This challenge was called "March Into Fitness". For a $10 fee you could enter into this challenge. Each evening an email will be sent out giving you your challenge for the next day. Each day you could earn up to 3 points. If it is an exercise challenge, each time you complete the challenge you will get one point. You can do each challenge up to three times (thus the three points). Also, on days that it is not an exercise challenge, you just have to complete it once to get the three points. At the end of the month your points will determine your reward, which is gym bucks. If you at least do each challenge one time you can get your money back and then some. It is a great incentive, but really more fun to challenge yourself to do something different, maybe even try some new things that you haven't done before.
Because of my all or nothing nature, my goal from the very start was to do the task each day three times. Depending on the challenge I figure if I broke it up into segments during the day it would be an achievable goal. This proved to be very helpful for me personally and made it much easier (easier doesn't necessarily seem like the right word for some of these days, but the only thing I can come up with at the time).
Day 1 - 40 Lunges (each leg) - 3 Points
Felt pretty good about the challenge on the very first day. Not that lunges are easy, but since I do them every time I take pump class, I knew that I could knock out all 3 sets, and did. I just did the basic lunge, no weights (much easier than in Pump class with the weight on your back). I did also have Body Pump class that day where we do have a lunge track, but I didn't count these, so in actuality I ended up doing more.
Day 2 - 100 Pushups - 3 Points
WOW....300 pushups, that is a lot. All I can say, I am thankful for the Squat and Pushup calendar challenge I did back in January courtesy of The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. For each 100 pushups I gave myself a challenge to do at least 20 of each 100 the "non-girly" way. This was definitely an all day task. I broke them up, but I got them all done. My shoulders were sore for a few days after this.
Day 3 - 20 Minutes on Elliptical - 3 Points
The elliptical machine, this used to be my go to exercise option at the gym when I first joined. I would easy spend 60 minutes on the elliptical on a daily basis, great workout. But since becoming a gym class snob (said by one of my co-workers) I have barely been on it. Yes, I can still do 60 minutes! I will have to get back on it in the future from time to time. I really enjoyed this day because I had company doing this. After Zumba class that evening, my friend Nancy (who also signed up for the challenge) and I got on machines next to one another and worked it out. It really made the time go by so much quicker. It would have been nice if we could have done more of these challenges together during the months, but are schedules are so different. I'm glad and thankful for the couple of times we did work together.
Day 4 - Eat 5 Serving of Vegetables - 3 Points
It was funny, that night before on the elliptical I kept thinking to myself...please let tomorrow be a non exercise challenge. Wish granted...thank you. For breakfast, I put onions, peppers, and spinach in my omelet, then I had a salad for lunch (my salads make up the 5 servings by itself), and in case that wasn't enough I had spaghetti squash, roasted carrots, mashed rutabagas, and roasted brussel sprouts for dinner. Got my 5 servings and them some...
Day 5 - 10 Minutes on Rowing Machine - 3 Points
Again, since taking group fitness classes, I don't spend a whole lot of time out in the gym. I have been on the rowing machine before, and liked it. The most I had ever been on it at one time was 5 minutes. There was no way I was doing 30 minutes in a row, so I broke up between some time on the treadmill. The rowing machine is a great workout and calorie burn. I was on the treadmill walking when Nancy came in to do her challenge so I was able to do the last 10 minutes with her by my side. It really is so much better working out with a friend, giving encouragement, getting encouragement. It really does make it more fun. This is exactly why I love the gym environment, especially the group fitness classes. They have become a second family to me and have been so extremely supportive and encouraging in my weight loss and healthier ME journey.
Day 6 - 20 Pull Ups - 3 Points
When I saw this on the email I got worried. My thought, I'm so glad I have gotten the max points for all of the challenges so far because there is no way I can do a pull up. I was going to skip this one. I kept thinking I can at least use the pull up machine at the gym, but it was so foreign to me and completely stepping out of my comfort zone. During the day while I was at work I had texted Nancy and asked her if she did it. She did, so I told myself that I could do it too. I debated all day about it and thought maybe I would give it a try after my Body Pump class that evening. Hopefully by then there wouldn't be many people at the gym so I wouldn't embarrass myself trying to figure out the machine. Fortunately there were a couple of us that were in class that needed to the challenge so we worked on it together. Thanks to Kendra, my Body Pump instructor that night for helping us figure out how to to use the machine and sticking around while completing the task. Not as bad as I thought and so glad I gave it a try. I will definitely give that pull up machine a try again.
Day 7 - 30 Minute Walk or Run - 3 Points
90 Minutes of walking was a welcomed challenge for the day. This helped with getting my 10,000 step Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans challenge done. This will also be very helpful with my long term goal of doing a 5K this year.
Day 8 - 100 Squats - 3 Points
Hmmmmm, squats. I remember the day a long time ago that I hated squats. I have definitely over time grown to appreciate them and even love them. They definitely do a body good. My backside is thankful. Thanks to Body Pump class, I have gotten much better at the squat and can now drop down much farther than ever before.
Day 9 - 100 Crunches - 3 Points
Phew....that's a lot of crunches. Thankfully I used my whole day and broke this challenge up into groups so that I could complete this. My midsection is definitely one of my weaker spots and probably needs the most work (probably besides my "bat wings"). My stomach will be thanking me...
Day 10 - 20 Squats/20 Crunches/20 Pushups - 3 Points
A great combination and mix of exercises for the day. It was a really busy day in the office so I wasn't able to start this challenge until later. I was able to knock these out before Zumba class at the gym. Love the challenges that don't take a whole lot of time and it was a great warmup before class.
Day 11 - 40 Step Ups (each leg) - 3 Points
Day 12 - 30 Minute Walk or Run - 3 Points
Another day of 90 minutes on the treadmill - changed it up a bit today, played with the incline, and even did a few quick bursts of running (more like a slow jog).
Day 13 - 1 Minute Plank/1 Minute Wall Sit - 3 Points
6 Minutes of my day...I'll take it. A plank is still a challenge but one that is doable now. The wall sit was a little rough on the knees, but done (check).
Day 14 - Drink 8 Cups of Water - 3 Points
Day 15 - 1 Minute Jumping Jacks/1 Minute Plank - 3 Points
Again, something not too challenging and doesn't take up a ton of my day. Jumping jacks were a little tough on the knees (but of course this was after a busy morning in the gym of fitness classes).
****During the middle of the month we were given the opportunity to get a bonus point. In order to get this point we had to take a picture of us doing one of the challenges and email it in to the gym. Thanks to one of my friends at the gym Gloria for taking a picture of me doing a plank. - 1 Point
Day 16 - Record the Food You Eat Today - 3 Points
This was definitely one of the easier challenges, I always look forward to the non exercise challenge days. Since I have been keeping up on logging my food on MFP again, this was pretty simple. Breakfast was a whole wheat english muffin with natural peanut butter and a banana, lunch was an oven roasted chicken breast sub with some baked lays from Subway, then dinner was baked scallops, cauliflower rice, and roasted brussel sprouts (YUM). My snacks for the day was an apple and a caramel egg (was craving a sweet treat - always in moderation of course).
Day 17 - 100 Squats - 3 Points
I broke this one up in three groups, one set in the AM, one at lunchtime, and the last one in the evening after I got home from the gym.
Day 18 - 50 Burpees - 2 Points
Day 19 - 10 Minutes of Calisthentics - 3 Points
Calisthenic exercises are a natural form of exercise with of a variety of simple movements using only your body weight for resistance. What I like about days like this is that you can come up with your own thing, but in your email they always give you ideas or suggestions on what you could do. Today I decided to do what they had in the email.
One minute of each, two times (and then did this group two more times to get the full 3 points):
Mountain Climbers
Crunches
Jumping Jacks
Squats
Windmills
Day 20 - 10 Minutes of Stretching - 3 Points
Loved this day. This day reminds me that I really should be taking the time to do more stretching. I did the first 20 minutes after I got up out of bed. It felt so great to start the day stretching, sometime I will more than likely try to add into my normal daily exercise routine.
Day 21 - 100 Back Lunge Curl - 3 Points
Had never tried these before. I like trying new things and even better I like something that works multiple areas. Great for the legs and the bonus getting some arm work in.
Day 22 - 2 Minutes of Mountain Climbers - 3 Points
This is another of those exercises that I am not a fan of, not sure why, just don't like them. However, I would still much rather do these than Burpees ANYDAY! I split these up in 6 one minute intervals. That made it seem a bit more doable.
Day 23 - Plan Your Dinners for the Week Ahead - 3 Points
If you were to look at my food log, you would know that I pretty much eat the same things for dinner during the week (chicken), which a few changes here and there. Since we had to plan our dinners for the week I decided to take the opportunity to change things up a bit and give myself a variety of dinners each night. While a little more challenging to come home and cook in the evening after a long day at work and then gym time, it was well worth it. Actually, I think I spoiled myself a little bit. I might need to do some variety more often, and the bonus I know it is a really good thing because I am getting the benefits from eating different foods.
Monday - Flatbread pizza with colored peppers, mushrooms, and ham
Tuesday - Almond crusted flounder, mashed cauliflower, and roasted carrots
Wednesday - Sirloin steak, baked potato wedges, mashed rutabagas, and steamed broccoli
Thursday - Boneless pork chop, and a mixed blend of microwave steam ready veggies (a great and quick option after getting home late from the gym)
Friday - Baked chicken breast, baked potato, steamed cauliflower and broccoli
Day 24 - 1 Minute Plank/1 Minute Wall Sit - 3 Points
A repeat of day 13. After a non exercise challenge day, this was a good day.
Day 25 - 10 Minutes Cardio/20 Dips - 3 Points
The gym offered some great choices of things to do for cardio but I figured I would just do some walking since I didn't have a lot of free time and I needed to get my 10,000 steps in for the day. As far as the dips, this is another exercise that I hated the first time I tried them. But once again I have grown to appreciate them and see the benefits of them. While the good old "bat wings" may never go away, they can't help but look better with exercises like dips.
Day 26 - 5 Minute Core Circuit - 3 Points
I spent my 15 minutes doing a bunch of different core exercises - regular crunches, bicycle crunches, aquamans, reverse crunches, and Russian twists. Five minutes doesn't seem like a long time, but for someone with a midsection needing work it's tough. So glad I broke this up throughout the day.
Day 27 - Eat 5 Servings of Vegetables (Can Substitute 2 Fruit) - 3 Points
My big veggie filled salad for lunch, had a snack of carrots with hummus, and then some mixed veggies for dinner.
Day 28 - 50 Jump Squats - 3 Points
So thankful I broke these up, these were a little tough on the knees. I did my first set in the morning, and did my second half after my work day. I really didn't think I would get that third set in, but since I was up late watching college basketball, what better time to get that last set in.
Day 29 - 40 Lunges (each leg)/1 Minute Plank - 3 Points
I really enjoyed this challenge today. During the month on a day that I had Booty Barre the instructor Karen would help us work on the challenge. In class today we did two of the three sets of lunges and then did one plank. I really like the lunge variation that we did, made it much more interesting.
Day 30 - 100 Pushups - 3 Points
A repeat of day two's challenge. Was thankful for the arm work and giving the legs a break. After a day of jump squats then lunges plus trying Spin again for the first time in a while, my legs were feeling fatigued. My arms are definitely stronger since day 2....nice to see progress.
Day 31 - 3 Points
Last day of the challenge. Where has the month gone. It has flown by for sure. It's been such a crazy busy month for me. The gym and exercise has certainly been my release, and indeed a godsend in what has been a challenging month. This definitely helped to keep me sane during the normal and not so normal stresses that this month brought. The challenge for the last day had three parts:
1. Email three fitness goals for April
2. Email a sentence or two about your challenge (did you like it and why?)
3. Workout with a friend
As far as my fitness goals for April -
1. To work up to running (yes, I said running) 1 Mile before the end of the month if my knees will cooperate. I know for most that probably doesn't seem like a lot, but for me this is huge. The longest I have run has been 5 minutes.
2. To fit into my schedule and take more Spin classes to prepare me for outdoor biking and breaking in my new bike that I rewarded myself with my exercise jar money that I have been saving.
3. To try some new workouts to add to my weekly routine.
My thoughts on the challenge -
I loved it!!!! Even though there were some tough days (Burpees come to mind), I liked pushing myself to accomplish the task that was given to me each day. There were the things that I have done before (but maybe not that much in a day - like 300 pushups) and then there were the things that I have never tried to do before (pull ups, step ups). This challenge reminded me that I need to be diverse in my workouts and change things up from time to time. This sometimes means stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying something new or even pushing myself to do something I said I would never do. It was also a bit of a social thing. It was great to talk with others at the gym that were also doing it, see how they were doing, sometimes do the challenges with them. It is so nice to have your gym family there to help and support you.
To get my 3rd point for the last day, I met my friend Gloria and we took Zumba class.
WOW...what a busy month March was.
Thanks Life Fitness Management for the great challenge!!!!
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