7 Day Fitness Challenge Day 1
Welcome to Day 1 of your fitness challenge! If you’re ready to get started, read through the challenges listed below, make any adjustments you need to and don’t forget to fill out your Daily Checklist.
Your Active Challenge
Accumulate at least 10 minutes of walking up stairs or hill-climbing.
You can do this all at once or throughout the day, but make sure you keep track of the time. If you don’t have stairs or a hill nearby, try 10 minutes of very brisk walking or create your own Active Challenge.
Just make sure it’s at least 10 minutes.
Your Exercise Challenge
15-30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise.
Moderate intensity is about a Level 4 or 5 on this Perceived Exertion Chart. Choose from one the following options:
- At the Gym: Choose any cardio activity, the treadmill, elliptical trainer, stationary bike or outside and do 15-30 minutes of moderate exercise.
- Advanced HIIT Workout – This is a 20-minute workout where you do an exercise for 40 seconds, rest for 20 and repeat that again and again. Yep – This one isn’t easy.
- Beginner HIIT Workout – This follows the same pattern as the workout above, but the exercises are low impact and lower intensity.
- Do your own thing.
You can split up your workouts throughout the day if you need to or modify the workout according to your fitness level.
Your Flexibility Challenge
Part one: Stretch for at least 5 minutes after your cardio workout.
Your options:
Part 2: Perform these stretches at least once today.
As always, feel free to do any stretches you like!
Your Nutrition Challenge
Eat at least one serving of veggies with every meal
(You get a pass for breakfast if veggies are hard to stomach in the morning)
If you find it tough to get vegetables into your meals, try some of these ideas:
- Add them to your sandwich. Adding lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. is a great way to sneak in veggies.
- Add them to your pizza. I’m not saying you should have pizza, but if you’re already planning on it, add a healthy dose of veggies and go easy on the cheese.
- Bring cut veggies to work with you and dip them in light dressing for a snack.
- Order a salad (dressing on the side) with your lunch or dinner and eat it before you eat anything else.
- Buy frozen veggies and wok them for a few minutes, drizzle them with some ginger or soy sauce and have that as a side dish for lunch or dinner.
Remember, you can do whatever like, just make sure that every meal (except breakfast) has at least one serving of vegetables.
Your Mind/Body Challenge
One-Minute Meditation.
Find a quiet place to sit and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and focus on your breath by counting to three for each inhale and three for each exhale. Continue this for at least one minute (or more if you have the time). If your mind wanders, notice what you’re thinking about and then gently focus on your breath.
If you have a hard time finding a quiet place, try your car, the bathroom, your desk during a lull or, if you’re at home, a time when the kids are occupied.
Daily Challenge Checklist
How’d you do with your challenges today? Use this checklist to cross off everything you accomplished or make notes on what you didn’t accomplish and why. You can also use the checklist to make substitutions for any challenges that didn’t work for you or create even more challenges for yourself.