CLOSED GROUP-Get Ahead With The Shred!

Challenges for Week 3:

Monday: Stretching is an undervalued part of many people's workouts. Even with Jillian's warm-up and cool-down, I think more stretching is warranted. It is especially important to stretch before and after cardio and weight lifting. It can also be a great way to wake up in the morning and wind down before bed. Incorporate at least 10 minutes of additional stretching into your day today.

Tuesday: Get outside. Fresh air and sunlight are important parts of any healthy lifestyle. Go for a walk, a jog, a run, a bike ride, a hike, play an outdoor sport, walk the dog, push your baby in the stroller, run alongside your kid while they ride their bike, even do yoga/stretching/jump roping in your front yard. (If today if rainy in your part of the world, switch this challenge with another day.)

Wednesday: I'm keeping the hydration challenge alive because I know some of us (myself included) still need to be reminded to get our daily H2O.

Thursday: Create a bedtime routine for yourself. Enough sleep and quality sleep is important to any healthy lifestyle. Find something that works for you: quiet music, reading, stretching, yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques or tapes, deep breathing, a mindless television show, a warm bath or shower, tea or warm milk. I'll post some more helpful hints later this week to help refine your routine. This approach to restful sleep has been proven to help with weight loss, energy, and muscle building. Plus, if you're not awake in the middle of the night, there are no middle of the night cravings.

Friday: Involve someone else in your workout today. Find a friend, family member, romantic partner, child, or animal to work out with you. In some cases, they don't even need to know that they're working out. To a kid, riding bikes on the bike path or to the library is an adventure, not a workout routine. To an animal, a nice, long walk is rewarding. To many adults, hiking, rock climbing (indoor or outdoor), or even an evening stroll is exciting, romantic, sometimes even erotic. The point is to involve the people around you in your diet/fitness routines. MFP is fantastic and I love it and I don't know where I'd be without it but I can't tell you how many times I've thought to myself "I wish I could call the girls up and we could shred together" or "How much fun would it be if I could cook dinner with the ladies?"

Saturday: Today is a thinking, creative kind of day. I chose this challenge for Saturday because I was hoping most of you would have half an hour or so to yourselves in order to do this challenge because I think it's really important. Create a mission statement for yourself: why are you getting fit and healthy, for whom are you getting fit and healthy, what are you doing to get fit and healthy, what successes and hardships have you had, what stands in your way of success, what and who do you need to succeed, and what do you hope to achieve by doing this? With this information, create a vision board. You can Google that term but it basically means taking words and phrases and pictures and quotes that inspire you and show you what you want and creating a poster to hang somewhere where you'll see it often. It can be the size of a note card, the size of a regular piece of paper (8.5"x11"), the size of a posterboard or any size in between. Use the internet, magazines, your own artistic skill. Put as much or as little detail into it as you'd like. But I'd really appreciate it if you'd give it a try. I think these kinds of mind exercises are as valuable as the ones we do with our bodies.

Sunday: Last chance workout. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Watch your calories, fat, carbs, sugar, and sodium. Up your protein, fiber, and vitamin intakes. Do more than just the shred. Take the long route, the stairs, do squats during commercials of your favorite T.V. show, do lunges while you brush your teeth. Tomorrow, we weigh in. We got this. Some of us are very close to mini-goals. Let's get SHREDDED.