I'm one of those people who believes it's best to start a new goal or system at the beginning of the week. Or on the first day of the month. Or in January.
A certain good omen for a productive start is when January 1st falls on... you guessed it... a Monday! Nothing signifies such good timing and luck as that!
Today, however, I'm starting something new. (Please confirm this is original! I hate it when I think of a clever phrase and submit to Urban Dictionary but it's already there. Can't I be unique already?) Today I'm beginning a monthly fitness challenge in the MIDDLE of the month!
That's right. For the next six months I'm committing to switching up my fitness routine on the 15th.
This is partly because I fell off the exercise wagon about 9 months ago. While I allowed myself a grace period, I've pretty much wasted the entire first half of this year. And years are passing quickly these days. In the interest of not letting another half month go by, I decided a public commitment to this is as close as I want to get to peer pressure and accountability.
The other reason I think starting a challenge on the 15th is brilliant is because so many "extra" things seem to happen at the end of most months. It's too easy to get derailed and discouraged with skipped days when there are additional commitments, especially involving fun food. Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas, anyone?? Then in May there is the ending of school and all of the programs and recitals and celebratory trips to the ice cream store. The end of July is my birthday. The end of August is school starting. It's a losing battle.
I figure the middle of the month is a great time to kickoff a new routine, since missing a couple of days halfway through the program will be easier for me to mentally recover from than if they happen at the beginning or end of a scheduled plan.
This time around I'll be using a new app I found called 30 Day Fitness App. (go figure.) It's available in Mac and Android versions, for phones and tablets. I've seen a lot of these apps and think this one is worth the $2.99 charge. I know I'll be using it many times over.
One thing I like about this app is how many options they give you. There are four categories to choose from: arms, core, legs, and strength. I counted 19 unique challenges, though some are listed in more than one category.
You can choose challenges that focus on one exercise, one area, or a total body routine. There is a section that shows you a demo of each exercise if you want to check proper form. You can also select as few or as many challenges as you like, whenever you want. They are tracked separately on your dashboard, and even if you miss a day on, it will be waiting where you left off.
Options range from easy pushups to extreme squats. I was surprised by some of the selections like jumping jacks and splits. The total body options have motivating names like the Beach Body or Little Black Dress challenges. There are choices for every level of fitness.
I'm probably not doing it justice in my description but the design is nice visually, and very user-friendly. Bonus points for being able to select what time you get reminder alerts.
I'll be starting with the 30 Day Challenges for arms, butt, and abs. (Likely doing the pushups on my knees. No shame in scaling back where you need to.)
Will you pick a fitness challenge that sounds fun and join me? Follow me on Facebook or Twitter for updates and a chance to show off your cheerleading or drill sergeant skills!
