CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: Water ONLY Challenge! No coffee, tea, alcohol, or juice!

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” - Loren Eiseley

Want your mind to be totally blown?  Look up Dr. Masaru Emoto’s research on water!

You’ll never look at water the same way again.

We all know that drinking water is good for us, yet far too many people are walking around dehydrated!

This shows up in so many ways from dry skin, to headaches, to lack of concentration, to fatigue and joint pain… (and this is just the beginning).

Basically, everything in your body is able to function better when you’re hydrated.

Now only that, but EVERYTHING gets better when you’re hydrated… it will:

·      Help you to maintain a healthy body weight

·      Boost your energy

·      Help with digestion

·      Improve the quality of your skin

·      Help your immune system to function optimally

·      Help prevent depression

·      Help you get rid of toxins in your body

Your challenge this week is to drink NOTHING BUT WATER!  No coffee, no tea (except herbal), no juices, and no alcohol!  Basically nothing liquid except water!

Let’s get back to basics this week and take a break from caffeine and the excess sugars that we’re drinking.

Let’s stop flooding it with acidic coffee in the morning and swap it for a big glass of water with lemon instead.

Keep a water bottle with you throughout the day every day this week.

Your goal is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces.  (Water that you drink during your workouts does not count!)

You up for our water-only challenge this week?  Your body, skin, and energy levels will thank you.



 

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: No Added Sugar Challenge:    

Do you know how much sugar you eat during the day?  Have you ever checked?

There is an easy way to do that: write down everything you eat during the day (be honest!), and then use ingredient labels or simply Google how many grams of sugar each food has and count.

The World Health Organization recommends about 25g (or less!) added sugar per day.

This is because excess sugar intake can spike your blood sugar levels, cause you to feel more hungry, have mood swings, store excess fat, and worse… can cause diabetes and a whole host of other issues.

Think you may be consuming too much sugar? Here are a few ways you can reduce your daily sugar consumption:

·      Be more aware of what’s in the food you’re eating by reading the labels.

·      Drink more water, especially when you feel like snacking (because cravings could be a sign of dehydration!)

·      Try using coconut sugar instead of regular table sugar (which won’t raise blood sugar nearly as fast).

·      Have healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner (so you’ll be less hungry afterwards and won’t go around hunting for snacks.)

·      Try preparing your meals at home instead of eating out, because that’s one of the surest ways to control what you are eating.

So let’s kick this inflammation-causing fire-starter to the curb and not invite it into your body in the first place.

This week’s challenge is to keep added sugars to UNDER 25 grams per day, each day this week!   Sugar that is naturally occurring in the whole foods that you’re eating is ok.

But this means that any recipe that has “sugar” in it should get shuffled to the back of the box!  This also means you need to limit the sugar in your coffee and check EVERY label of everything you’re eating this week!

Are you in for this not-so-sweet challenge this week!? 



 

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK: Plank on Steroids Challenge!

 

The “plank” is one of the single greatest exercises out there- mainly because if you learn how to do this correctly, you’ll be able to keep a proper spinal position and core stability in just about every other exercise you do. 

Nearly every exercise you perform will depend on your ability to keep a neutral spine and a strong core.

Here are a few other benefits of practicing the plank exercise:

·      It will help you develop stronger core muscles (meaning a stronger back and spinal column) which will reduce back pain and decrease your risk for injury.

·      You’ll have a more stable and proper posture (leading to a decrease in lower back and neck pain).

·      Your overall body balance will improve.

This means that practicing the plank will not only improve your workout performance, but it will improve your quality of LIFE!

Now, to keep things interesting, your challenge this week is to practice a variety of planks throughout the week!

Break your planks up into as many sets as you need in order to reach the recommended time each day with proper form.

·      Monday: Straight Arm Plank (1 minute total)

·      Tuesday: Forearm Plank (2 minutes total)

·      Wednesday: Left and Right Plank (3 minutes total)

·      Thursday: Straight Arm Plank (4 minutes total)

·      Friday: Forearm Plank (5 minutes total)

·      Saturday: Left and Right Plank (6 minutes total)

·      Sunday: ALL PLANKS! (7 minutes total)

Here’s a great article to check out to make sure you’re using the correct form while you’re doing plank: http://greatist.com/fitness/perfect-plank

Are you in?