Day 58: May Challenges

You may wonder why I have chosen to put an image on my blog of the person I most irrationally fear: Richard Simmons. Let me explain. I have always been afraid of Richard Simmons, and I think if I ever came across him in person I would be reduced to tears or screams of terror.

However, facing your fears is a part of rising up from the obstacles in which you find yourself, and thus, Richard is a guest here on my blog today....at least, his image is a guest here. It's difficult, and it's not fun, but looking at this photograph is slowly helping me to overcome my fear. And maybe one day if I do meet Richard Simmons somewhere, I'll be able to shake his hand and offer a kind hello. Who knows?

At any rate, April is almost over and the May flowers are starting to appear, so I have a whole new slew of challenges for myself (and anyone who wishes to join me). But first, let's have a recap of some of the April challenges.

Walk to Run Challenge - I abandoned this challenge after the first time I tried to jog....I'm just not there yet. But one day I will be. And I will be thrilled to reinstate the challenge then.

Park and Walk Challenge - For this challenge I parked in the back of the parking lot every time I went somewhere so I could get a little more exercise. I actually loved this challenge so much that I think I'm going to make it into one of my 5 changes! It was nice to not have to drive around forever looking for the best spot in the lot. And I actually enjoyed parking further away and walking into my destination. I felt great knowing I was adding just a few extra steps every day.

100 Miles Challenge - For this challenge I wanted to walk 100 miles (or 200,000 steps) in the month of April. I wore my pedometer every day and I really tried hard to get those steps in. I never realized how sedentary I am at work, so seeing my step count on the pedometer really opened my eyes to that. My results so far this month (with still a day and a half remaining in April) are: (drum roll, please!) 218,646 steps, which loosely translates to 109.32 miles! Yahoo! I feel so great knowing that I walked that distance in April. What an incredible feeling! And, walking that much has improved my fitness so much that I'm actually ready to take my workouts to the next level.

Here are my challenges for the month of May:
WORK Out Challenge - Because I sit so much at my office, I really want to do more to help myself burn some calories during my workday. At the very beginning of my blog my cousin Brooke posted a comment with some of the little techniques she uses to keep moving while she's at work:

1. For every trip she makes to the bathroom she does 5 back kicks per leg.
2. While she's sitting in her chair she lifts her feet off the ground for several minutes at a time.
3. She tightens her butt while she's sitting.
4. She sits in her chair and holds her legs parallel to the ground for several minutes at a time.

I want to try to incorporate some form of getting up and moving around for 10 minutes out of every hour while I'm at work. I plan to use Brooke's tricks, as well as a few tips I picked up from some articles I read (more on that tomorrow).

Amp it Up Challenge - It's time to take my workouts to the next level. This challenge will last for the month of May and beyond. I plan to exercise 5 days per week, with only 2 of those days being low-impact workouts like walking or Wii fit. The other 3 days will be more intense workouts like my Jillian Michaels Shred DVD or Zumba. I'm honestly a little scared of this challenge, but I'm confident that I can do it. And I know it will only get easier with time. So these workouts may kick my patootey at first, but eventually I'll get so good that I'll need to bring it up even more...

The Kegger Challenge - No, this challenge isn't a fraternity drinking game! Did you know that a standard keg holds 1,984 ounces? And that 1,984 ounces just happens to be the amount of water you would drink in 31 days if you drank 64 ounces per day? That's my challenge for this month. I want to drink an entire keg of water for the month of May. I'm not going to actually go out and buy a keg, though, so I'll just have to pretend with that one. I don't drink nearly the amount of water I should, and so I really want to challenge myself to consume much more water every day. I think this challenge is going to be the one that drives me crazy because I'm really not used to drinking that much liquid at all. I typically have a few sips of water with breakfast and throughout the morning, maybe 4 ounces at lunch, and maybe a little bit when I go to bed. I'm a sweet tea fiend, so I'm going to have to make myself drink my water before I have any sweet tea. I know it's good for me, though, and my skin and body will thank me for getting in all the water I need.

So, those are my challenges this month. Who's with me? What other ways are you challenging yourself?