Tiff's October Fitness Challenge

If you're like me, you like a little challenge here and there. You know, to test yourself, and make sure you can buckle down and take care of business.

Maybe you didn't reach your goals for the summer and want to start now for next summer? Perhaps you want to get out ahead of the holiday feasting? Or maybe you just want a good 'ol challenge? Whatever your reason, I'm glad you want to take control of your fitness.

The entire month of October will be all about focusing on achieving a goal specific to you. Think of a goal you want to reach, and post it somewhere you'll see it frequently -- maybe your bathroom mirror? This will be a constant reminder of why you're doing this when times get rough -- and they will. Just hang in there and focus! It's only 31 days. C'mon, you can do anything for a mere 31 days, right?

Here are the rules.

• Exercise EVERY DAY 
• Do an accumulation of 210 minutes of cardio each week 
• Weight train 4 times each week
• Do a new type of exercise or class every week that you don't usually do (i.e. pull-ups, hiking, yoga, planks, Zumba, kickboxing, spinning, etc.)
• Every Sunday, write out your meal plan and workout schedule for the upcoming week.
• Eat 5-6 times each day, every 2-3 hours.
• Never skip breakfast.
• Drink a minimum of 64 oz of water each day.
• Reduce starchy carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, etc.)
• Allow yourself ONE cheat meal each week.
• Reduce dairy intake in half or have none at all.
• Eat a minimum of 2 pieces of fruit each day.
• Avoid as many processed foods as possible (see below). 
• No alcohol (you can have one serving at your cheat meal each week).

Recently, I came across the blog Eating Rules and for the month of October, people are pledging to go the entire month without processed foods. Seems fairly easy, right? Well, click on the badge below to find out more information --  it might be a little tougher than you think. 

Just about everything in a package is processed. And of course, some processed things are less horrendous than others. But I like this idea, and I think you should consider taking the pledge as part of this challenge. It'll pretty much eliminate any bad food choices and will help you stay on track to eating a clean and healthy diet.  

In addition to the above rules, every day there will be a mini fitness challenge. Below is the list of the 31 challenges for each day of October.

Each number corresponds to the day of the month that you are to the challenge.

There you have it! Are you game? Can you handle it? I'm ready! I'll be doing the challenge with you. I encourage you to write out or print out the rules to the challenge and post it to your fridge. You may also want to bookmark this page for a quick reference. 

Follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page as I will post the daily challenges there. I will also post meal ideas and what some of my workouts look like. On Twitter, I'll be using the hashtag #TOFC, for Tiff's October Fitness Challenge, search for it!

Ready? BREAK!