30 Day Challenge

Most of you read my very first post, if you didn't you can read it here. I talked about my "30 Day, Don't Eat Out Challenge" where I ate every single breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home for 30 days. It was surprisingly easy and not only was it very healthy but also saved us a lot of money! I have been trying to think of another challenge that I wanted to try and I have finally come up with a new one "Go to the Gym Every Day for 30 Days".

I realize that going to the gym every single day for 30 days might be quite a stretch but I think it's do-able nonetheless. When I told my husband of my plan at first he said he didn't think it was a good idea because your body needs to rest at least once a week. Then when I told him it would only be for 30 days, he was OK with it if I promised to rest at least 1 day a week after the 30 days were up. I just finished Day 4 and so far so good. I basically have to plan when I am going to the gym ahead of time and work my schedule around going to the gym as opposed to working the gym around my schedule.

So, Friday I went to the gym at the same time I usually do... after work and dinner somewhere between 5:00 and 6:00. On Saturday we had company staying with us for 1 night and they were due in about 3:30, so I went to the gym at 10:00 am. Our company left on Sunday morning and I went to the gym about 2:00 pm, that way when I got home I could relax for the remainder of my Sunday. Today I went to the gym at my normal time, 5:00, and got home about 7:00. Tomorrow, I have plans to play tennis with a friend at 6:30, BUT I still plan to go to the gym with my husband and his friend at 8:00.

A problem may arise if I decide not to push myself very hard. I will have to overcome those days and push myself just like every other day. For example, in a typical days workout, I will do:

1. at least 45 minutes of cardio
2. sometimes I do 1 hour of cardio
3. 15 - 20 minutes in the weight room
a. 1 day I will do 4 - 5 ab machines
b. 1 day I will do 4 - 5 leg machines
c. 1 day I will do 4 - 5 arm machines

I can hear myself now "you only need to do 30 minutes of cardio today, since you haven't missed a day in 2 weeks!" Those will be the thoughts that I will need to push aside, otherwise it's not really called a "Challenge" right? My goal is to workout for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours every single day for 30 days. Simple.

I also do not plan to let myself make excuses. For example, I could easily skip the gym tomorrow since I will be playing tennis with a friend for an hour but since my challenge is not called "Go to the Gym Every Day for 30 Days, Except on Those Days When You do Something Else Physical" I will still need to go. I also go trampolining occassionally with friends and I do the Wii Fit almost everyday. Those are all just bonuses and do not count for real gym time.

Do you have any challenges that you set for yourself? Did you attain your goal? Can you commit to one of the 2 challenges that I have mentioned on here? Let me know if you take one of the challenges, I can try to help keep you motivated during your 30 days! I'd also like to see what other challenges you can come up with, as I'm running out of ideas.