 week focus on nutrition goals would best benefit you, then the Nutrition Track is definitely the track you should choose. First, you need to assess what your focus should be these 4 weeks. In other words, what are your big obstacles? Is it too many PIs, too many UPIs, is it planning meals, is it eating supportively at all, is it not getting in enough produce, is it not getting in enough calories, etc., etc., etc. Pick 5 issues to master these 4 weeks and plan your approach and how you are going to go about doing it the entire 4 weeks with no excuses. If kicking sugar is one of your 5, then I'd limit sugar intake to fruit only. If one of your 5 is to eat 10 produce each and every day, then preplanning your meals is going to be key. If one of your 5 is to eat 90% clean and hitting all of your nutritional markers, then again preplanning is going to be key. Be sure to reference Eating Supportively.
Whichever track you choose, planning is going to be paramount to your success! I'll say it again....if you fail to plan, you plan to fail....not the first time you will hear me repeat these sage words. This is 4 weeks of intense focus on what might be the very hindrance to your fitness and/or weight loss success. It's 4 weeks.....you can do it for at least 4 weeks! Here's a hint....if you do it for 4 weeks by the end of the Challenge it will be a HABIT and you will realize you don't have to focus on it so much anymore ;-)
Determine your track, determine your plan of attack, WORK YOUR PLAN for 4 WEEKS!!!
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7/22/12 Challenge:
2 Week Habits Exchange Challenge
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4/6/12 - 6/29/12 Challenge:
Are you up for a real challenge? Past Challenges have focused on personal/specific goals and results. While that is great, I thought an awesome twist would be to focus this Challenge on just Fitness & Nutritional Goals!!! Sounds similar, but trust me when I say this is going to be very different ;-) By focusing on these set and very specific goals, your results will follow! Targeting fitness goals are a great way to get out of your head about size goals and plateaus and allow you to better achieve them as a product of pushing yourself physically. So let's get this party started!!!!
First, just as the past Challenge: It is going to be a 12 Week Challenge beginning April 6th and ending June 29th. To officially participate, send me an e-mail at cagib1@charter.net letting me know you are "All In". Anyone is welcome to either officially or unofficially participate as it is free either way. The only difference is you will receive some further guidance via e-mail if you are officially participating as well as be eligible for prizes.
Since we will be focusing our attention on mini Fitness & Nutritional Challenges throughout this 12 Week Challenge, the weigh/measure days will be much fewer this Challenge since results are not our FOCUS. That does not mean you will not get results...In fact you will most likely get better results than you ever have in the past BUT only if you do the work and participate FULLY! The weigh/measure dates will be: April 6th/7th; May 18th/19th; and finally on June 29th/30th. As with any Challenge, before/after pics are very helpful to reflect how well you do, so if you do pics, do them for yourself on the April 6th/7th & June 29th/30th result dates. Refer to Measuring Results for info on how to weigh/measure & take before/after pics. If you are officially participating, you will e-mail me your weigh/measure results only on the specified dates.
Prizes will be awarded to the person with the most points, the person with the best results, and the person who overcame the most obstacles and finished this Challenge anyway! Three separate prizes to three separate people. Trying to figure out if the prizes are worth it? Really? Come on, I don't even tell my kids what the reward is most of the time...but it's always worth it!!! See below for how points are earned....
All Mini Fitness & Nutritional Challenges will be posted here as they occur and are the way you earn points. You will be responsible for keeping up with your points and will need to e-mail me at the end of each mini challenge what your points are....As it is on the honor system and only hurts you if you cheat, I trust that you will be honest with yourself first and foremost! It will be a cumulative tab so you will need to e-mail me what you earned within each mini challenge as well as your total points up to that point. The end of the Challenge on June 29th/30th is when you would e-mail me your total points as well as your weigh/measure results for prize consideration.
1st Mini Nutritional Challenge 4/6/12 - 4/19/12 TRACK WHAT YOU EAT!
This is one habit that would benefit you if you did it the entire 12 weeks of this Challenge; however, for purposes of this Challenge you are only required to do it for these first 2 weeks. If you track everything you eat, every day: You get a point for each day you do it from April 6th - April 19th (total possible points 14). You get two points for each day you do it from April 20th - June 28th (total possible points 140).
2nd Mini Challenge 4/20/12 - 5/3/12 Yoga, Yoga, Yoga
That's right, it's time to get your Yoga On!!! If you are doing your resistance training like you should, but not stretching, you are definitely setting yourself up for muscular imbalances and spinal/joint issues.....So it's time to work a stretching routine into your schedule. Need help? Can't Do Yoga? For every Yoga (aka stretching) practice you do that is 15 minutes or longer (daily limit of points=15), give yourself 15 points from 4/20/12-5/3/12 (total possible points 180) . For every Yoga practice you do that is 20 minutes or longer from 5/4/12-6/28/12 give yourself 20 points (total possible points 960). Now go downward dog...
3rd Mini Challenge 5/4/12 - 5/17/12 PUSH UPs!!! For the Love of Push Ups!
Phase 1: For every stage of Push Ups you advance give yourself 15 points. Meaning that if you are on the Wall now with push ups and progress to Negative push ups, you would earn 30 points (from Wall to Kneeling would be 15 points plus Kneeling to Negatives would be another 15 points for a total of 30 points). The stages of push ups we will use for this particular challenge in order will be: Wall, Kneeling, Negative, Full, Inclined, Progressions (3 counts down, hold for 3 counts, up in 3 counts), Declined, Stability Ball Declined, Phase 2. In order for you to consider yourself ready to advance a stage you need to do a minimum of 10 good form versions of the stage you currently find yourself (total possible points 120).
If you can already do all of these particular push up forms (10 of each), then you get to give yourself 50 points and move on to Phase 2 of this Challenge. (total possible points 50)
Phase 2: In addition to your workouts (in other words your workout push ups do not count towards this), set a timer to 15 minutes and in that timeframe with as many breaks as your body requires, count how many push ups you can do in full form (triceps push ups, arms by your side/elbows pulled in full plank form down and up push ups). If you hummingbird speed through these you will actually not work all of the necessary muscles....so you have to go slow and controlled for these to count. If your body is flailing and you are not performing in good form, then it doesn't count. You can only count a good form push up! You will have a total of two sessions a week you can attempt this from 5/4-5/17 so get cracking if you are in Phase 2 because you will get a whopping 10 points for each push up you can do in each 15 minute session (max total possible points 4,000).
4th Mini Challenge 5/18/12 - 5/31/12 Sugar Reduction & Increased Veggie Intake!!!
Reduce Your Sugar Intake by reducing how many simple carbs, alcohol, and processed foods you consume. If you currently consume a high number of sugar grams in a day and they are coming from simple carbs, alcohol, or processed foods, then give yourself a point for every sugar gram you are able to eliminate from your diet between 5/18/12 - 5/31/12 (max total possible points 1,000). Don't have a problem with sugar? Sure about that? Check out your breads, everything you consume that isn't a whole food (meat, veggies, fruits) for how many sugar grams are in one serving...you'll be surprised at how many you are actually consuming in a day! For those who have their sugar intake in check, as well as those past 5/31/12 sugar reduction mini challenge, give yourself 25 points each day you do not consume more than 25g of sugar (total possible points 1,050). You will be relieved to know that the sugar in fruit will not be counted as part of this Challenge! This is because I do not want you cutting fruit from your 8-10 servings of produce a day. I do however, want your fruit intake to be no more than 4 servings a day....Which leads me to the other element of this mini Challenge....
Increase Your Veggie Intake, Increase Your Produce Consumption! You should be getting between 8-10 servings of produce each and every day at a minimum (that was at a MINIMUM)!!! More than half of that consumption should be from VEGETABLES!!! So to help with that healthy habit, you will get a whopping 15 points for each serving of vegetables you consume in a day between 5/18/12 - 5/31/12 (total possible points 1,260). For every serving of vegetables you consume each day between 6/1/12 - 6/28/12 give yourself 30 points (total possible points 6,720).
1 Fruit Serving Size is Equal to:1 medium whole fruit (e.g., apple, banana,, orange)
1/2 cup small fruit (e.g., berries, grapes)
1 cup chopped large (e.g., melons)
1/4 cup dried fruit
1 Vegetable Serving Size is Equal to:
1 cup cooked or raw
2 cups leafy greens
1/2 cup beans/legumes
5th Mini Challenge 6/1/12 - 6/14/12 Intensity Is Key w/Burpees and Hula Hooping ;-)Say what? Yeah, that's right, this 5th Mini-Challenge is a twofer! Between 6/1/12 and 6/14/12 you will get a whopping bunch of points for this two week mini-challenge. You will get as many opportunities to do this challenge as you have the core for it!
Burpees will be for 15 minute Intervals (45 seconds of Burpees, 30 seconds of Active Recovery for 12 rounds=15 minutes). We are talking just basic, simple, Burpee Thrusters, so nothing fancy or complicated here (no added push up or jacks or anything else other than the thrusters themselves). You will do as many as you can for the 12 rounds. I suggest counting each round and writing your total down during your active recovery period rather than trying to do math or remember a number while you do each round.....your brain tends to not function so well by round 3 ;-) We will keep the math simple too....For every 15 minute Interval, you will get the following set of points:
*If you are able to get 50 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 25 points.
*If you are able to get between 51-85 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 50 points.
*If you are able to get between 86-100 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 100 points.
*If you are able to get between 101-125 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 150 points.
*If you are able to get between 126-150 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 175 points.
*If you are able to get between 151-175 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 200 points.
*If you are able to get between 176-200 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 250 points.*If you are able to get between 201-225 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 300 points.
*If you are able to get over 225 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 500 points.
-----(total possible max points 7,000)
Hula Hooping is an awesome core builder, so for the next two weeks see if you can do what seemed so effortless when we were kids. You can get a very basic hoop at WalMart for $3-$5, so you don't have to invest in the expensive online ones to benefit. Don't give up just because it won't stay up....just like anything that is difficult...it will take practice and patience! You will do anywhere between 1-5 minutes to get points:
*For every full minute you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 30 points.
*For every two full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 50 points.
*For every three full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 75 points.
*For every four full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 125 points.
*For every five full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 150 points.
-----(total possible max points 3,000)
6th & Final Mini Challenge 6/15/12 - 6/28/12...Gluten Free--Eliminate The Bloat!
Have any known food allergies or irritations? Whether known or unknown, we have foods in our daily diet that cause us to unnecessarily bloat and/or be inflamed. If you have no idea what foods may or may not be doing this to you, the only way to find out is to eliminate that food from your diet for several weeks completely and then slowly introduce it back into your diet to determine if there is in fact a reaction to it. I am not on the gluten free band wagon, nor do I think it is a good idea to eliminate gluten from your diet completely if you do not have an allergy or intolerance to it (such as with celiac disease), but with the overabundance of gluten, I do think it's a good idea to decrease the amount in which you consume on a daily basis as well as know if you do or do not have a reaction to it (same with dairy and corn). So, with that in mind the 6th & Final Mini Challenge 6/15/12 - 6/28/12 is all about going Gluten Free!
Know going into this mini challenge that gluten is in every freaking thing (from makeup to postage, it is everywhere)!!! Unless you discover you do in fact have a reaction to gluten, for purposes of this challenge, I am not suggesting you cut out your makeup products, etc., only the gluten you consume in your diet for two weeks. For every day you are 100% gluten free (FREE from breads (unless they are gluten free), processed foods, etc., that contain any gluten) then give yourself 1,000 points. If you go mostly gluten free, with the exception of trace amounts as listed in a protein shake for example and no more than 3 servings a day of such, then give yourself 500 points. (total possible points 14,000).
***Note, to determine your body's reaction to gluten, you would have to eliminate gluten completely from your diet for at least three weeks, and then gradually add it back into your diet taking into account your body's reaction as you do. (same process with any food you are trying to determine an allergic or intolerant reaction to)***
Bonus Points:
1st Bonus Challenge: Walk/Run Your Way to a 1/2 Marathon!!!
Be sure to reference Couch to Half Marathon Plan for the "how". Beginning today, 4/13/12-6/28/12....Here is how the points will work: 5 points for every day you walk/run a minimum of 2 miles; 10 points for every day you walk/run a minimum of 3 miles; and 15 points for every day you walk/run more than 4 miles. (based on "Couch to Half Marathon Plan" total possible points of 385 but additional runs would add additional possible points up to a limit of total possible points of 660 from 4/13-6/28) Remember that for fat loss, prolonged steady state cardio is not going to get you where you want to go and that sticking with your resistance/interval workouts needs to remain your priority. The 3-4 cardio days are a great added cardio/respiratory benefit that will 1) get you your 10,000 daily NEAT steps in (Are You NEAT?) & 2) help focus you outside of your usual thought loop ;-) Be sure to get at least one full day of rest a week for proper recovery! ...NOTE: If you have bad knees, hips, or leg issues that prevent you from running (walk/run) and would like to participate in the 1/2 Marathon/Running Mini Challenge, you can ride a bike in lieu of walk/running the miles so as not to do additional damage to your joints. You will assess the points in the same manner as those of us who are walk/running. No excuses for not getting out there & trying!!!!
2nd Bonus Challenge: Plan Your Meals / Plan Your PIs (PI=Personal Indulgence....reference Eating Supportively for more info) (total possible points for every aspect of this bonus challenge from 4/27/12 - 6/28/12 is 2,952)
KISS your meals (keep it simple silly) and support your body! How's The Tracking? For every preplanned full day, give yourself 5 points...so if you plan a day in advance (the full day's meals) then you get 5 points for each day preplanned (this would then be in lieu of the 2 points for tracking). You get 5 additional bonus points for how many days you plan in advance, meaning that if you plan two full days meals in advance you get 10 points instead of just 5; if you plan a weeks worth of meals in advance you get 70 points instead of just 35.....(total possible points 630 from 4/27/12 - 6/28/12). However, if you do not consume what you preplan, then you have to deduct 10 points for each meal that was altered. Additionally, if you preplan the indulgences you consume, then you get an additional 2 points for each day's worth of PI's you planned in advance of the day they were consumed (total possible points -based upon a no more than 4 PIs per week plan- 72). Flip side is, if you consume UPIs (unplanned personal indulgences) on the days you preplanned your meals, then you have to deduct 30 points for each UPI consumed (add'l info: Weekends).
Clarifications: This means that in addition to preplanning your meals (which you would have to necessarily preplan your PIs if you are correctly preplanning your meals) you get an additional 2 points to the 5 points or 10 points. If on the day planned, you switch out healthy options (so not making it a UPI, just changing what you had planned), you have to deduct 10 points for each meal switched (not each food item...so if you make multiple healthy changes (again no UPIs) within one meal, you still only deduct the 10 points). Note, this is just if you change it on the day you are consuming the food, not if you make changes throughout preplanning. If, however, you consume one or more UPIs within a meal or a day, you have to deduct 30 points for each UPI serving regardless of whether it is throughout the day or one meal. You would also have to deduct the 10 points for changing the meal plan. So, if you planned grilled chicken, broccoli, squash and instead consumed pizza, brownies, and beer you would have to deduct 30 points for each consumed plus 10 points for the altered meal (e.g., 30 points for each serving of pizza, 30 points for each serving of beer (normal size servings here), 30 points for each serving of brownies, and 10 points for the meal). Note, that I am not suggesting you never eat pizza, brownies, beer, etc., I am simply saying it is better for you if you preplan those indulgences into your nutritional ranges as PIs instead of eating them on the fly and by whim.
Finally, for every week you ate 7 out of 7 days worth of preplanned meals, PIs and all (this means you consumed everything you preplanned at least a day in advance) and no UPIs (this includes BLTs (bites, licks, tastes)), you get an additional 250 points for each week accomplished (total possible points 2,250).
If you are not the person in your household who "plans" or primarily prepares the family meals, you can still preplan your days by communicating with the person in your household what meals are on tap for the week ahead. I'm certain they would like your input and assistance in planning!!!! Worse case, you plan your servings of whatever the primary food preparer is serving in advance.
Thinking this aspect of the Challenge isn't worth the time or the points? Sorry to say that if you do not at least try to preplan your days, but still track your days, you will continue to receive your 2 points for each day tracked, but you will have to additionally deduct 10 points for each week you do not preplan your days. So get planning!!!!
***Check out the "comments" section of this 4/27/12 Post as it will contain some additional clarifications***
3rd Bonus Challenge: FIBER Makes All The Difference!
Now that you are tracking, increasing your produce intake, and reducing your sugar intake this Bonus Challenge should be an easy one to collect points. If you get between 30-50 grams of Fiber in a day then give yourself 25 points for every day you hit that range from today through June 28th (total possible points 875). If you get over 60 grams of Fiber in a day then give yourself 50 points (total possible points 1,750). Munch on ;-)
Extra Bonus Points:
4/10/12 Post: "Thought I'd give you a points bonus......If you post a healthy, supportive, yummy recipe in the comments below (in the comment section for the actual Post) for everyone's benefit, you can add 15 points to your cumulative total!" (This is a one time points earning, but does not have a time limit so you can post a recipe at any point up and until June 28th for total possible points 15.)
4/12/12 Post: 15 extra points if you have been eating supportively and tracking since 4/6/12...through 4/13/12 only .... (total possible points 15)
4/18/12 Post: (This is from the date range of 4/6/12-4/18/12 only for total possible points 95)
*If you have a bag of flaxseed in your kitchen and have had at least one serving of it in the past 10 days, then give yourself 5 points.
*If you have a bag of chia seeds in your kitchen and have had at least one serving of it in the past 10 days, then give yourself 5 points.
*If you have had at least 5 servings of veggies in a day 3 out of the past 10 days, then give yourself 5 points.
*If you hit all of your nutritional targets 5 out of the past 10 days, then give yourself 10 points.
*For every workout you have done since April 6th, give yourself 10 points.
4/24/12 Post: If you read through the entire Challenge Points Post and followed the information provided, give yourself 5 points (through 4/27/12 only w/total possible points 5)
5/3/12 Post: Extra Pop Points:
*If between 4/19-4/30 you strength trained 4 or more times for at least 30 minutes intensely, give yourself 25 points.
*If you read the 4/27/12 points Post and decided you were going to do it best you could, then give yourself 30 points. If you threw your hands up in defeat and decided it wasn't worth the effort, deduct 30 points.
*If you have tried at least one new healthy thing to eat from 4/6-4/30, then give yourself a pat on the back and 15 points.
*If you have struggled at all since 4/6/12 and decided you were going to keep on going doing your best everyday regardless of the obstacles......YAY HOORAY for you!!!!! Give yourself 35 points and a high five!! If you haven't struggled but have remained on track since 4/6, give yourself a high five and 20 points....Really, if you are on track you are already racking up the points...now stay on track!!! (ONE TIME ONLY THIS WEEK)
5/31/12 Post:
Need some points? Well obviously, it's best to earn them through the Challenges because that is what is going to best gain you results and good habits, but if you are need of a boost in points, or just morale.....
*For every day you have eaten 8-10 servings of produce between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 10 points for each day.
*For every day you have eaten over 12 servings of produce between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 20 points for each day.
*For every day you have eaten over 60 grams of fiber between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 50 points for each day.
*For every day you have not gone over 25 grams of sugar between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 75 points for each day.
*For every day you preplanned your day, hit your nutritional ranges, and adhered to your preplanned meals for that day between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 100 points for each day.
*For every day you worked out between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each workout.
*For every day you more than 45 minutes of Yoga between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each session.
*For every day you ran more than 3 miles between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each run.
*For every day you did 50 or more push ups (any stage) between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each day.
*Max total possible points for this entire "Pop Points" post is 5,370. If you are able to collect more than 2,500 points, then give yourself an additional 1,000 points making your total max possible points 6,370.
6/20/12 Final Pop Points:
If you have done all of your planned workouts (min of 3 a week) for the past two weeks (6/5/12-6/19/12) then give yourself 200 points.
If you preplanned/tracked your foods at least 10 out of the past 14 days (6/6/12-6/19/12) then give yourself 200 points.
If you have participated in at least 5 of the past 6 mini-challenges then give yourself 500 points.
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1/6/12 - 3/30/12 Challenge:
Join me for the next Fitness Challenge! It is going to be a 12 Week Challenge beginning January 6th and ending March 30th. To officially participate, send me an e-mail at cagib1@charter.net letting me know you are "All In". Anyone is welcome to either officially or unofficially participate as it is free either way. The only difference is you will receive some further guidance via e-mail if you are officially participating.
This Challenge should not focus on where you are not, what you are yet unable to do, what you can or should not have. This Challenge should however focus on where you are, what you can do, what you can have, what you can achieve! 12 Weeks to a better level of fitness! 12 Weeks to a trimmer, toner you! 12 Weeks to a different mindset about what your body CAN do and how you feel about what you put into your body and how you treat your body! When you complete these 12 Weeks you will be a winner for having done so, but beyond that for those "officially" participating in the Challenge, I will award prizes for the top three participants who hit or come closest to their goals. By e-mailing me as outlined in the below Rules of the Challenge, I will be best able to offer support and assistance throughout this Challenge.
Rules of the Challenge:
*If unofficially participating, you will follow steps 1-7 but not send me any e-mails regarding them nor will you receive any support e-mails or be eligible for any prizes.
*If officially participating, you must send me an e-mail notifying me of your participation by Friday, January 6th. By January 6th (or 7th) you must send me an e-mail with the following steps 1-2. By the dates indicated in steps 5-7 you must send me an e-mail for each date indicated. Note that your information will not be shared with anyone and is used only for the purposes of this Challenge as outlined on this page.
1) Establish at least 3-5 fitness goals and 3-5 nutritional goals and the course of action you plan to take to accomplish these goals during this Challenge. Keep in mind that these need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (in that the time frame is the 12 weeks of this Challenge). It will not do you any good to make goals that you cannot reasonably attain in this 12 week period. Treat your established goals and plan as a contract with yourself for these 12 weeks. This is not a "New Years Resolution" that you abandon in 4 days! If you are stuck for goals, there are some samples below this section.
2) Weigh and measure yourself (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this).
3) If you are doing this Challenge in part for weight loss, then I strongly encourage you to take before and after pictures. This is not for me or anyone else, but for you to track your fat loss journey (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Your before photos should be taken on January 6th (or 7th) and your after photos should be taken on March 30th (or 31st).
4) Plan your workouts (if you are working out with me this is done for you) and your nutrition for the upcoming weeks (need some help/ideas, refer to the Eating Supportively and Healthy & Yummy Recipes tabs of this blog). Account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them.
5) Weigh/Measure throughout the Challenge on these dates following the initial weigh/measure on Jan 6th: January 27th or 28th; February 17th or 18th; March 9th or 10th; and finally on March 30th or 31st.
6) Assess your goals and how your plan is going on February 17th or 18th. This is a time to determine what is working and what is not. You will be half way through the Challenge at this point so this is a great time to tweak what needs to be tweaked for the final 6 weeks.
7) Where did you end up? On March 30th or 31st (the end of the Challenge) do a final assessment of the previous 12 weeks and where you are in relation to your goals. Reflect on what the 12 weeks entailed, what obstacles you overcame to accomplish your goals, what you learned about yourself in this process and how you can apply it going forward beyond this Challenge.
Samples of Goals:
Samples of Fitness Goals:
*Complete all planned workouts, no excuses
*In addition to all planned workouts, do my 10,000 steps daily
*Incorporate and complete all planned yoga/stretching practices, no excuses
*Progress to full blown, hard core push ups
*Progress planks to certain level and/or certain time in an isolated hold
*Progress a certain fitness move that you have struggled with to the next level
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted pull ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted pull ups
*Incorporate and complete all planned walks, or runs, or walk/runs, no excuses
Sample of Nutritional Goals:
*Eat 8-10 fruits/vegetables daily, no excuses
*Preplan all meals
*Track all meals
*No BLTs (bites, licks, tastes) (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No more than 3-4 PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No unplanned PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Drink water daily to stay hydrated (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Stay within daily nutritional targets (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
~You should see your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. You should have a complete physical examination if you are sedentary, if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, if you are overweight, or if you are over 35 years old. Please discuss all nutritional changes with your physician or a registered dietician.~
~You should see your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. You should have a complete physical examination if you are sedentary, if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, if you are overweight, or if you are over 35 years old. Please discuss all nutritional changes with your physician or a registered dietician.~
Fit Challenge Info (VEF Shirts INFO)
Each month there will be a Fit Challenge held for anyone at any level that wants to participate. It will be different each month and will be something that will be worked on in the Classes. There will be a $5 participation fee for each challenge with a minimum of 10 participants.....Under 10 participants the fee will be $10. The winner will receive a VEF Tee, their accomplishment on the Challenge Board, and a 1/3 of the participation fees paid in (over the cost of the VEF Tee)! This is a great way to reach your fitness and/or weight loss goals each month to have this to train toward! Get Inspired, Get Fit, Challenge Accepted!!!!
The Dates of the upcoming Fit Challenges are Nov 16th and Dec 21st at 11:30 am. There will be a different challenge each month. The November Challenge is BURPEES....Highest Number so far is 252 in 15 minutes (40x20 for 15 rounds).......Hope to see you there!
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Lose Your Pants Challenge (DETAILS: Lose Your Pants & Get Cut Challenges DATES & DETAILS)
If you have a few pants sizes to shed then this challenge is an awesome way to get that accomplished and win some money to buy those new pants in your new size! Starting January 6th and running for 12 weeks will be a body composition challenge in which the person who loses the most pants sizes (body comp) will win a $50 gift card to buy some new sized jeans/pants/clothes!!! There will be a $20 entry fee with a minimum of 5 participants.
Over the next 8 weeks I will be providing you with "steps" to work your way toward making the most out of this challenge as well as giving you the details of the challenge itself. Join me in the Beginner/Intermediate Classes for helpful fitness tips and strategies for losing those pants sizes!!! Get started today!
Over the next 8 weeks I will be providing you with "steps" to work your way toward making the most out of this challenge as well as giving you the details of the challenge itself. Join me in the Beginner/Intermediate Classes for helpful fitness tips and strategies for losing those pants sizes!!! Get started today!
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It's back to school time so what a great opportunity to get back to basics! Whether you have never tried clean eating and an active lifestyle or you have and fallen to the wayside or you are on track but have a few habits that need to be cleaned up....Take the next 4 weeks to make a huge impact in your life and health!!!
Dates: August 4th - August 31st
Details: Very simple ;-) Eat clean and balanced and move...see below
You will never be able to out move bad eating so while exercise and being active is extremely important for your health, eating clean and balanced is the key to everything including your mood! We are not going to tackle any mountains here or get overly complicated.
Basics:
*Eat protein/produce (fruits/veggies) at every meal
*Eat every 3-4 hours beginning with the first hour of being awake
*Eat 8-10 veggies/fruits in a day
*Have a "cheat" 3 times each week (but that's it)
*Move every single day!
*Workout 3 times each week
*Stretch or Yoga at least for 30 minutes each week
*Walk or Run or Cycle or Elliptical or Dance at least 45 min each week
New to all of this, be sure to check out these links: Workout Tidbits / Eating Supportively / Healthy & Yummy Recipes / Free Workouts All Levels
Dates: August 4th - August 31st
Details: Very simple ;-) Eat clean and balanced and move...see below
You will never be able to out move bad eating so while exercise and being active is extremely important for your health, eating clean and balanced is the key to everything including your mood! We are not going to tackle any mountains here or get overly complicated.
Basics:
*Eat protein/produce (fruits/veggies) at every meal
*Eat every 3-4 hours beginning with the first hour of being awake
*Eat 8-10 veggies/fruits in a day
*Have a "cheat" 3 times each week (but that's it)
*Move every single day!
*Workout 3 times each week
*Stretch or Yoga at least for 30 minutes each week
*Walk or Run or Cycle or Elliptical or Dance at least 45 min each week
New to all of this, be sure to check out these links: Workout Tidbits / Eating Supportively / Healthy & Yummy Recipes / Free Workouts All Levels
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Need Help With any/all of this? I'm always available: cagib1@charter.net
Haven't been participating in the Challenges but would like to try it out before "officially participating" or would just like to challenge yourself/friends and get focused? Try one of the past challenges.....
PAST CHALLENGES:
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Six Week STEP IT UP Challenge
If you just finished participating in the 6 Week Step-By-Step How-To Succeed Challenge:
Step-By-Step How To Succeed In 6 Weeks
Free Workouts All Levels
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
...Then congratulations and I hope you continue on through this Six Week Step It Up Challenge! If you are on a good even track and want to build some intensity, then this Challenge will be good for you. It is not going to be as detailed or "step-by-step" as the past six weeks have been, but will be based on the habits developed through that process. If you are new to all of this, then review the above links. If you skipped the last Challenge because you felt you were beyond that learning process, but you have not yet reached your goals, then Challenge On. With Goals in hand and firmly established and your starting weight/measurements established (and before pics), then let's get started on this next six week journey!
Plan, do, and consistency are the foundation we built the past six weeks, so you could attain the goals you have based on being specific and attainable. So move forward, checking back for helpful tips and support where needed and move on toward your goals day by day for the next six weeks.
If you are doing this, then do it! All in with no excuses and I'll even help a bit more with that by:
1) Free Monthly Workouts page has the new June workout plus it still has the link for Free Workouts All Levels so that's taken care of unless you want either customized workouts for your particular situation/needs and/or some one-to-one instruction; then,
2) If you e-mail me by Monday, May 27th, your goals as well as your current "before" weight/measurements, then I will e-mail you an additional free workout for you to use the next six weeks for your particular skill level. If you keep me apprised via e-mail of how you are doing throughout the next six weeks and also send me your final "after" weight/measurements and where you landed regarding reaching your goals by Wednesday, July 3rd, you will be entered to win 3 free, hour long, workout sessions with me in addition to the free consultation/assessment which I provide all clients (that's 4 total sessions with me for free).
- By sending me your initial e-mail by 5/27, you can have individual e-mail support throughout the next six weeks.
- By sending me both your initial e-mail by 5/27 and final e-mail info by 7/3, you could win 4 sessions with me which includes a customized to you workout plan. My e-mail is cagib1@charter.net . Look forward to hearing from you!
6 Week Step-By-Step How-To Succeed Challenge: Just One Step At A Time (Final Week & New Opportunity)
Step-By-Step How To Succeed In 6 Weeks + GOALS
Free Workouts All Levels
Week One + The Importance Of Tracking Foods + If Nothing Else Be NEAT
Week Two + The Importance Of Journaling + Move n Move n Move
Week Three + Track Your Food For Best Results + Workout Tidbits You Need To Know
Week Four + Nutritional Targets + Workout Recovery Needs
Week Five + Healthy Foods + Stress Hormone Response
Week Six + The Whys 'n' Hows of Measuring + GOALS
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12 Week Yoga Challenge 1/10/13-4/4/13
Without some quiet focus on our breath and our bodies, we are disconnected and unable to truly breathe and be calm, still, and free from pain. However minimal the amount of time and focus you spend with your body, begin where you are and receive the benefits!
This Yoga Challenge should not focus on what you can or cannot yet do. How flexible or inflexible your body is at the start. How unforeseeable it is that you will ever obtain your desired flexibility. The very nature of Yoga itself is not on such inhibiting factors. Focus rather on the present and where your body is in the now and the rest will follow. The dates of this 12 week Yoga Challenge are January 10th - April 4th, 2013.
Whether you are doing this Yoga Challenge all by itself with no other additional Challenges or whether you are tackling every Challenge posted this week, below are the rules for this particular Challenge. Note that it is very important to have a stretching program in addition to any fitness routines including but not limited to strength training, running, and cycling.
First, choose a track based on your experience with Yoga. If you have never done Yoga before, you are in Track 1. If you have some experience with Yoga, but are still very much a beginner, choose Track 2. If you consider yourself somewhere between Beginner and Intermediate (or Advance), go with Track 3.
Track 1
Do 15-60 minutes of Yoga 1-2 times each week of this Challenge. For tips on Practices, see below.
Track 2
Do 20-60 minutes of Yoga 2-3 times each week of this Challenge. For tips on Practices, see below.
Track 3
Do 20-60 minutes of Yoga 3-6 times each week of this Challenge. For tips on Practices, see below.
Regardless of which Track you are in for this Challenge, plan what days you are going to practice and account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them. Make a mental account of your progress each week. How your body and mental focus are changing as your practices grow.
Stuck for Practices? Some helpful resources:
*yogajournal.com for free poses descriptions and advice as well as practices and follow along videos.
*Rodney Yee has an amazing line of DVDs from beginner all the way to advance. He also has a superb book for all levels helping you advance your Yoga practice all the way into inversions titled Moving Toward Balance 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee
*Another one of my favorite yoga instructors is Kathryn Budig who has a beginner's guide to yoga titled The Women's Health Big Book of Yoga
This Yoga Challenge should not focus on what you can or cannot yet do. How flexible or inflexible your body is at the start. How unforeseeable it is that you will ever obtain your desired flexibility. The very nature of Yoga itself is not on such inhibiting factors. Focus rather on the present and where your body is in the now and the rest will follow. The dates of this 12 week Yoga Challenge are January 10th - April 4th, 2013.
Whether you are doing this Yoga Challenge all by itself with no other additional Challenges or whether you are tackling every Challenge posted this week, below are the rules for this particular Challenge. Note that it is very important to have a stretching program in addition to any fitness routines including but not limited to strength training, running, and cycling.
First, choose a track based on your experience with Yoga. If you have never done Yoga before, you are in Track 1. If you have some experience with Yoga, but are still very much a beginner, choose Track 2. If you consider yourself somewhere between Beginner and Intermediate (or Advance), go with Track 3.
Track 1
Do 15-60 minutes of Yoga 1-2 times each week of this Challenge. For tips on Practices, see below.
Track 2
Do 20-60 minutes of Yoga 2-3 times each week of this Challenge. For tips on Practices, see below.
Track 3
Do 20-60 minutes of Yoga 3-6 times each week of this Challenge. For tips on Practices, see below.
Regardless of which Track you are in for this Challenge, plan what days you are going to practice and account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them. Make a mental account of your progress each week. How your body and mental focus are changing as your practices grow.
Stuck for Practices? Some helpful resources:
*yogajournal.com for free poses descriptions and advice as well as practices and follow along videos.
*Rodney Yee has an amazing line of DVDs from beginner all the way to advance. He also has a superb book for all levels helping you advance your Yoga practice all the way into inversions titled Moving Toward Balance 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee
*Another one of my favorite yoga instructors is Kathryn Budig who has a beginner's guide to yoga titled The Women's Health Big Book of Yoga
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12 Week Nutrition Challenge 1/9/13-4/3/13
Keep in mind that if you are just starting out with a fitness/nutrition program that your Challenge goals could be as simple as eating breakfast every morning, eliminating processed foods, eating every 3-4 hours throughout your day, drinking water instead of sodas or only eating when you are hungry....Just remember to keep it simple and attainable and just try your best every day to be consistent in your efforts. Do not beat yourself up for those inevitably "bad" days and just take the next moment to "get back on track". Life is life, live it the best you can each moment you are given!!!This Nutrition Challenge should not focus on where you are not, what you are yet unable to do, what you can or should not have. This Challenge should however focus on where you are, what you can do, what you can have, what you can achieve! 12 Weeks to a better functioning, healthier you! 12 Weeks to a trimmer, toner you! 12 Weeks to a different mindset about what your body CAN do and how you feel about what you put into your body and how you treat your body! The dates of this 12 week Nutrition Challenge are January 9th - April 3rd, 2013.
Whether you are doing this Nutrition Challenge all by itself with no other additional Challenges or whether you are tackling every Challenge posted this week, below are the rules for this particular Challenge. Note that it is highly recommended that you at least combine the efforts of the Fitness Challenge alongside the Nutrition Challenge for best results!
1) Establish at least 3-5 nutritional goals and the course of action you plan to take to accomplish these goals during this Challenge. Keep in mind that these need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (in that the time frame is the 12 weeks of this Challenge). It will not do you any good to make goals that you cannot reasonably attain in this 12 week period. Treat your established goals and plan as a contract with yourself for these 12 weeks. This is not a "New Years' Resolution" that you abandon in 4 days! If you are stuck for goals, there are some samples below this section.
2) Weigh and measure yourself (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Weigh/Measure throughout the Challenge on these dates following the initial weigh/measure on Jan 9th then: February 6th; March 6th; and finally on April 3rd.--If you are also participating in the Fitness Challenge you only need to measure once each week so go with the Fitness Challenge dates.--
3) If you are doing this Challenge in part for weight loss, then I strongly encourage you to take before and after pictures. This is not for me or anyone else, but for you to track your fat loss journey (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Your before photos should be taken on January 9th and your after photos should be taken on April 3rd (again using Fitness Challenge dates if participating in both Challenges).
4) Plan your meals. Account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them.
5) Assess your goals and how your plan is going half way through the Challenge on February 20th (or 19th). This is a time to determine what is working and what is not. You will be half way through the Challenge at this point so this is a great time to tweak what needs to be tweaked for the final 6 weeks.
6) Where did you end up? On April 3rd (the end of the Challenge) do a final assessment of the previous 12 weeks and where you are in relation to your goals. Reflect on what the 12 weeks entailed, what obstacles you overcame to accomplish your goals, what you learned about yourself in this process and how you can apply it going forward beyond this Challenge.
Samples of Nutrtional Goals:
*Eat 8-10 fruits/vegetables daily, no excuses
*Preplan all meals
*Track all meals
*No BLTs (bites, licks, tastes) (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No more than 3-4 PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No unplanned PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Drink water daily to stay hydrated (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Stay within daily nutritional targets (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
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12 Week Fitness Challenge 1/8/13-4/2/13
Keep in mind that if you are just starting out with a fitness program that your Challenge goals could be as simple as adding in daily movement throughout your day or doing some activity prior to meals (such as 10 squats or counter push ups or 10 minutes of burpees)....Just remember to keep it simple and attainable and just try your best every day to be consistent in your efforts. Do not beat yourself up for those inevitably "bad" days and just take the next moment to "get back on track". Life is life, live it the best you can each moment you are given!!!This Fitness Challenge should not focus on where you are not, what you are yet unable to do, what you can or should not have. This Challenge should however focus on where you are, what you can do, what you can have, what you can achieve! 12 Weeks to a better level of fitness! 12 Weeks to a trimmer, toner you! 12 Weeks to a different mindset about what your body CAN do and how you feel about what you put into your body and how you treat your body! The dates of this 12 week Fitness Challenge are January 8th - April 2nd, 2013.
Whether you are doing this Fitness Challenge all by itself with no other additional Challenges or whether you are tackling every Challenge posted this week, below are the rules for this particular Challenge. Note that it is highly recommended that you at least combine the efforts of the Fitness Challenge alongside the Nutrition Challenge for best results!
1) Establish at least 3-5 fitness goals and the course of action you plan to take to accomplish these goals during this Challenge. Keep in mind that these need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (in that the time frame is the 12 weeks of this Challenge). It will not do you any good to make goals that you cannot reasonably attain in this 12 week period. Treat your established goals and plan as a contract with yourself for these 12 weeks. This is not a "New Years Resolution" that you abandon in 4 days! If you are stuck for goals, there are some samples below this section.
2) Weigh and measure yourself (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Weigh/Measure throughout the Challenge on these dates following the initial weigh/measure on Jan 8th then: February 5th; March 5th; and finally on April 2nd.
3) If you are doing this Challenge in part for weight loss, then I strongly encourage you to take before and after pictures. This is not for me or anyone else, but for you to track your fat loss journey (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Your before photos should be taken on January 8th and your after photos should be taken on April 2nd.
4) Plan your workouts (if you are working out with me this is done for you). Account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them.
5) Assess your goals and how your plan is going half way through the Challenge on February 19th. This is a time to determine what is working and what is not. You will be half way through the Challenge at this point so this is a great time to tweak what needs to be tweaked for the final 6 weeks.
6) Where did you end up? On April 2nd (the end of the Challenge) do a final assessment of the previous 12 weeks and where you are in relation to your goals. Reflect on what the 12 weeks entailed, what obstacles you overcame to accomplish your goals, what you learned about yourself in this process and how you can apply it going forward beyond this Challenge.
Samples of Fitness Goals:
*Complete all planned workouts, no excuses
*In addition to all planned workouts, do my 10,000 steps daily
*Incorporate and complete all planned yoga/stretching practices, no excuses
*Progress to full blown, hard core push ups
*Progress planks to certain level and/or certain time in an isolated hold
*Progress a certain fitness move that you have struggled with to the next level
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted pull ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted pull ups
*Incorporate and complete all planned walks, or runs, or walk/runs, no excuses
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12 Week Bible Challenge 1/7/13-4/1/13
Psalms 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."This Bible Challenge should not focus on past failures. It should focus however on the very real possibility of reading through the Bible start to finish whether it be for the first time or for another time through. Whether it be from Genesis to Revelation or whether it be in Chronological order. It should not overwhelm you with the information you do not know, but enlighten you as you go. The beauty of reading the Bible through as you would any other book in your possession is that you will ascertain understanding and foundation you might otherwise miss. You can make notes throughout your daily readings of deeper studies you want to go back and do. The dates of this 12 week Bible Challenge are January 7th - April 1st, 2013.
By doing the 12 week Bible Challenge, you are in essence signing on for a 90 day reading Challenge short 5 days. Whether you decide to adhere to a 90 day schedule and double on five days; or just be five days shy of completion of your 90 days schedule; or take these 85 days to be 85 days in on a six month or year schedule; take this opportunity to get on your journey to a better understanding of the Bible!
For various timeline reading schedules, just Google whichever you are interested. Know that for a 90 day schedule, you will need to be able to set aside at least an hour each day for your reading. Less time for a six month or year schedule. Be very honest with how much time you will give to this so you do not get defeated and quit. Even if you fall behind, keep going because the important thing is your efforts and time with God in His Word!
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Surviving the Holidays and Everyday Stress 10/15/12
Weekly Challenges:
Foundation
Food Challenge
Think First, Act Second
Body Care
To Thine Own Word Be True
Yoga For Everything
New Burpee Challenge
Desk Job Fix
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8/26/12 - 9/22/12 Challenge
4 Week Challenge
Awesome 4 Week Challenge!Definitely going to apply the KISS (keep it simple silly) philosophy to this ;-) I strongly suggest that if you have not been doing any kind of anything and/or have fallen so far off the "wagon" that you forgot how to work it, that you do the 2 Week Habits Exchange Challenge before doing this 4 Week Challenge. Doing so will maximize your effectiveness and results. That said, this Challenge will therefore not have an "official" start/end date so as to make it accessible to folks as they are ready to do it. I, myself, will be doing this Challenge starting Sunday, August 26th and ending on Saturday, September 22nd. If you want to do the 4 week Challenge with me, great! If you need to wait and follow it once you are ready to maximize the benefits of it, great...just see all posts on it when you are ready...they'll be waiting for you at Current Fitness Challenge.
Before I post the details of the 4 Week Challenge, I want you to first reflect on where you are on your fitness journey. What has worked, what hasn't worked, where are you now? How is your life balance? What is "challenging" you currently to stay on top of your nutrition and fitness needs/goals? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you realistically assess and obtain your goals within this 4 week challenge.
Reflect on....Assess where you are and where you want to go from here.....More to come.....
Before I post the details of the 4 Week Challenge, I want you to first reflect on where you are on your fitness journey. What has worked, what hasn't worked, where are you now? How is your life balance? What is "challenging" you currently to stay on top of your nutrition and fitness needs/goals? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you realistically assess and obtain your goals within this 4 week challenge.
Reflect on....Assess where you are and where you want to go from here.....More to come.....
4 Week Challenge Assessment
This 4 Week Challenge is going to offer 3 different tracks you can choose from to participate: Fitness Track, Weight Loss Track, Nutrition Track. Now that you have had a couple of days to reflect on your journey, you are ready to assess your goals and which track is best for you. In order to assess which track is best for you, you simply need to ask yourself what would you most like to intensely focus on for 4 weeks and rigidly discipline yourself to accomplish. In 4 weeks with eagle focus, you can accomplish sooo much! If you are trying to do it all (fitness goals, weight loss goals, and nutrition goals) it can be too much and nothing gets accomplished, so pick one focus and stay focused for 4 weeks. I will unveil the different track challenges tomorrow.....It is going to be totally AWESOME!!!!4 Week Challenge Tracks
As mentioned in yesterday's post, this 4 Week Challenge is going to offer 3 different tracks you can choose from to participate: Fitness Track, Weight Loss Track, Nutrition Track. Following is how each would work. I suggest only picking one to focus on for 4 weeks and then another for a different 4 weeks. That is of course not to suggest that you do not eat healthy and supportive if you choose the Fitness Track, or that you do not do your workouts if you choose the Nutrition Track, just that the intense focus and goal setting is geared toward the track you choose.Fitness Track
If you are at a place in your journey that you feel a 4 week focus on fitness goals would best benefit you, then the Fitness Track is definitely the track you should choose. First, you need to pick either 3 fitness goals to achieve or 1 main goal focus with 3 goal markers for achieving your 1 main goal. However you decide to go, you will need to not only establish your goals, but also the plan for which you will go about accomplishing those very goals.
Examples:
1) If you want to go the 3 goals direction, it might look something like this: 1st goal=Strength Gains (way to achieve could be taking the workout you would do for 4 weeks and plan out reps with progressive increases over the 4 weeks, breaks in between sets, increase of sets from 2 to 3 to 4, and progressive weights increases during reps with strength and muscle hypertrophy in mind). 2nd goal=Intensity of Workouts (way to achieve could be doing a timed workout by either doing a timed Pyramid Workout, Stacked Tabata Workout, Circuit Workout, or simply striving to complete all sets/reps within a designated time each workout). 3rd goal=Intensity of Intervals (could be achieved by always doing one extremely intense move such as rock star jumps, 180 squat jumps, tuck jumps, box jumps, etc, and one slightly less intense move such as knee highs, mountain climbers, burpees, etc., and alternating them each active work round for a 40x20 for 15 min interval set; pushing each time for more and more number of reps and higher intensity). Other types of goals you could go for are simply completing your workouts three times a week with no excuses; OR flexibility goals of in between workout day stretches of 20 min or more 3-5 times each and every week; OR running goals, etc., list is endless.
2) If you want to go the 1 main goal direction, it might look something like this: Main Goal=Full On "Triceps" Push Ups.....the 3 goal markers if you are starting out with kneeling push ups could be 1st=negative push ups down, palm release hands, plant knees and push up part knees & part feet for the first 4 workouts then moving to 2nd=negative push ups down, palm release hands, push up feet only working on core stability for next 4 workouts then moving to 3rd=Full On Push Ups for final 4 workouts working on core stability. Another example could be ... Main Goal=Chin Ups....the 3 goal markers could be 1st=chair assisted negative chin ups for first 4 workouts then moving to 2nd=chair assisted chin ups for next 4 workouts then moving to 3rd=Unassisted Chin Ups for final 4 workouts. The list can be endless here as well such as the various plank holds, various active planks, running, cycling, swimming, plyometerics, etc.
Weight Loss Track
If you are at a place in your journey that you feel a 4 week focus on weight loss goals, specifically fat loss goals would best benefit you, then the Weight Loss Track is definitely the track you should choose. First, you need to honestly assess what has been your hang ups in the past. Second, you need to weigh and measure yourself the first day of the Challenge and then weekly thereafter up and until the final day of the Challenge (reference Measuring Results). Third, you need to plan the three main areas that dramatically affect fat loss: 1st=Workouts...plan them and stick with them for 4 weeks with no excuses (reference Workout Tidbits). 2nd=Nutrition...plan your meals, especially your PIs. Eat clean 90% of the time (which will require you to actually stick to your preplanned meals and PIs 100% of the time with no UPIs...reference Eating Supportively). 3rd=Rest....without adequate sleep consistently and recovery days from workouts you will not have the fat loss success you are seeking. Establish a consistent bedtime and wake up time and stick with it for 4 weeks. Be sure you are working out with a day of recovery rest in between and at least one full day off each 7 days (not a day of sitting on the couch and not moving...this is stipulated for all the folks out there who workout 3 days a week, plus run, plus do yoga, etc....they need a full day of none of those activities).
Nutrition Track
If you are at a place in your journey that you feel a 4 week focus on nutrition goals would best benefit you, then the Nutrition Track is definitely the track you should choose. First, you need to assess what your focus should be these 4 weeks. In other words, what are your big obstacles? Is it too many PIs, too many UPIs, is it planning meals, is it eating supportively at all, is it not getting in enough produce, is it not getting in enough calories, etc., etc., etc. Pick 5 issues to master these 4 weeks and plan your approach and how you are going to go about doing it the entire 4 weeks with no excuses. If kicking sugar is one of your 5, then I'd limit sugar intake to fruit only. If one of your 5 is to eat 10 produce each and every day, then preplanning your meals is going to be key. If one of your 5 is to eat 90% clean and hitting all of your nutritional markers, then again preplanning is going to be key. Be sure to reference Eating Supportively.
Whichever track you choose, planning is going to be paramount to your success! I'll say it again....if you fail to plan, you plan to fail....not the first time you will hear me repeat these sage words. This is 4 weeks of intense focus on what might be the very hindrance to your fitness and/or weight loss success. It's 4 weeks.....you can do it for at least 4 weeks! Here's a hint....if you do it for 4 weeks by the end of the Challenge it will be a HABIT and you will realize you don't have to focus on it so much anymore ;-)
Determine your track, determine your plan of attack, WORK YOUR PLAN for 4 WEEKS!!!
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7/22/12 Challenge:
2 Week Habits Exchange Challenge
I, like everyone, fall into bad habits, and if stressed enough, suffer the consequences before getting "back on the wagon" and doing what I know to do! So, for me, the consequences have officially accumulated, and I have had enough!!! What are my consequences? At present I have added pounds and inches in the past few months and am tired of letting my crazy, stressful life be my excuse for not doing what I know to do! I say excuse, because while I am not excusing the behavior or in denial about the situation, but wanted to stress to you, the reader, that reasons=excuses...period, end of story. I'm certain you yourself have many "reasons" as to why you don't do A, B, or C, but the bottom-line is these "reasons" are just excuses until you have officially had enough of suffering the consequences of not finding a better way to do better! Is my arrival at this point going to change my circumstances? No, but my attitude and efforts will change the balance....And that will change my circumstances!!! Does knowing this make it easy? NO, but perfect practice, makes perfect results!! So I continue to practice what I preach and move forward with what I know to do!
In addition to doing what I know to do in all aspects of my life, here is what I am going to also do and propose you at least give it a try for 2 Weeks: Exchange 2 Bad Habits for 2 Good Habits! Simple and straight forward!!! For just 2 Weeks, exchange one bad nutrition habit for one good one AND exchange one bad fitness habit (or excuse) for one good one. That's it! In two weeks you'll be moving in a forward momentum that should propel you into good results and better balance. I started today, but you can start when you are ready! It's just two weeks!!! It's just two habits!!! What have you got to lose but at the very least two bad habits that are holding up your results and balance!!!
Curious what mine are? For nutrition: no alcohol for two weeks & instead going to replace with green tea and meditation. For fitness: I have not been doing my daily yoga, and even though my schedule is about to get even busier than it has been, I am still going to make time to do 20-60 minutes of daily yoga 6 days a week. This is just for the habits exchange portion, for the remainder, I am going to move forward practicing all the rest of what got me my awesome results to start with: daily Bible Study, Supportive Nutrition, Effective Resistance/Interval Training three times a week, and Striving Daily for Balance in Faith/Family/Home/Work/Rest. Easy? If it was easy, it wouldn't be something so easily thrown by the sidelines...no it's not easy. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!! Is it doable? ABSOLUTELY!!! Curious as to my results? Well, I'll report in to you on just that on Aug 6th! Two Week Follow-Up
In addition to doing what I know to do in all aspects of my life, here is what I am going to also do and propose you at least give it a try for 2 Weeks: Exchange 2 Bad Habits for 2 Good Habits! Simple and straight forward!!! For just 2 Weeks, exchange one bad nutrition habit for one good one AND exchange one bad fitness habit (or excuse) for one good one. That's it! In two weeks you'll be moving in a forward momentum that should propel you into good results and better balance. I started today, but you can start when you are ready! It's just two weeks!!! It's just two habits!!! What have you got to lose but at the very least two bad habits that are holding up your results and balance!!!
Curious what mine are? For nutrition: no alcohol for two weeks & instead going to replace with green tea and meditation. For fitness: I have not been doing my daily yoga, and even though my schedule is about to get even busier than it has been, I am still going to make time to do 20-60 minutes of daily yoga 6 days a week. This is just for the habits exchange portion, for the remainder, I am going to move forward practicing all the rest of what got me my awesome results to start with: daily Bible Study, Supportive Nutrition, Effective Resistance/Interval Training three times a week, and Striving Daily for Balance in Faith/Family/Home/Work/Rest. Easy? If it was easy, it wouldn't be something so easily thrown by the sidelines...no it's not easy. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!! Is it doable? ABSOLUTELY!!! Curious as to my results? Well, I'll report in to you on just that on Aug 6th! Two Week Follow-Up
4/6/12 - 6/29/12 Challenge:
Are you up for a real challenge? Past Challenges have focused on personal/specific goals and results. While that is great, I thought an awesome twist would be to focus this Challenge on just Fitness & Nutritional Goals!!! Sounds similar, but trust me when I say this is going to be very different ;-) By focusing on these set and very specific goals, your results will follow! Targeting fitness goals are a great way to get out of your head about size goals and plateaus and allow you to better achieve them as a product of pushing yourself physically. So let's get this party started!!!!
First, just as the past Challenge: It is going to be a 12 Week Challenge beginning April 6th and ending June 29th. To officially participate, send me an e-mail at cagib1@charter.net letting me know you are "All In". Anyone is welcome to either officially or unofficially participate as it is free either way. The only difference is you will receive some further guidance via e-mail if you are officially participating as well as be eligible for prizes.
Since we will be focusing our attention on mini Fitness & Nutritional Challenges throughout this 12 Week Challenge, the weigh/measure days will be much fewer this Challenge since results are not our FOCUS. That does not mean you will not get results...In fact you will most likely get better results than you ever have in the past BUT only if you do the work and participate FULLY! The weigh/measure dates will be: April 6th/7th; May 18th/19th; and finally on June 29th/30th. As with any Challenge, before/after pics are very helpful to reflect how well you do, so if you do pics, do them for yourself on the April 6th/7th & June 29th/30th result dates. Refer to Measuring Results for info on how to weigh/measure & take before/after pics. If you are officially participating, you will e-mail me your weigh/measure results only on the specified dates.
Prizes will be awarded to the person with the most points, the person with the best results, and the person who overcame the most obstacles and finished this Challenge anyway! Three separate prizes to three separate people. Trying to figure out if the prizes are worth it? Really? Come on, I don't even tell my kids what the reward is most of the time...but it's always worth it!!! See below for how points are earned....
All Mini Fitness & Nutritional Challenges will be posted here as they occur and are the way you earn points. You will be responsible for keeping up with your points and will need to e-mail me at the end of each mini challenge what your points are....As it is on the honor system and only hurts you if you cheat, I trust that you will be honest with yourself first and foremost! It will be a cumulative tab so you will need to e-mail me what you earned within each mini challenge as well as your total points up to that point. The end of the Challenge on June 29th/30th is when you would e-mail me your total points as well as your weigh/measure results for prize consideration.
1st Mini Nutritional Challenge 4/6/12 - 4/19/12 TRACK WHAT YOU EAT!
This is one habit that would benefit you if you did it the entire 12 weeks of this Challenge; however, for purposes of this Challenge you are only required to do it for these first 2 weeks. If you track everything you eat, every day: You get a point for each day you do it from April 6th - April 19th (total possible points 14). You get two points for each day you do it from April 20th - June 28th (total possible points 140).
2nd Mini Challenge 4/20/12 - 5/3/12 Yoga, Yoga, Yoga
That's right, it's time to get your Yoga On!!! If you are doing your resistance training like you should, but not stretching, you are definitely setting yourself up for muscular imbalances and spinal/joint issues.....So it's time to work a stretching routine into your schedule. Need help? Can't Do Yoga? For every Yoga (aka stretching) practice you do that is 15 minutes or longer (daily limit of points=15), give yourself 15 points from 4/20/12-5/3/12 (total possible points 180) . For every Yoga practice you do that is 20 minutes or longer from 5/4/12-6/28/12 give yourself 20 points (total possible points 960). Now go downward dog...
3rd Mini Challenge 5/4/12 - 5/17/12 PUSH UPs!!! For the Love of Push Ups!
Phase 1: For every stage of Push Ups you advance give yourself 15 points. Meaning that if you are on the Wall now with push ups and progress to Negative push ups, you would earn 30 points (from Wall to Kneeling would be 15 points plus Kneeling to Negatives would be another 15 points for a total of 30 points). The stages of push ups we will use for this particular challenge in order will be: Wall, Kneeling, Negative, Full, Inclined, Progressions (3 counts down, hold for 3 counts, up in 3 counts), Declined, Stability Ball Declined, Phase 2. In order for you to consider yourself ready to advance a stage you need to do a minimum of 10 good form versions of the stage you currently find yourself (total possible points 120).
If you can already do all of these particular push up forms (10 of each), then you get to give yourself 50 points and move on to Phase 2 of this Challenge. (total possible points 50)
Phase 2: In addition to your workouts (in other words your workout push ups do not count towards this), set a timer to 15 minutes and in that timeframe with as many breaks as your body requires, count how many push ups you can do in full form (triceps push ups, arms by your side/elbows pulled in full plank form down and up push ups). If you hummingbird speed through these you will actually not work all of the necessary muscles....so you have to go slow and controlled for these to count. If your body is flailing and you are not performing in good form, then it doesn't count. You can only count a good form push up! You will have a total of two sessions a week you can attempt this from 5/4-5/17 so get cracking if you are in Phase 2 because you will get a whopping 10 points for each push up you can do in each 15 minute session (max total possible points 4,000).
4th Mini Challenge 5/18/12 - 5/31/12 Sugar Reduction & Increased Veggie Intake!!!
Reduce Your Sugar Intake by reducing how many simple carbs, alcohol, and processed foods you consume. If you currently consume a high number of sugar grams in a day and they are coming from simple carbs, alcohol, or processed foods, then give yourself a point for every sugar gram you are able to eliminate from your diet between 5/18/12 - 5/31/12 (max total possible points 1,000). Don't have a problem with sugar? Sure about that? Check out your breads, everything you consume that isn't a whole food (meat, veggies, fruits) for how many sugar grams are in one serving...you'll be surprised at how many you are actually consuming in a day! For those who have their sugar intake in check, as well as those past 5/31/12 sugar reduction mini challenge, give yourself 25 points each day you do not consume more than 25g of sugar (total possible points 1,050). You will be relieved to know that the sugar in fruit will not be counted as part of this Challenge! This is because I do not want you cutting fruit from your 8-10 servings of produce a day. I do however, want your fruit intake to be no more than 4 servings a day....Which leads me to the other element of this mini Challenge....
Increase Your Veggie Intake, Increase Your Produce Consumption! You should be getting between 8-10 servings of produce each and every day at a minimum (that was at a MINIMUM)!!! More than half of that consumption should be from VEGETABLES!!! So to help with that healthy habit, you will get a whopping 15 points for each serving of vegetables you consume in a day between 5/18/12 - 5/31/12 (total possible points 1,260). For every serving of vegetables you consume each day between 6/1/12 - 6/28/12 give yourself 30 points (total possible points 6,720).
1 Fruit Serving Size is Equal to:1 medium whole fruit (e.g., apple, banana,, orange)
1/2 cup small fruit (e.g., berries, grapes)
1 cup chopped large (e.g., melons)
1/4 cup dried fruit
1 Vegetable Serving Size is Equal to:
1 cup cooked or raw
2 cups leafy greens
1/2 cup beans/legumes
5th Mini Challenge 6/1/12 - 6/14/12 Intensity Is Key w/Burpees and Hula Hooping ;-)Say what? Yeah, that's right, this 5th Mini-Challenge is a twofer! Between 6/1/12 and 6/14/12 you will get a whopping bunch of points for this two week mini-challenge. You will get as many opportunities to do this challenge as you have the core for it!
Burpees will be for 15 minute Intervals (45 seconds of Burpees, 30 seconds of Active Recovery for 12 rounds=15 minutes). We are talking just basic, simple, Burpee Thrusters, so nothing fancy or complicated here (no added push up or jacks or anything else other than the thrusters themselves). You will do as many as you can for the 12 rounds. I suggest counting each round and writing your total down during your active recovery period rather than trying to do math or remember a number while you do each round.....your brain tends to not function so well by round 3 ;-) We will keep the math simple too....For every 15 minute Interval, you will get the following set of points:
*If you are able to get 50 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 25 points.
*If you are able to get between 51-85 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 50 points.
*If you are able to get between 86-100 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 100 points.
*If you are able to get between 101-125 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 150 points.
*If you are able to get between 126-150 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 175 points.
*If you are able to get between 151-175 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 200 points.
*If you are able to get between 176-200 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 250 points.*If you are able to get between 201-225 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 300 points.
*If you are able to get over 225 Burpees done in 12 rounds, give yourself 500 points.
-----(total possible max points 7,000)
Hula Hooping is an awesome core builder, so for the next two weeks see if you can do what seemed so effortless when we were kids. You can get a very basic hoop at WalMart for $3-$5, so you don't have to invest in the expensive online ones to benefit. Don't give up just because it won't stay up....just like anything that is difficult...it will take practice and patience! You will do anywhere between 1-5 minutes to get points:
*For every full minute you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 30 points.
*For every two full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 50 points.
*For every three full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 75 points.
*For every four full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 125 points.
*For every five full minutes you are able to keep the hula hoop in motion around your center without dropping, give yourself 150 points.
-----(total possible max points 3,000)
6th & Final Mini Challenge 6/15/12 - 6/28/12...Gluten Free--Eliminate The Bloat!
Have any known food allergies or irritations? Whether known or unknown, we have foods in our daily diet that cause us to unnecessarily bloat and/or be inflamed. If you have no idea what foods may or may not be doing this to you, the only way to find out is to eliminate that food from your diet for several weeks completely and then slowly introduce it back into your diet to determine if there is in fact a reaction to it. I am not on the gluten free band wagon, nor do I think it is a good idea to eliminate gluten from your diet completely if you do not have an allergy or intolerance to it (such as with celiac disease), but with the overabundance of gluten, I do think it's a good idea to decrease the amount in which you consume on a daily basis as well as know if you do or do not have a reaction to it (same with dairy and corn). So, with that in mind the 6th & Final Mini Challenge 6/15/12 - 6/28/12 is all about going Gluten Free!
Know going into this mini challenge that gluten is in every freaking thing (from makeup to postage, it is everywhere)!!! Unless you discover you do in fact have a reaction to gluten, for purposes of this challenge, I am not suggesting you cut out your makeup products, etc., only the gluten you consume in your diet for two weeks. For every day you are 100% gluten free (FREE from breads (unless they are gluten free), processed foods, etc., that contain any gluten) then give yourself 1,000 points. If you go mostly gluten free, with the exception of trace amounts as listed in a protein shake for example and no more than 3 servings a day of such, then give yourself 500 points. (total possible points 14,000).
***Note, to determine your body's reaction to gluten, you would have to eliminate gluten completely from your diet for at least three weeks, and then gradually add it back into your diet taking into account your body's reaction as you do. (same process with any food you are trying to determine an allergic or intolerant reaction to)***
Bonus Points:
1st Bonus Challenge: Walk/Run Your Way to a 1/2 Marathon!!!
Be sure to reference Couch to Half Marathon Plan for the "how". Beginning today, 4/13/12-6/28/12....Here is how the points will work: 5 points for every day you walk/run a minimum of 2 miles; 10 points for every day you walk/run a minimum of 3 miles; and 15 points for every day you walk/run more than 4 miles. (based on "Couch to Half Marathon Plan" total possible points of 385 but additional runs would add additional possible points up to a limit of total possible points of 660 from 4/13-6/28) Remember that for fat loss, prolonged steady state cardio is not going to get you where you want to go and that sticking with your resistance/interval workouts needs to remain your priority. The 3-4 cardio days are a great added cardio/respiratory benefit that will 1) get you your 10,000 daily NEAT steps in (Are You NEAT?) & 2) help focus you outside of your usual thought loop ;-) Be sure to get at least one full day of rest a week for proper recovery! ...NOTE: If you have bad knees, hips, or leg issues that prevent you from running (walk/run) and would like to participate in the 1/2 Marathon/Running Mini Challenge, you can ride a bike in lieu of walk/running the miles so as not to do additional damage to your joints. You will assess the points in the same manner as those of us who are walk/running. No excuses for not getting out there & trying!!!!
2nd Bonus Challenge: Plan Your Meals / Plan Your PIs (PI=Personal Indulgence....reference Eating Supportively for more info) (total possible points for every aspect of this bonus challenge from 4/27/12 - 6/28/12 is 2,952)
KISS your meals (keep it simple silly) and support your body! How's The Tracking? For every preplanned full day, give yourself 5 points...so if you plan a day in advance (the full day's meals) then you get 5 points for each day preplanned (this would then be in lieu of the 2 points for tracking). You get 5 additional bonus points for how many days you plan in advance, meaning that if you plan two full days meals in advance you get 10 points instead of just 5; if you plan a weeks worth of meals in advance you get 70 points instead of just 35.....(total possible points 630 from 4/27/12 - 6/28/12). However, if you do not consume what you preplan, then you have to deduct 10 points for each meal that was altered. Additionally, if you preplan the indulgences you consume, then you get an additional 2 points for each day's worth of PI's you planned in advance of the day they were consumed (total possible points -based upon a no more than 4 PIs per week plan- 72). Flip side is, if you consume UPIs (unplanned personal indulgences) on the days you preplanned your meals, then you have to deduct 30 points for each UPI consumed (add'l info: Weekends).
Clarifications: This means that in addition to preplanning your meals (which you would have to necessarily preplan your PIs if you are correctly preplanning your meals) you get an additional 2 points to the 5 points or 10 points. If on the day planned, you switch out healthy options (so not making it a UPI, just changing what you had planned), you have to deduct 10 points for each meal switched (not each food item...so if you make multiple healthy changes (again no UPIs) within one meal, you still only deduct the 10 points). Note, this is just if you change it on the day you are consuming the food, not if you make changes throughout preplanning. If, however, you consume one or more UPIs within a meal or a day, you have to deduct 30 points for each UPI serving regardless of whether it is throughout the day or one meal. You would also have to deduct the 10 points for changing the meal plan. So, if you planned grilled chicken, broccoli, squash and instead consumed pizza, brownies, and beer you would have to deduct 30 points for each consumed plus 10 points for the altered meal (e.g., 30 points for each serving of pizza, 30 points for each serving of beer (normal size servings here), 30 points for each serving of brownies, and 10 points for the meal). Note, that I am not suggesting you never eat pizza, brownies, beer, etc., I am simply saying it is better for you if you preplan those indulgences into your nutritional ranges as PIs instead of eating them on the fly and by whim.
Finally, for every week you ate 7 out of 7 days worth of preplanned meals, PIs and all (this means you consumed everything you preplanned at least a day in advance) and no UPIs (this includes BLTs (bites, licks, tastes)), you get an additional 250 points for each week accomplished (total possible points 2,250).
If you are not the person in your household who "plans" or primarily prepares the family meals, you can still preplan your days by communicating with the person in your household what meals are on tap for the week ahead. I'm certain they would like your input and assistance in planning!!!! Worse case, you plan your servings of whatever the primary food preparer is serving in advance.
Thinking this aspect of the Challenge isn't worth the time or the points? Sorry to say that if you do not at least try to preplan your days, but still track your days, you will continue to receive your 2 points for each day tracked, but you will have to additionally deduct 10 points for each week you do not preplan your days. So get planning!!!!
***Check out the "comments" section of this 4/27/12 Post as it will contain some additional clarifications***
3rd Bonus Challenge: FIBER Makes All The Difference!
Now that you are tracking, increasing your produce intake, and reducing your sugar intake this Bonus Challenge should be an easy one to collect points. If you get between 30-50 grams of Fiber in a day then give yourself 25 points for every day you hit that range from today through June 28th (total possible points 875). If you get over 60 grams of Fiber in a day then give yourself 50 points (total possible points 1,750). Munch on ;-)
Extra Bonus Points:
4/10/12 Post: "Thought I'd give you a points bonus......If you post a healthy, supportive, yummy recipe in the comments below (in the comment section for the actual Post) for everyone's benefit, you can add 15 points to your cumulative total!" (This is a one time points earning, but does not have a time limit so you can post a recipe at any point up and until June 28th for total possible points 15.)
4/12/12 Post: 15 extra points if you have been eating supportively and tracking since 4/6/12...through 4/13/12 only .... (total possible points 15)
4/18/12 Post: (This is from the date range of 4/6/12-4/18/12 only for total possible points 95)
*If you have a bag of flaxseed in your kitchen and have had at least one serving of it in the past 10 days, then give yourself 5 points.
*If you have a bag of chia seeds in your kitchen and have had at least one serving of it in the past 10 days, then give yourself 5 points.
*If you have had at least 5 servings of veggies in a day 3 out of the past 10 days, then give yourself 5 points.
*If you hit all of your nutritional targets 5 out of the past 10 days, then give yourself 10 points.
*For every workout you have done since April 6th, give yourself 10 points.
4/24/12 Post: If you read through the entire Challenge Points Post and followed the information provided, give yourself 5 points (through 4/27/12 only w/total possible points 5)
5/3/12 Post: Extra Pop Points:
*If between 4/19-4/30 you strength trained 4 or more times for at least 30 minutes intensely, give yourself 25 points.
*If you read the 4/27/12 points Post and decided you were going to do it best you could, then give yourself 30 points. If you threw your hands up in defeat and decided it wasn't worth the effort, deduct 30 points.
*If you have tried at least one new healthy thing to eat from 4/6-4/30, then give yourself a pat on the back and 15 points.
*If you have struggled at all since 4/6/12 and decided you were going to keep on going doing your best everyday regardless of the obstacles......YAY HOORAY for you!!!!! Give yourself 35 points and a high five!! If you haven't struggled but have remained on track since 4/6, give yourself a high five and 20 points....Really, if you are on track you are already racking up the points...now stay on track!!! (ONE TIME ONLY THIS WEEK)
5/31/12 Post:
Need some points? Well obviously, it's best to earn them through the Challenges because that is what is going to best gain you results and good habits, but if you are need of a boost in points, or just morale.....
*For every day you have eaten 8-10 servings of produce between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 10 points for each day.
*For every day you have eaten over 12 servings of produce between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 20 points for each day.
*For every day you have eaten over 60 grams of fiber between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 50 points for each day.
*For every day you have not gone over 25 grams of sugar between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 75 points for each day.
*For every day you preplanned your day, hit your nutritional ranges, and adhered to your preplanned meals for that day between 5/18/12 and today 5/31/12, give yourself 100 points for each day.
*For every day you worked out between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each workout.
*For every day you more than 45 minutes of Yoga between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each session.
*For every day you ran more than 3 miles between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each run.
*For every day you did 50 or more push ups (any stage) between 5/1/12 and 5/31/12, give yourself 25 points for each day.
*Max total possible points for this entire "Pop Points" post is 5,370. If you are able to collect more than 2,500 points, then give yourself an additional 1,000 points making your total max possible points 6,370.
6/20/12 Final Pop Points:
If you have done all of your planned workouts (min of 3 a week) for the past two weeks (6/5/12-6/19/12) then give yourself 200 points.
If you preplanned/tracked your foods at least 10 out of the past 14 days (6/6/12-6/19/12) then give yourself 200 points.
If you have participated in at least 5 of the past 6 mini-challenges then give yourself 500 points.
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1/6/12 - 3/30/12 Challenge:
Join me for the next Fitness Challenge! It is going to be a 12 Week Challenge beginning January 6th and ending March 30th. To officially participate, send me an e-mail at cagib1@charter.net letting me know you are "All In". Anyone is welcome to either officially or unofficially participate as it is free either way. The only difference is you will receive some further guidance via e-mail if you are officially participating.
This Challenge should not focus on where you are not, what you are yet unable to do, what you can or should not have. This Challenge should however focus on where you are, what you can do, what you can have, what you can achieve! 12 Weeks to a better level of fitness! 12 Weeks to a trimmer, toner you! 12 Weeks to a different mindset about what your body CAN do and how you feel about what you put into your body and how you treat your body! When you complete these 12 Weeks you will be a winner for having done so, but beyond that for those "officially" participating in the Challenge, I will award prizes for the top three participants who hit or come closest to their goals. By e-mailing me as outlined in the below Rules of the Challenge, I will be best able to offer support and assistance throughout this Challenge.
Rules of the Challenge:
*If unofficially participating, you will follow steps 1-7 but not send me any e-mails regarding them nor will you receive any support e-mails or be eligible for any prizes.
*If officially participating, you must send me an e-mail notifying me of your participation by Friday, January 6th. By January 6th (or 7th) you must send me an e-mail with the following steps 1-2. By the dates indicated in steps 5-7 you must send me an e-mail for each date indicated. Note that your information will not be shared with anyone and is used only for the purposes of this Challenge as outlined on this page.
1) Establish at least 3-5 fitness goals and 3-5 nutritional goals and the course of action you plan to take to accomplish these goals during this Challenge. Keep in mind that these need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (in that the time frame is the 12 weeks of this Challenge). It will not do you any good to make goals that you cannot reasonably attain in this 12 week period. Treat your established goals and plan as a contract with yourself for these 12 weeks. This is not a "New Years Resolution" that you abandon in 4 days! If you are stuck for goals, there are some samples below this section.
2) Weigh and measure yourself (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this).
3) If you are doing this Challenge in part for weight loss, then I strongly encourage you to take before and after pictures. This is not for me or anyone else, but for you to track your fat loss journey (refer to the Measuring Results tab of this blog for information on this). Your before photos should be taken on January 6th (or 7th) and your after photos should be taken on March 30th (or 31st).
4) Plan your workouts (if you are working out with me this is done for you) and your nutrition for the upcoming weeks (need some help/ideas, refer to the Eating Supportively and Healthy & Yummy Recipes tabs of this blog). Account for the foreseen obstacles and make a plan for working around them.
5) Weigh/Measure throughout the Challenge on these dates following the initial weigh/measure on Jan 6th: January 27th or 28th; February 17th or 18th; March 9th or 10th; and finally on March 30th or 31st.
6) Assess your goals and how your plan is going on February 17th or 18th. This is a time to determine what is working and what is not. You will be half way through the Challenge at this point so this is a great time to tweak what needs to be tweaked for the final 6 weeks.
7) Where did you end up? On March 30th or 31st (the end of the Challenge) do a final assessment of the previous 12 weeks and where you are in relation to your goals. Reflect on what the 12 weeks entailed, what obstacles you overcame to accomplish your goals, what you learned about yourself in this process and how you can apply it going forward beyond this Challenge.
Samples of Goals:
Samples of Fitness Goals:
*Complete all planned workouts, no excuses
*In addition to all planned workouts, do my 10,000 steps daily
*Incorporate and complete all planned yoga/stretching practices, no excuses
*Progress to full blown, hard core push ups
*Progress planks to certain level and/or certain time in an isolated hold
*Progress a certain fitness move that you have struggled with to the next level
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted chin ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of assisted pull ups
*Progress to a certain number of reps of unassisted pull ups
*Incorporate and complete all planned walks, or runs, or walk/runs, no excuses
Sample of Nutritional Goals:
*Eat 8-10 fruits/vegetables daily, no excuses
*Preplan all meals
*Track all meals
*No BLTs (bites, licks, tastes) (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No more than 3-4 PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*No unplanned PIs per week (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Drink water daily to stay hydrated (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
*Stay within daily nutritional targets (refer to Eating Supportively tab of this blog)
~You should see your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. You should have a complete physical examination if you are sedentary, if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, if you are overweight, or if you are over 35 years old. Please discuss all nutritional changes with your physician or a registered dietician.~
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