Back to School. I always love September, for a few reasons. One – it’s my birthday month! Two – the weather in North Jersey, where I spent most of my life, has many absolutely gorgeous days in September. And three – it’s a great time to start new things. With new schedules and all the frenzy around back to school, I often make a “resolution” of sorts. Seems like a great time to start a fitness challenge! 💥
I like to take inventory of where I am and where I would like to be going, identifying areas that need improvement. If you are anything like me, you may find that year after year, it is the same items that populate your resolution board. And while the same items may be the concern, over time I am making progress in each of those areas. My Year-over-Year (YoY) does show some improvement, lol.
Today, and for the month of September, I will be focusing on everyone’s favorite…. EXERCISE!!
Right now, I am sitting on the ugly side of a 10lb weight gain with no explanation, combined with added wrinkles in the mirror each and every day. Our culture makes it difficult not to fixate on these things and honestly, I fight daily against thoughts that tell me my worth is wrapped up in my appearance. Despite the mental challenges just mentioned, I also know that being physically active is a huge contributor to wellness in all areas – physical, emotional and psychological.
I have always been physically active throughout my life, and while I still go for my daily walks and play golf, the workouts I love have all but disappeared lately. And sadly, “lately” seems to be growing longer month by month!
So, I decided it’s time to have some hard talks with myself. I’m starting a 30-day workout challenge on September 1 and you are invited to join me. There I said it. And now it’s on the internet where I can’t take it back, lol.
If you feel like you are in a bit of a rut with your fitness or you just want to join a group that plans to have fun while getting some exercise in, join me on a 30-day trip where we will focus on a commitment to daily exercise.
No fitness plan will succeed if you hate it. So find something you enjoy. Please. Your body will thank you. 🙂
This fitness challenge will focus on the workout side of fitness. No groaning! I actually love to workout. In fact, I prefer to work out at home because my competitive spirit often convinces me that I can keep up with those 20-somethings at the gym and at my age that can be super dangerous in a CrossFit gym.
Here are my top 5 picks to re-boot your workouts and your fitness routine that you can implement right away:
1. Walking
You can never go wrong with this one. It doesn’t require equipment. You can do it indoors or out – yes, I have been caught on many occasions doing laps in my house to get steps in. Most smartphones have a fitness feature of sorts that will allow you to count steps without any special equipment like watches or wristbands. An easy way to do a walking challenge is to set a daily step or time goal. If you get bored easily, make good use of your walking time by adding one of these to your daily walk time:
- Walk with a friend
- Call a friend and catch up
- Listen to a podcast (Some of my faves: So Good Sisterhood, Ben Greenfield, and The Jamie Kern Lima Show)
- Learn a new language (the Pimsleur app makes this easy)
- Listen to an audiobook (Some of my recent listens: Atomic Habits, Never Split the Difference, and Goliath Must Fall)
2. Lift some weights
Please remember, I am not a trainer; I just love to lift weights. But these days, everyone knows that lifting weights is important for overall health. It has been linked to improve bone mass for peri and post-menopausal women, plus it helps to boost your resting metabolic rate….and that means you burn more calories while sitting in a chair. Yes please! Caution: There are far too many workout programs available online and you don’t even have to be a good trainer to be visible out there. So if you have not been taught about proper form when lifting weights, please either hire a trainer or simply don’t do it. You can easily get hurt.
3. Make it Fun
I’m a big believer in enjoying all aspects of life and that includes how I may work out. A fun and simple idea is to create a Spinner Wheel, populate some exercises, spin the wheel and let that tell you what your workout looks like for the day. Depending on your skill and preference level, the choices will look extremely different. Pick options that make sense for you, but make sure that it isn’t too easy. In our private Facebook group for the challenge, we will definitely have a Spinner Wheel challenge but you have to join to see what is on the wheel!
4. An Exercise Challenge
Think Squat Challenge. Pick a body weight exercise and commit to 30 days of… squats, pushups, situps, or burpees for the advanced or just crazy. Lol. These can be really fun. I’ve done a number of variations here. If you are looking to lift that bum, squats are great. Want some cardio, try jumping jacks or jump rope. And yes, if you really want a challenge, the burpee challenge is for you. Again, you can find many challenge calendars online. There are likely to be a few options floating around in the Facebook group as well.
5. Digital Challenge
This one is simple. If you spend 20-30 minutes watching TV or scrolling through reels, take advantage of that treadmill or stationary bike and use it while you watch/scroll. Don’t have equipment? No problem, do a short bodyweight circuit while you are watching or during commercial breaks. Here’s a fun beginner bodyweight circuit you might like (adjust quantity based on your fitness level):
- 20 Jumping Jacks
- 10 Squats
- 10 Pushups
- 10 SitUps
- Repeat 4 times
Whatever you do, please attempt to enjoy it. Anything that feels like torture isn’t likely something you will stay committed to. Try new things and don’t be afraid to discard things that simply aren’t working for you. One caution here, don’t use that as an excuse NOT to commit to your overall fitness. As an example, I really don’t like running. I can do it (I’m super slow) and there are things about running that I like, but I definitely don’t love it. In fact, if I never run another day in my life I wouldn’t really care! So you can imagine that running is not a part of my September Fitness Challenge.
The September Fitness Challenge begins Sept. 1 and the purpose is to get your body moving every single day. You can do it! Remember, participants in the challenge will have access to a private Facebook group and extra bonus stuff.