Declare your own challenge AUGUST 2020 [Samples included]

tenazhsc · July 2020

Design your own challenge August Challenge Thread
August 3rd to 31st.

NOTE: Read this message completely. There’s a copy and paste section below.

A good challenge would declare a reasonable goal and it’ll outline how to get there.
It should go without saying but you should probably sit down with a calendar to figure out what you realistically can do it.
The first comment will have some sample challenges and how you can device a program for the month.
Allow yourself at least a day of rest for the week, or a cheat meal if the goal is diet oriented.
Absolute far reaching goals like “no soda for a month” or “I’ll run 5 miles every single day” may not be reasonable if you’re starting from zero, you might be setting yourself up for a rebound after the challenge or for failure. But go ahead if you must. There is nothing stopping you.

You must use specific numbers in your goal. For instance “I will walk everyday”, “I will workout most days”, or “I’ll create a calorie deficit” are vague goals.
“I will walk 2 miles on M,T,W, F,Sat”
“I will workout out 30 minutes 4 times a week”
“I will plan a whole day of meals the night before to ensure I’m under the calorie goal”
are much better formulated goals.
Include amounts, dates and times in your goal setting.

LAST DAY TO ENTER: Monday August 3rd.
This challenge will run for 4 weeks, as opposed to the full month, to make it a bit simpler.

Posting pictures is not required. You may do so if you’re comfortable.
However you should take Front and Side Pictures on Aug. 1st. For your own use or for sharing if you choose.

Your pledge may not be “I’ll lose x lbs this month” you cannot control that! You can only control what you do. Having said that, you may guesstimate your weight at the end of the challenge.

To track and compare your personal results you will measure these on the 3rd and 31st
- Take pictures
- Weight yourself
- Take body measurements

You must check in at least every Monday, but feel free to update the thread as often as desired.

Please check in at least on the following dates, on these date you will post your weekly plan:
August 3rd
August 10th
August 17th
August 24th
August 31st

You have to post a plan to achieve your goal day by day for the upcoming week. Specify what you’ll do Monday thru Sunday to reach your goal this week.

For instance the first week your post will look like this if you have a goal of running 50 miles:
M 8/3 - Run 2 miles
T 8/4- Run 3 miles
W 8/5 - Rest
Th 8/6 - Run 2 miles
F 8/7 - Run 3 miles
S 8/8 - Run 2 miles
S 8/9 - Rest
Weekly total: 12 miles

You may tell us how you did the previous week but we’re a forward looking group. If you failed last week, make a note of the specific things that you (not others) could have done differently, dust yourself off and give it your best shot this week.

For this challenge you may need to get the appropriate gear such as
Bathroom Scale
Food Scale
Body Measuring Tape
Protein Powder
Workout Gear
Apps
Training Videos
Cookbooks
Make a list of things you need and get them before 8/3

Think ahead and prepare. If you do you’re setting yourself up for success.

Ok so here’s the copy and paste section for the first post

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I PLEDGE TO ____

✔️ I took front and side pictures

INITIAL STATS
August 1st
Weight -
Fat% -

Measurements
August 1st
Neck
Chest
Waist
Hips
Forearm
Bicep
Thigh
Calf

>>>>>>>>>>> end copy and paste>>>>>>>>>>

This weekly planners is what you'll post on Mondays. One week at a time.

On Monday August 3rd post your plan for the week
Mon 8/3
Tue 8/4
Wed 8/5
Thu 8/6
Fri 8/7
Sat 8/8
Sun 8/9
Expected Total

On Monday August 10th post your plan for the week
Mon 8/10
Tue 8/11
Wed 8/12
Thu 8/13
Fri 8/14
Sat 8/15
Sun 8/16
Expected Total

On Monday August 17th post your plan for the week
Mon 8/17
Tue 8/18
Wed 8/19
Thu 8/20
Fri 8/21
Sat 8/22
Sun 8/23
Mon 8/24
Expected Total

On Monday August 25th post your plan for the week
Tue 8/25
Wed 8/26
Thu 8/27
Fri 8/28
Sat 8/29
Sun 8/30
Expected Total

Mon 8/31 - Copy the initial stats and fill the Aug 31st stats with current figures.

Stats on August 31st
Weight -
Fat % -

Neck
Chest
Waist
Hips
Forearm
Bicep
Thigh
Calf

Take Front and Side Pictures on Aug. 31st.
CONGRATS! You did it!

tenazhsc · July 2020

For those who need a bit of inspiration, look at the list below and google "[challenge type] 30 day program" and you'll surely find something out there to help you get started.

List of fitness challenges

Food preparation
Weekly food prep
Weekly food planning
Daily food planning one day in advance

Diet Oriented
Drink # oz of water
Stay under calorie goal
Log everything everyday not matter what
Hit macros
IF goal

Sports oriented
# of workouts a week/month
# of workout minutes
Stretching
Walking miles
Walking steps
Running
Cycling
Jumping Rope
Weight Lifting
Yoga
Dance training
Training program

21 day something
Bootcamp the other
30 days this
Video workout

Calisthenics

Planks
Push ups
Crunches
Squats
Lunges
Burpees
Jump and Jacks

Wellness
Sleep # of hours
Go to bed at specific time
Get up at specific time
Anger management
Daily mirror mantra
Say “I love you” 5 times a day
Volunteer # minutes
Read book to children
Meditate
3 good deeds a day

Give up something
Alcohol
Smoking
Soda
Snacking
White processed foods
Eating out

Again, to actually get a program for the month, google "[challenge] 30 day program" or something like that. You'll see many options for the most popular challenges.

Xiaolongbao · July 2020

Looks good! Although I’d put #hours sleep in the same category as amount of weight lost. ie not something you can control.

cilia2k · July 2020

Hello everyone, I am in

My challenges are:

1) Weekly meal prep
2) Stay within a daily calorie intake of 1500
3) 50000 steps per week (10000 steps per day, 5 days per week)

I will post my initial stats on the 1st of August. Have a nice week

tenazhsc · July 2020

cilia2k wrote: »

Hello everyone, I am in
My challenges are:

1) Weekly meal prep
2) Stay within a daily calorie intake of 1500
3) 50000 steps per week (10000 steps per day, 5 days per week)

I will post my initial stats on the 1st of August. Have a nice week

Thanks so much for participating. Your three goals go nicely together. You may post your initial stats and weekly plan on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

8/3 is the last day to enter.

Thank you!!!!

MeganD1704 · July 2020

I am in!

My goals will be:
Daily food planning one day in advance-> I am good at this till the weekend and then mess up grossly

Stay at/under calorie goal-> this is an area of focus, what I mean by at is hitting my calories if I need to eat some back due to a workout or else I will be under slightly.

Excluding daily walks-> 15 workouts for the month.

Continue to use Sunday as a self care day-> this only started two weeks ago for me and I want to continue it

Give up excessive snacking-> snacking may include: apple, berries, yogurt, banana, popcorn, or a cold treat weather dependent. No more handfuls of chocolate chips!

Will be back on the first to enter stats!

For those of you who do not use MFP forums much, if you press the star next to the title it will bookmark it for you !

My personal day planner has a great area to capture it all.

GabiV125 · July 2020

Hi everyone, I’m in.
My challenges are:
1. Stay within my daily caloric limit of 1500
2. 3 workouts of 30 minutes per week

Xiaolongbao · July 2020

I’m in.

My challenges are

a) minimum of 80000 steps per week
b) short Pilates workout minimum 4 times a week
c) no Coke Zero/Diet Coke/Pepsi Max etc in August

fstrickl · July 2020

I’m also in! My August goals will be:

1) Drink 3L of Water a day
2) Have my light off/eyes closed by 10:15 PM 6/7 days a week
3) Maintain the workout schedule I’ve had going for the past 3 months

I’ll post my stats on the 1st as well.

If you’re doing this challenge and we’re not friends please feel free to add me 🙂. This is the first time the social part of MFP has been encouraging to me and I’m happy to encourage others!

tenazhsc · July 2020

I'm obviously in.

I'll do this video 10 minute jumping rope workout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZM2Vre5oc

Week 1 = 3 times
Week 2 = 4 times
Week 3 = 5 times
Week 4 = 6 times

I'll listen to my body to avoid injury but this is my initial goal.
I'll post stats on the 1st.

annliz23 · July 2020

My challenges are

1) hit 12,000 steps a day
2) complete 4 workouts a week
3) drink green tea

tenazhsc · July 2020

I'd like to add this info here per @annliz23 question.

How do you record your body fat %?

There are many methods. In my case the bathroom scale does this for me. There are very complicated, and potentially expensive ways, to get accurate readings. For instance you can go and pay for a Bod Pod measurement, this is also a great way to feel like you're about to teleport.

You can also use Skifold body fat calipers, yeah it sounds painful because it is, hmmm kinda, this is the most accurate and cheap but also the most complicated way (IMHO) of doing this yourself.

Here's my answer and suggestion for those with no scale reading. All you need is a measuring tape and access to this website https://www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html plug in your measurements and you'll get a number.

debrakgoogins · July 2020

I am interested in a personal physical goal but it has nothing to do with my weight or measurements. I want to work on my Highland Games heights and distances in preparation for a competition 9/19. Can I still participate? Do I still weigh and take measurements?

fstrickl · July 2020

debrakgoogins wrote: »

I am interested in a personal physical goal but it has nothing to do with my weight or measurements. I want to work on my Highland Games heights and distances in preparation for a competition 9/19. Can I still participate? Do I still weigh and take measurements?

I would say yes you can participate but I'm not the challenge creator. Sounds like your goals are measurable which is really the most important for this challenge.

Now I have a question: one of my goals is to drink 3L of water. Does Bubly or carbonated water/club soda count? (You know the stuff without any added sugar) Sometimes I can't stand still water.

Xiaolongbao · July 2020

fstrickl wrote: »

Now I have a question: one of my goals is to drink 3L of water. Does Bubly or carbonated water/club soda count? (You know the stuff without any added sugar) Sometimes I can't stand still water.

Well it’s your challenge so you decide that. Personally I would count it but personally I wouldn’t make a particular volume of water drinking a goal (because there’s no reason to drink more than your body needs - if you don’t need 3L a day then I don’t see the purpose in forcing it down).

tenazhsc · July 2020

debrakgoogins wrote: »

I am interested in a personal physical goal but it has nothing to do with my weight or measurements. I want to work on my Highland Games heights and distances in preparation for a competition 9/19. Can I still participate? Do I still weigh and take measurements?

This thread has been created with goals like yours in mind. You figure out what you're trying to get out of it. Like @fstrickl said, if it's measurable and you want to commit, you're indeed welcome.

As you prepare for the Highland Games would you expect to get leaner, stronger, bulkier, etc? then maybe do the initial stats, you could learn a couple of things about how your body reacts to the training. Thank you for participating.

tenazhsc · July 2020

fstrickl wrote: »

debrakgoogins wrote: »

I am interested in a personal physical goal but it has nothing to do with my weight or measurements. I want to work on my Highland Games heights and distances in preparation for a competition 9/19. Can I still participate? Do I still weigh and take measurements?

I would say yes you can participate but I'm not the challenge creator. Sounds like your goals are measurable which is really the most important for this challenge.

Now I have a question: one of my goals is to drink 3L of water. Does Bubly or carbonated water/club soda count? (You know the stuff without any added sugar) Sometimes I can't stand still water.

I concur with what @Xiaolongbao says. Furthermore I found this info here from the Mayo Clinic

About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks.

If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables you already probably hydrate your body fairly well.
11.5 cups * .8 = 2.16 L = 9.13 cups of water you'd need in addition to the food that provides water.

If you read the article it goes on to explain that you may need more in particular scenarios.
Take all this with a grain of salt as I am no doctor

And this is why I love challenges because by focusing on one particular aspect of fitness or wellness you learn so much about that one thing.

debrakgoogins · July 2020

tenazhsc wrote: »

debrakgoogins wrote: »

I am interested in a personal physical goal but it has nothing to do with my weight or measurements. I want to work on my Highland Games heights and distances in preparation for a competition 9/19. Can I still participate? Do I still weigh and take measurements?

This thread has been created with goals like yours in mind. You figure out what you're trying to get out of it. Like @fstrickl said, if it's measurable and you want to commit, you're indeed welcome.

As you prepare for the Highland Games would you expect to get leaner, stronger, bulkier, etc? then maybe do the initial stats, you could learn a couple of things about how your body reacts to the training. Thank you for participating.

This is only my second year of competition so I am very new to the sport. I don't expect much change in my body composition. I will still do that part of it as well. I'll post my starting weight and measurements on the first.

I will improve my competition stats by practicing each event at least three times per week and meeting with my trainer twice a week. My goals are to consistently hit the following stats by 8/31:

Caber: I will turn the caber in competition (my white whale...has happened in practice, not in competition). Since I can't practice this at home, I will do rock drills to build my explosive strength.
Weight for distance: Throw 40' with the 14 pound and 30' with the 26 pound
Weight for height: Clear 13' with the 26 pound
Hammer throw: Toss 50' with the 12 pound and 45' with the 16 pound
Braemar stone: Put 20' with the heavy stone (not nearly what I want to do but stone putting is my worst event)
Open stone: Put 25' with the light stone (refer to the last entry about how I kind of suck at stone putting))
Sheaf: Clear 19' (by far my best event)

tenazhsc · July 2020

Thanks to all of you who have already joined
@celia2k
@MeganD1704
@GabiV125
@fstrickl
@annliz23
@debrakgoogins
@Xiaolongbao
@tenazhsc

2 more days in July and 5 more days until this challenge closes to new participants.

tenazhsc · July 2020

Last day of July! we start posting initial stats tomorrow and Monday the 3rd is the last day to enter this challenge thread. Good luck!

How was your progress in July?

Xiaolongbao · July 2020

@tenazhsc my July weight progress was good. According to Happy Scale my average is down 3kg (6.6 lbs) which is a big loss for me. A pound a week is good for me because I'm short, pre-menopausal and don't have huge amounts to lose.

On the not so good side I seem to have just gone from injury to injury in July which means I'm shelving all attempts at serious exercise for now (and is the reason I downgraded my challenge goal to 80,000 steps a week - originally I wanted to make it 100,000)

Are you planning to start a group for this challenge or will it just be in this thread?

Looking forward to hitting some goals in August! I hope everyone else is too.

fstrickl · July 2020

@tenazhsc I’m happy with my July progress. The first half of July I was loosing quick as I think it was water weight, but I’ve had a consistent loss throughout the month. I’m also happy with my meal planning and the fact I’m eating more veggies! Those aren’t my August goals but I hope to carry it all forward with me anyway!

Looking forward to starting August!

tenazhsc · July 2020

@Xiaolongbao I could start a group. I wanna see how this month goes and I'll look into it. I'm sorry you're injured. 80k steps is still a lot. And congrats on having had a great July!

@fstrickl I'm glad you had a great month. Vegetables are definitely the key. I make a point to fill half my plate with vegetables or salad.

Here's how July has been to me. I still have today to go but I imagine there'll be little change.

6mogoal · July 2020

I'm down. I'm currently 6 months post partum so I'm still dropping pounds

.
My starting weight in Jan was 196
My August Starting weight is 154
My goal EVENTUALLY is to get back to 120-125

For the month of August my plan is to:
- Drink only water or tea (I don't drink soda so it won't be hard)
- Stick to a regular exercise. I'm currently trying out the Chloe ting challenges to see how they do. It is kicking my butt.
- I'm a impulsive eater, I eat for no reason exeptthat I'm bored. So this month (I've already started) I will eat only at given meal times.
- I will pick one exercise activity each weekend. (this weekend I'm doing a big ten mile hike)
- I will weigh in daily, but understand that weight fluctuates.
- I will no blame or shame myself
- I will maintain protein intake
-

GabiV125 · July 2020

Your stories are all very inspiring and tempting but I think I’ll stick to my initial plan to stay within 1500 cal/day and have 3 x 30 minutes exercise sessions per week.
This is my new strategy, a step at the time.

debrakgoogins · July 2020

I got out and practiced today despite the heat. I cleared 18 feet in sheaf consistently tonight. That’s a new PR for me. 17’ was my previous best. My PR for weight over bar, also called weight for height is 11’. Today I tried 12’ and came soooo close.

https://youtu.be/vPlafm7cgD4

https://youtu.be/vpEBlgS_CiQ

Xiaolongbao · August 2020

Happy August everyone!

Looking forward to a great month.

Vetleanni · August 2020

What an amazing group of people with awsome challenges! Im in, and Im looking forward to the next 4 weeks working on making our goals, together!
Eaven though I would love to have a workout challenge, I am choosing wellness, because I know Im falling short on maybe the most important thing of all, sleep. Averaging at around 6 hours pr night for the last month, i have gotten in to the habit of napping after work, wich just gives me a bad circle of not beeing able to sleep at night again because im not tired when im supposed to be. So as of right now, fixing my sleep should give me better results in the gym and better my metabolism, more than adding any dietary or physical work upon what I am doing now. I should be getting a minimum of 8, but Im starting with 7 hours pr night 6 days out of 7 (to give myself a little room to fail).
week 1: sleep 7 hours pr night, 6 out of 7 days.
week 2: sleep 7 hours pr night, 6 out of 7 days, and max 2 naps during daytime if needed.
week 3 and 4: If the first 2 weeks are going fairly well, I will uppen the goal to 7,5 or 8 hours a night and maybe add in a set bedtime, if im struggeling, ill keep the 7hours.

I also want to start meditating again, I just barely started to try it out 6 months ago, but fell out of it. My goal is to make it a daily routine, but for august, and beeing a secondary goal, I want to start by 2 times a week, and anything over would just be a bonus. I am doing a guided Moksha meditation.

My stats are really not relevant for these goals, but as my nutrition and training is pretty much constant, so ill add some anyway, maybe august will show a better trend than last month or two

initial stats august 1:
weight: 64,5kg 142,5
fat%: skinfold measure on my belly at 14,5mm (has nothing to do with total bf%, just easy to use as a measurement for if im loosing bf.
Waist: at smallest part, 73,5cm (28,9in)
hips: 101cm (39,8in)

thanks tenazhsc for setting this up!

GabiV125 · August 2020

August is here!
Good luck Vetleani with reclaiming your sleep.
Until I slept with my Fitbit on I didn’t know why some days I’m beat and some not. Apparently nights with under 2 h of deep sleep, are not making me happy

Vetleanni · August 2020

Thank you GabiV125! We will all crush our goals together

2 hours though!!?And I'm complaining about 6

tenazhsc · August 2020

Good Saturday morning! Or afternoon! Looking at you @Vetleanni lol
August is here! What a great motivated group of people!
I'll post my stats in a bit but I want to emphasize that this "declare your own challenge" is supposed to be whatever you want that'll challenge you to do something consistently or to take something to the next level.
So you guys are free to post as much or as little as you're comfortable. We're here to push each other reach our goals.

Declare your own challenge AUGUST 2020 [Samples included]

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