Week 14 Challenge – The Challenge to Challenge

Oh boy – this one may be more of a challenge for you than you think. This weeks challenge was inspired by 2 weeks that my husband and I spent with a friend. It ended up being a pretty exciting and funny (yet inspiring) story…

This friend of ours is someone who *really* enjoys sitting around doing anything other than working out or being active. I mean, he is the epitome of a computer chair potato (don’t you know, this is the new age of a “couch potato”), and he hates working out.

He loves playing video games, surfing the internet, watching online movies and shows, and listening to music… yup, you guessed it — online.

Because of this sedentary lifestyle, our friend is a little over weight and certainly not very heart healthy. To top it off, he has bad knees.

Concerned, my hubby and I went to him one day and challenged him to spend at least 1 week in the gym with us, and to follow our nutrition guidelines — strictly. We guaranteed unprecedented results in just 3 short months… only 12 measly weeks.

We chose 12 weeks because I truly believe it takes a good month and a half to two months to break unhealthy eating habits. And I mean to the point where your brain does not crave as much what it once did.

This guy needed it, because he’s used to making late night runs to Taco Bell or McDonalds, eat close to 2,000 calories, then go right to bed (just about the worst thing you could do to your body).

So, our friend ended up accepting our challenge and actually became very excited. He went grocery shopping and bought the healthiest options… ground turkey, a ton of chicken breast, healthy fish, salt-free seasonings, a bunch of vegetables and greens, herbs and seasonings, whole wheat bread, a ton of eggs, oatmeal … I mean, he ran the gamut with healthy grocery shopping. He even purchased a juicer and a crockpot!

And to the gym he came.

Day 1 was hard, strenuous, and very discouraging for him, as it is for most people. But, knowing the mental exercises to ensure success through this challenging time, I was able to push him right through day 1 and into day 2.

As days went on, our friend found that his workouts became easier. He was becoming stronger, feeling skinnier, breathing easier, and became all around much more confident. He had a coach, and he played a very well student.

Then, one day, while working out legs and doing walking lunges, his knees gave out and he suffered an acute workout injury.

Like many of us have experienced, he now had to deal with the hindrance and disappointment of an injury.

But all this meant was persisting through, skipping some hard leg workouts, and instead doing some lighter, more upper leg targeted workouts and cardio exercise.

Eventually, his knees healed and he was back on track to a full fledged workout routine… and I was left feeling MUCH more inspired, confident, and an all around fulfillment of my own time spent in the gym.

And that is exactly why I would like you to try your hardest to participate in this weeks challenge.

This week is all about the challenge to challenge. Go out and find a friend or family member who is in need of a little exercise, and challenge them to join you. If you can, challenge multiple people! You may just really surprise yourself with who actually accepts this challenge and starts the transformation they need. You’re going to be the coach, and they’ll be the student.

To help out, this week I’m launching some brand new exciting tools for success on my Facebook page. Consisting of a new video series called The Fitness Minute, daily at home-workout pictures, nutrition tips, and recipes, it will add to the slew of information that you need to succeed with your fitness and nutrition lifestyle.

And of course, it will greatly help you in succeeding with this weeks challenge. 🙂

Remember these critical key points when working out with your “challengee:”

Never put them down
Inspire them by positively reinforcing their accomplishments and true attempts
If they let their mind overcome their physical self, remind them that their mind is trying to protect them from what is not yet “normal” to their body and they need to push through
Compete with each other and set goals and objectives
Create a realistic workout schedule
Document workouts – exercises, reps, weight, time, etc.
Document what you guys consume
Reflect with them on accomplishments at the end of each workout, and then again at the end of the week
Follow up with them consistently
Last but not least, help them with their grocery shopping 🙂

Follow these key points and you’ll have done your part – the rest is up to them.

At the end of this challenge, you’ll find yourself much more inspired to work out, eat healthy, and continue on this journey of transformation.

And you may have even gained a partner and student! So what are you waiting for? Send that text or make that phone call now… and get someone to exercise with you tomorrow. 🙂

For more fitness and nutrition success tools, visit my Facebook page by clicking here and click the “Like” button. You’ll love being a part of my page!

‘Til next week,