Sometimes it is nice to shake things up in our routines to help us accomplish some goals. This Spring I am looking to challenge myself by doing a fitness challenge!
I recently found one that seemed reasonable and challenging, perfect for just starting out. This challenge was created by the blogger "Live, Love, Simple". She asked that before diving into this challenge we ask ourselves what is our "why?"
What is your "why" to doing this challenge? I like to ask myself this question with a lot of things in my life. What is my why to running this blog? What is my why to running my 2 businesses? What is your "why" to doing anything you do?
For me my "why" for this challenge is to feel more energy, to detox any negative things in my body, to be in less pain and to have more motivation during my day. Asking ourselves the why behind our actions and routines helps us stay rooted, when the going gets tough... and it WILL, our why grounds us and keeps our feet planted, when otherwise it would be so easy to quit on ourselves and the habits or projects we are working on.
This challenge lasts over the course of 4 weeks. Changes occur each week, but they are slight and you can modify to your own needs. To see the original plan head over to her blog. Today I am going to be sharing my modifications that I will be doing the next 4 weeks.
Week 1:
-5 minute meditation
-20 minutes (stretch, light cardio/weights)
-No fried food
-No eating out
I like that we are starting this out lightly. Simple things to add and subtract from the week. Eating out has become a thing recently for Chris and I, especially for our lunches. This week's challenge seems really doable.
Week 2:
-5 minute meditation
-20 minute movement
-Yoga (Wednesday and Friday)
-No sugar
-No eating out
Adding an extra movement piece this week and I like the idea of switching which types of food to avoid for a week. I want to add a little more intensity to my movements for this week. I have always loved yoga, it is so good for lowering our heart rates, improving balance and flexibility.
Week 3:
-5 minute meditation
-Morning power walk (Monday-Friday)
-Intermittent Fasting (Daily)
-No fried food
-No eating out
We already do intermittent fasting and it has been a success for our family. If you don't know what that is I'll fill you in: For us we don't eat anything until 11:30/Noon. We can either eat breakfast or lunch foods to break our fast. We have enjoyed eliminating a meal, it makes meal planning a lot easier. There are different types of intermittent fasting which you can find online. As far as the walking goes, we have been wanting to be better about daily walks as a family this week will push us to fulfill that goal!
Week 4:
-Lots of Walking
-Bodyweight (pushups/pullups/jump squats/burpees/planks)
-Eat in moderation
I know that the previous weeks are going to prepare me for this final week. The bodyweight workouts have always scared me. I'm not an intense workout person, but I am hoping that by week 4 I will have the energy and motivation that I'm striving for to get me through those exercises.
If you've read some of my other health posts you know that I have made the decision to not call my physical movements "exercise" or "working out". My brain equates those words with exhausting and tough work. I need it to sound more fun in order for me to keep up with it, so when I workout on the RingFit I like to say I am going to "play" RingFit. During this challenge, rather than saying "I need to do my daily exercises" I will verbalize it like this "I have got to complete my challenge for the day!" I'm hoping that by changing how I phrase and talk about it, will force my brain to be more inspired and motivated than dreading and wanting to quit.
Let me know in the comments if you are looking at trying any fitness challenges? What is your why? Let's support one another and hold each other accountable.
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