Happy New Year! I don’t know about you- but I LOVE January 1st. And not just because I’m in the fitness industry and every year at this time I get to be surrounded by people that are motivated to clean up their diets and re-commit to exercise. I love this time of year for many more reasons than that. Every year Jay and I and the kids take about 2 weeks to go visit 3 sides of family that live 7-9 hours away. It’s a lot of driving & can be draining but the memories we make and the time we spend with our families and having our kids see their grandparents and cousins is priceless. It also takes us away from our usual “routine” and gives us a chance to relax and unwind. However, after 2 weeks of being in the car a lot & eating more than my fair share of holiday goodies- I am ready and excited to get back to my normal routine. A couple years ago on New Years Eve my family came up with a pretty cool tradition. I am the oldest of 4 kids and each one of us are married now. So, at the dinner table on NYE there were the 8 kids and spouses, my parents and a neice and nephew that were just old enough to sit at the “adult table”. I feel super blessed to come from parents that are “Do’ers”. Growing up I remember my Dad always had “TO DO” lists on Saturday morning in the house of all the things he wanted to accomplish. I adopted this trait early on because I always thought it was cool to see his list start to get crossed off as he achieved each thing he set out to do. My Mom is a “Do’er” on another level- she is just ALWAYS Doing something. She gets projects, she makes things beautiful, she is constantly on the go. Growing up I don’t really think I ever saw my mother sit down and now as an adult it’s sort of the same way. When her kids (or grandkids) are around she makes everyone a priority and just works and works to put on a show with her cooking and organizing for the holidays and special occasions. Anyway, back to the NYE tradition. We ended a really great dinner and then went around the room and everyone had to tell their New Years Resolution. My sister wrote down what everyone said and the idea was that we would all gather at that same table one year later and if someone didn’t complete their resolution then they were in charge of either preparing the meal the next year, or cleaning up after everyone. Really made me stick to and commit to my resolution!! We also made up the rule that if someone said a resolution that was too “easy” (like me vowing to lose 30lbs that year when I was due with a baby 3 weeks later :)….that was not allowed as a resolution for me). I just love this tradition and start thinking in early December (sometimes before) of ALL the things I could make more of a priority the next year. Things like, reading more books, trying more new recipes, cleaning out the storage closet, donating items we don’t use, and the list goes on and on.
I know that for me- once I commit to something – I WILL achieve it. That means sometimes that I have to be careful what I commit to, because it tends to take a lot of my time, energy and focus. The other day I was out for a run and was thinking about what things I’d like to achieve and focus on in 2015. One thing I’ve felt a struggle with over the past few years because I have 3 kids, including an almost 2 year old is having time to myself. And likely with extra time to myself the thing that I like to do the most is to exercise because that makes me feel the best. I started thinking that if I could commit to take 10 minutes out of every single day to exercise how much better I would feel and that would sort of be a “challenge” to myself. I LIKE CHALLENGES!!! So- here I go putting it into ACTION. My challenge for 2015 is something I want to share with all of you- and I want you to get on board! So many times people make a new years resolution only to fall “off the wagon” come mid-February. If you have an accountability group you are more likely to keep it going all year long. This year I am creating a group and committing to at least 10 minutes of exercise/movement every single day! I’m being realistic by calling it the 360 Challenge because if I happen to get the flu again or whiplash like I did last year – I will be taking a couple days off! My goal is to show everyone that no matter how busy your life is, if you make YOU a priority , anyone can get in 10 min of activity. It doesn’t have to be difficult- it can be as easy as a brisk walk, a slow run, a game of tag with your kids, a quick body weight circuit, 10 min of jump roping. Moving your body is healthy, it releases endorphins that make you feel great and sometimes if you trick yourself into just getting started and that you only have to move for 10 min- once that 10 min is up you might just want to keep on going!
My goal is NOT going to be intense workouts every single day. I believe whole heartedly in taking rest days. Typically my work-outs are 3 days of a 45 min boot camp class and on the off days I either do heavy strength training or light cardio with one or two complete rest days in there depending on how my body feels. 80% of the time this challenge will feel easy for me. But then, there is the other 20%. Those days where I feel sluggish. Maybe I didn’t eat good food for a couple days (hmm….holidays…) Maybe I’m on “vacation”. Those are the days where I’m going to have to recite my goals, lean on the group support and make it happen.
Now, I want to challenge you! What do you want to do this year? Does a day , or 2 or 3 of now working out lead to you falling off the wagon for weeks or months on end? If so- take this challenge to commit to exercise every single day. If you have kids- go run them around the block- or make them do jumping jacks, and squats and push ups with you. Every kid can handle 10 min. Every kid wants their parents to feel good and spend time with them (ok, mostly if they are 12 and younger 🙂 . And, I haven’t met anyone that told me they didn’t WANT to feel good. It’s just do they have the desire to take the steps to feel good…. Do YOU Have the desire? That is the only thing I can’t give you. Desire. You have to want it- you have to believe you can do it. You, your time, your happiness, your health is worth 10 minutes. EVERYONE has 10 minutes. Can you commit to moving your body every day? Do this with me! I promise I will guide you along the way and give you tips and tricks to make it easy.
Join the Group (Altman Fitness 360 Challenge) now on Facebook to get inspiration, motivation, workouts and the accountability to make meaningful change in your life!