At the beginning of the month, I did a review of my health and fitness goals, and one of the things that came up from that review was that I wanted to put together another fitness challenge like the one I attempted to do in preparation for my wedding. I actually had a lot of fun doing that one, when I actually did it… and it felt really good, so I spent some time making myself a new chart for the next month and a bit.
My schedule for work is going to be a bit chaotic, so I have attempted to take that in to account on the schedule. I’m hoping that if I don’t “fail” because I scheduled something wrong with work, then I’m more likely to keep going… in theory, anyway…
My new chart starts today… But I slept in this morning (hence the lunchtime blog posting), so I missed my morning workout time, which means if I’m not going “fail” on day one, I’ll have to make some time tonight to do my exercises. I made one change in exercises from my summer challenge, I got rid of the mountain climbers (I just don’t really like that exercise…) and replaced it with some leg raises. Not sure if it will be as effective, but I’ll give it a try.
So, without further ado, here’s my new fitness challenge chart:
Wish me luck & send me motivation, I’m definitely going to need it!
This morning, when I did my Monday morning weigh-in (for one of my other updated health goals to lose weight before the end of the year), I was unfortunately up a couple pounds… Yup, my goal of 10lbs is now a goal of 12lbs… I’m going to say it is because I started getting back in to the exercise routine last week, so I am first gaining muscle and then I’ll start losing the fat… right? Please say that sort of makes sense… I’ll roll with it for now. Hopefully it adds to my motivation.
Do you have any fall plans for your fitness? Want to join me in my challenge?
All-Round Better Me 
I just kicked off a modified second round of the Beach Body 21-Day Fix, minus the super-stringent meal tracking, so we can support each other through the getting-fit-in-fall thing! I figure instead of 21 Days, I’ll do 4 workouts a week, eat reasonably and try to keep it going for 60 days. And also not expect miracles, haha.
Also, preach re: mountain climbers. I don’t know if it’s my total lack of hip flexibility or ab strength that kills me on those, but they are just not my jam. Good luck with the challenge – I hope you’re doing your exercise right now so you don’t miss day 1!
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Perfect! We can be accountability partners… and I already failed. LOL! Instead of doing my workout last night, I totally just fell asleep on the couch… whoops… It’s okay, I’ll just do both day 1 and day 2 today. It’ll work out.
I’ve never heard of this Beach Body 21-Day Fix, but eating healthy is definitely a part of it. For me it is eating the right portion size… I just love food! Good luck with your fitness challenge – let’s work on this together. 🙂
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Yes, let’s! The Beach Body thing was a referral from a friend, and honestly if I didn’t like the workouts so much I would stop using it because it sounds like the ditziest workout program in the entire world BUT it is actually pretty good. The one thing I like is that it’s actually “portion” controls, not calorie counting, for the food. They tell you a volume of each food group that you get to have in the day (and I cheated and just marked regular Ziploc containers with that volume instead of buying their colour-coded system!) It’s super low maintenance as far as food tracking goes (and you can totally find the food volumes and categories online!)
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So long as you find something that works for you, that’s really all that matters, right?
The volume measures are a good idea. I have this little glass bowl that I use for my lunches that limits my lunch portion to a proper size… I should use that for some other meals too!
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Yes – gain muscle first, lose fat next!
I saw an article that said the best exercise for fat-loss was sprinting, since it uses your whole body and is high-intensity. I keep saying I’m going to try that…
I love that you’re making a challenge and have the whole schedule laid out for yourself. You’ll do awesome!
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It’s interesting that you mention sprinting because one of the things my running buddy and I have found super helpful is doing hill sprints. I guess we aren’t really sprinting because we basically find a set of really steep hills and run up as fast as we can, then job down them. The fast pace on the way up isn’t really all that fast though… especially near the top when we are tired. LOL! I haven’t included any runs in my schedule, but I hope to fit some in there as well.
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Oh, hill sprints are SUCH a hard workout! I think that’s the exact perfect choice. I need to get my butt out there and do some too…
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I fell off my fitness wagon at the end of the summer, but hope to get back to my running schedule. This is just the motivation I need. The beauty with exercise, is if you “fail” you can just start right back up again. Good luck with your fitness goals!
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Totally true about being able to just start back up again. I would rather not stop at all… but I guess that can’t be really expected. Good luck with your running schedule. Glad I could provide some motivation. Hopefully that motivation will also help me. 😉
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I need to get back to proper exercise again, great reminder.. Thanks 🙂
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Sometimes it can be tough to get started… but having this posted on the blog forced me to get working on it… can’t post something and then just totally quit…
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Totally agree 😉
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Can I join in on this challenge?! I really need to find time to exercise and work on getting fit. Sending positive vibes and motivation your way, I’m sure you can reach your goal if you stick to this challenge!
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YES! Please join me! So far I’ve managed to do Day 2 & Day 3… don’t ask about Day 1… haha!
My plans have changed a bit, so I’m going to swap my rest day on Day 4 with the workout on Day 5… so tomorrow I’ll be doing Day 5. 🙂 You can totally use my workout plan, or make one that works with your personal schedule.
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Mountain climbers to me create way too much tension in the shoulders and neck. Supporting that fast movement is just too much. I vote leg raises for building strength mindfully and with more ease and fluidity!
If you don’t mind me asking, how long does a typical day take?
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So I’m not alone disliking the mountain climbers! 🙂
I have never actually timed it… Lol. Obviously the more reps later in the challenge, it’ll take longer… As a rough estimate, I’d say maybe 20 minutes? I will try and time it next and see…
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Fitness challenges can be so fun! I am planning a yoga challenge for November!
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Oh fun! What are you doing for your yoga challenge?
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There is a youtube channel called Yoga with Adrienne, and she has a 30 days of yoga series, I’ll start that one!
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I have tried a couple of her videos. I like her style. But I haven’t ever actually done the full 30 day series.
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