Challenge #2: Drink Half Your Body Weight in Water

photo from buzzfeed.com

Water is great for many reason and here's why:

• Water is a glorious resource that aids in the reduction of dehydration, reduces sodium, and helps your organs function properly. The problem is most people do not drink enough water for their body weight.
• So what is the proper intake? Try to aim for ½ your body weight in water or more. Therefore, if you’re a 128lb women you should be drinking at a minimum of 64 oz of water daily.
• What benefits will I see?
• More energy, Less Fatigue
• Suppression of your appetite
• Clear skin
• Decrease in bloating
• Decrease in fat level

So drink up buttercup!

Me Time Yoga

Answer this question honestly, do you stretch after your workout? If you answered yes, great job! If you answered no, we need to talk. Stretching is as equaling important as a warm up and the benefits of stretching help mold your overall performance in future workouts.

Stretching helps improve flexibility, range of motion, decrease risk of injury, and improve movements in your joints. Incorporating stretching into your workout routine will help increase blood flow to the muscles which is an important factor in muscle repair and growth.

When do you stretch? Some people choose to stretch before their workout and other chose after and it is your body’s preference, however, dynamic stretching should be done before a workout and static is to be done after.

Static, dynamic, what are you talking about?

Dynamic stretching are movements that have momentum and are actively engaging major muscle groups.

Static stretching are movements that are done when the body is at rest. The goal is static stretches is to lengthen and hold the exercise for 8 to 10 seconds while breathing.

Here are a few stretches to get you started!

Short and Sweet Toning Workout

“Lifting will make me bulky”, says most women out there, but they’re wrong. Lifting won’t make you bulky if you’re not training to be bulky. The one women has a specific meal, training, and supplement regimen to get her to this size of muscle. This body takes a lot of sacrifice, but  toned, shapely body takes walking over the dumbbell section of the gym.

So, I am telling you to head over to the weight section, but you’re still unsure then let me give you some benefits to persuade you more.

1. According to a study done at Penn State, you will lose 40% body fat by incorporating weight lifting exercises in your exercise routine. If you just incorporate cardio into your daily exercise routine you will lose fat, but you will also lose muscle. The rule of thumb in this scenario is that 1 pound of muscle grown is 4 pounds of fat lost and the more muscle the more toned you will look in that bathing suit!
2. You will burn more muscle at rest when incorporating weights into your exercise routine because after a lifting session your muscle fibers need energy to repair, thus an extra increase in calorie burn.
3. As women we genetically have a high rate of osteoporosis and surprisingly research has found that weight lifting decreases those chances! Resistance training helps bone density and a chemical in the body called osteocalcin, which is an important factor in bone growth.
4. You’ll be stronger and faster. Muscular strength not all makes it easier to lift things, people, or pets but the strength helps you with different cardiovascular exercises such as biking. Stronger legs will help you pump, run, walk, and balance better then if you just continue to stick with cardio respiratory exercises.  
5. You will be increasingly happier. Honestly,wouldn’t seeing abdominal muscles appear in your midsection after a few weeks of resistance training ,make you happy?

There are way more benefits that I could list in this blog post, but trying a resistance training program out for the next 4-6 weeks is way more beneficial! So, get out there and train!

Plyos for Fat Burn!

Plyometrics are a style of training that involves intensity and cardiovascular endurance mixed with cardiovascular strength.

What will you do with Plyo’s? Honestly, different types of jumping, squatting, pushing, pulling, and stamina building. Plyos are great for short works that are full of high bursts of energy which targets major fat burn and kicks boredom to the curb!

Follow this quick workout for rapid fat burn!

Repeat the work for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds!

Jump Squats

Frog Jumps

Burpees

Speed Skates

Vertical Jumps

Plank Jacks

How the Challenge Works

Congratulations! You have committed to 4 Weeks to Fit! These 4 weeks you will experience changes in your body, mind, soul, and happiness. Here’s what it takes!

Point System:

• Comments: 1 point
• Pictures: 2 points
• Positive Reinforcement to Another Women: 2 points
• Going the extra “mile”: 3 points
• Attending the Bootcamp/Core-Stretch: 5 points

1. Every week, in these 4 weeks, will be a challenge revolving around the weekly focus. What do we want you to do? We want you to participate! Before, during, after or all three we want you to comment on Facebook and/or on the blog, upload pictures, and encourage each other throughout the process. Please look at the point section for point values.
2. Each week we will choose a winner with the highest point value who will win a prize. Prizes will vary and will be sent via mail. Prizes include: Fit-X Fitness Fit-To-Travel for on the go women, signed copy of a speaker’s book from Women’s Week, signed copy of Heidi Verner’s Workout DVD, and the final prize!
3. On April 16th 7-8am we will host a Bootcamp for you and your families to celebrate the completion of the 4 Weeks to Fit and to mark the progress that you made! The Bootcamp will ask for donations to be presented to the charity of. It will be hosted at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in Rancho Bernardo.
4. The final prize will be give on April 18th to the women who generate the most points during the challenge. The final prize will be revealed at a later date.

Week 1: Challenge-Commit to 2 miles a day!

Welcome to the 4 Weeks to Fit Challenge!

Week 1

It's time to start making changes that benefit you for the rest of your life! The first challenge is to Commit to 2 Miles a Day! Just by committing to 2 Miles a Day for the next 30 days you will have walked, ran, danced, cycled 60 miles total! That's a great achievement and is only 2% of your day!

 How can I track my miles? There are a ton of different apps out there to help!

Here are a few: (click the title to access link)

Map My Walk
This app is a GPS-based app to help you easily log your miles! It does more then just walking including biking, running, and any cardio respiratory exercise where you move!

Couch to 5K
This app is great because it gives you workouts to increase your endurance at a great pace so that you can walk/run that 5K!

Poof!
This is great for the competitive spirit! You can compete in small races with your Facebook friends and contacts! This is also fun because it keeps a leader board and you can take photos of your epic journey!

Charity Miles
Charity miles not only tracks your miles but gives back to charity! How do you do it? Pick a charity on the app, start moving, then a big company pays for the number of miles you have logged. This makes exercise feel better then good!

These are by far my favorite to track, plan, and motivate!

How do you participate in this challenge? 
-Tell us what you have logged daily or bi-daily on Facebook or comment below!

Happy Trails!

Welcome Team!

Welcome to the 4 Weeks to Fit Challenge where we want to help you create a 

HEALTHY LIFE with POSITIVE OUTCOMES!

We are so excited you have dedicated 4 weeks of your 2016 year to learn more about health and wellness. In this challenge we will not only educate but interact with each other through an online community where you will receive support on achieving the goals you have set for yourself!

What are your goals? This is something to think about, what do you want to accomplish in 4 weeks? This goals should be something that is continuous for the rest of the year or beyond that!

To Do: Write down YOUR goals!

In this challenge we will education and expand your knowledge on 4 different focuses in a women's life that will support your health and wellness. They are:

1. Nutrition

2. Activity 

3. Wellness (stress, comfort, relationships, sleep)

4. Confidence 

Each week your coaches will focus on one of these four attributes and educate the importance of each. 

How will we stay in touch? 

This blog and Facebook will be the main sources of communication for the challenge. Our coaches will be communicating with your through those portals as well as YouTube videos, blog posts, and the final meet up! We would love for you to communicate with each other through comments, apps, and Facebook discussions on our Facebook Group!

Here are a few places you should check out!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/861140340671757/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-rBYtm2uevs3ssWMhtgDlw

Fit-X Fitness: http://www.fitxfitnessinc.com/

We're ready and so are you! Let's get FIT!