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July – MealPrep and the Q3 Workout of the Season

Welcome to a New Season of Challenge 2018!

Hello, Challengers!

We are past the halfway mark of the year and into our 3rd quarter of our journey through 2018 together!

Congratulations to all of you who completed the 4th of July #VictoryLap Virtual Run, and on all of your fantastic progress towards your #BestPerformance. Remember: Any step forward is great progress, and we are interested in progress, not perfection!

We have a new color logo to reflect the sunny summer, and we have all new focuses and challenges to keep us moving, including the third Workout of the Season (#WOS) of the year.

For the rest of July, we will give you time to get acclimated with the new #WOS while we share tips and tricks for #MealPrep. This is a slightly more relaxed month while we move towards the fall race season and gear up for our August and September Halftime Challenge!

Keep reading to find:

  • Workout of the Season (#WOS) 3
  • A focus on #MealPrep
  • June Challenger of the Month
  • Podcast with Deena Kastor
  • The Challenge 2018 Store
  • Facebook Group Etiquette

Post your progress with #MealPrep, the Workout of the Season (#WOS), and any of your other training adventures in our private Facebook group for a chance to earn some high fives, support, and win a gift certificate to the Challenge Store!

Workout of the Season 3 (#WOS): The Seven Minute Strength Workout

The Workout of the Season for this quarter is focused on building a base of total body strength with exercises that benefit runners and walkers. If you are new to strength training or haven’t done it in awhile, start with one seven-minute circuit of this workout. If you perform strength regularly, try 2-3 circuits or progressing the difficulty of each exercise.

Use the hashtag #WOS in the Challenge 2018 Facebook group when you perform the Workout of the Season and let us know how it’s going!
Download the Workout Here

July’s Focus: #MealPrep

For the rest of July, our focus is #MealPrep. Investing some time planning and prepping your meals for the week will help take the guesswork out of how you will stick to your healthful eating goals. It can help you budget your spending by reducing those last minute runs to the cafeteria or fast food joint. It may take some discipline to set that hour or so a week aside to prep, but you will save time during the week on planning, shopping, and cooking at the last minute. The idea here, as always with the Healthy Habit, is to start small from where you are and try gradually adding this habit into your routine.

Here are some suggestions to get started:

  • Set aside a little time on a Sunday to plan, shop, and prep. You could also spread this out: Write out your plan and shopping list while watching tv, shop on your way home from work or the gym with your list, then prep at a time you decide on.
  • If you are new to #MealPrep or it seems overwhelming, pick one meal or snack that you would like to have at your fingertips all week, and prep it. This could be as simple as a packet of oatmeal and piece of fruit that you have ready to go each morning, or you could make a soup or stew and portion it out for the week. Once you master that, you can start to plan out more meals the following week.
  • It is helpful to have a visual to work with, so that you can plan your prep around any plans to eat out or special occasions. We suggest using an app like Pepperplate, where you can manage your meal prep schedule and also make your shopping list, manage your recipes, etc. Pepperplate is a free app and is available in your app store (they have a version for iPhone, Android, and Google phones).
  • If you like working on paper, we have created two official #MealPrep tools: A Weekly Calendar to plan your meals and a Recipe and Shopping list to get organized for the prep itself.
  • We’ve all seen the beautiful pictures online of the Tupperware containers with beautiful meals packed for every meal and every day of the week, and if that’s what you choose to try, that’s great! If you are already doing #MealPrep – share your secrets and tips!

Create a meal prep Healthy Habit that speaks to you. Start out small, and build on your ideas. Share your ideas using the hashtag #MealPrep. We look forward to seeing your prep pics and posts this month!
#MealPrep Planner
Editable Planner
#MealPrep Shopping List
Editable Shopping List

June Challenger of the Month

Congratulations to Bonfei Kao, our June Challenger of the Month!

Bonfei regularly exudes the Challenger spirit with her can-do attitude, her willingness to push her limits (she tried swimming again this month!), and by embracing progress notperfection. She did a great job with our #Declutter challenge and more last month!

Bonfei has chosen the Animal Rescue Fund as her charity of choice, and a donation has been made in her name.

Well done,Bonfei!

WANT TO BE OUR CHALLENGER OF THE MONTH? Use the hastags #MealPrep and/or #WOS in your posts for the month of July to be considered!

PODCAST: Deena Kastor – Let Your Mind Run

This week’s podcast features professional runner Deena Kastor and her new book Let Your Mind Run. You can’t help but think more positively when listening to Deena talk. I used several of her mindfulness tools while on the Inca Trail this month and I highly recommend her book.

You can listen to the podcast at the link below or on the Apple Podcasts or Stitcher apps.
LISTEN HERE