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30-Day Ab Fitness Challenge

ChallengesWhitney CarlsonComment
30-Day Ab Fitness Challenge | He and She Eat Clean

If you've been reading our blog for any period of time, you'll know we believe that abs are made in the kitchen. There's no amount of sit-ups for crunches you can do that will give you a six-pack. I also fully understand that some people don't want a six pack - no worries, this isn't going to turn you into a six-pack machine.

This was first published March 29, 2016. It was updated and re-published March 31, 2018.

This challenge is to strengthen your core. Strengthening your core is about more than appearance, it's about helping to prevent injury as well. Add this short challenge to the end of your workouts each day. Take notes about how you feel and how hard (or easy) the challenge was. This will give you something to look back on and compare how much stronger you are.

If you are advanced and this is too easy for you, you can double or triple each day. If this is too difficult, cut the time and/or reps down and work your way up. This challenge is totally customizable based on your fitness level.

This challenge was designed to be something that you do in addition to your normal workout (which is hopefully one of our workout plans!). We have 4, 6, and 12-week workout plans for all fitness levels!

Tag us on Instagram and use the hashtag #heandsheeatclean so we can follow along!

Not sure what these exercises are? This plank post explains seven different plank variations!

30-Day Ab Fitness Challenge | He and She Eat Clean

Detox Your Nutrition: March

ChallengesWhitney CarlsonComment
Detox Your Nutrition: March

MARCH. 2018. The fact that it is already March of 2018 blow my mind. The beginning of a new month means the beginning of a new challenge! If interested, we also have a Full Body March Madness Fitness Challenge here.

The entire goal of our Detox Your Life Challenge is to improve a different area of our lives each month. It's okay if we don't accomplish ALL of our goals; however, we will take much pride in tackling the goals we set and use those accomplishments to build momentum in tackling our remaining goals as the year goes on.

Last month, for the Detox Your Money Challenge, our goals were to:

  • Opening a new savings account to maximize the interest we’re earning (check!)
  • Categorizing our grocery receipts to help drill-down on wasted expenses (nope!)
  • Reviewing our retirement investments to ensure we’re saving enough for retirement (check!)
  • Reviewing the new changes to the tax code to identify incremental income that can be poured into savings and take advantage of new opportunities (check!)

I (Whitney) have been super busy over the last few days (weeks) getting everything ready for our taxes and Scott has been really busy at work. While we wish we would have been able to better analyze our receipts, we were pretty happy with how we didn't waste any money during the month of February and how we were able to open our new checking and savings accounts (that came with a $500 bonus!).

Again, just because a new month is upon us doesn't mean that we are going to completely forget about our January fitness goals or our February money goals. We will continue with our previous goals and simultaneously move forward with our nutrition goals!

Wondering what all of this detox stuff is all about?

Take a look at the concept behind our Detox Your Life Challenge here.

Let's take a simpler approach to nutrition this time, shall we?

High carb. Low carb. High fat. Low fat. High protein. Low protein. Juice cleanse. Cookie diet. Grapefruit diet. There are so many buzz words being thrown around that it makes my head spin! I have a feeling you feel the same way!

We're going to simplify nutrition for you: Eat Real Food.

Get started with these steps:

  1. Read Getting Started with Clean Eating
  2. Read 8 Things You Need to Know When You Start Eating Clean
  3. Download our FREE 13 to Clean Challenge and/or take a look at our 1,500 Calorie Meal Plan

Keep in mind that just because your sister, brother, best friend, and/or co-worker lost 25 pounds on a certain diet doesn't mean that same thing is right for you. Just because you see it on Facebook or hear about it on a TV show also doesn't mean it's right for you.

Keep things simple. Our bodies need all nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Choose lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

So, what will we be working on this month?

March is a really busy month for us (big news coming soon!) and to top it off we travel to Arizona at the end of the month but we will keep nutrition at the forefront of our mind.

  • Do an entire food prep each week
  • Drink our apple cider vinegar detox water every day
  • Try to incorporate vegetables into breakfast
  • Drink at least 64 oz of water each day
  • Limit added sugar
  • Eat out twice per week, max

Looking for ideas for your own challenge?

Need to write down your goals with pen and paper?

We do too! We have a simple printable for you! You can print it in color or black and white and then just fill in whatever notes or goals you need to jot down. Get it here.

Reminder: Make sure you are signed up for the Detox Your Life Challenge emails so that you know when a new challenge is released or we have something fun to give you like a new printable!

Check out these additional resources:

Get Ready for New Recipes & Tips to Help You Along the Way!

Detox Your Money: February

Challenges, MoneyWhitney Carlson1 Comment
Detox Your Money Challenge

How is it already February?! The month slipped right by and we didn't do any yoga! Seriously. But that's okay, we aren't going to beat ourselves up about it. We still have our fitness goals going for the rest of the year, but our focus now shifts to our February challenge - Detoxing our Money!

The entire goal of our Detox Your Life Challenge is to improve a different area of our lives each month. It's okay if we don't accomplish ALL of our goals; however, we will take much pride in tackling the goals we set and use those accomplishments to build momentum in tackling our remaining goals as the year goes on.

Last month, for the Detox Your Fitness Challenge, our goals were to:

  • Lift Weights 4-5 days per week (check!)
  • Cardio 2-3 days per week (at the end of our lifting workouts) (check!)
  • Hike at least once a week (We hiked twice, we weren't able to the other weekends because of the weather but we did add in a couple stair climbing sessions in the gym and some HIIT workouts!  We’ll make up our lost days when the weather improves.)
  • Yoga at least once a week (didn't happen...nope...not once!)
  • Stretching every day for 10 minutes after waking and 10 minutes after lifting (half and half, we stretched after working out but not much after waking up)

I (Whitney) start week 5 of the She Sweats 12-Week Run Builder next week and Scott will start week 5 of the She Sweats 12-Week Transformation (Yes, men can do "she sweats"!).

Again, just because a new month is upon us doesn't mean that we are going to completely forget about our fitness goals. We will continue with our fitness goals and simultaneously move forward with our money goals!

Why are we talking about money?

Fitness is a large passion of ours, but financial responsibility and freedom are top priorities and huge passions as well. We both majored in finance in college and continue to be captivated by personal finance. Scott has worked in corporate finance for over a decade now and continues to stay on top of personal finance and investing news. We share a strong passion for helping our community get better at budgeting, saving, investing, and building financial freedom along with living a healthier lifestyle by focusing on pursuing active hobbies and eating healthy.

We're not perfect, but we strive to be as disciplined and responsible as possible by living within our means; it's simple - we focus on the things we need in our pursuit of happiness, not the things we want in the relentless chase for status. Living a balanced life requires saying "no" more than saying "yes". This applies to finance and fitness. It is not about deprivation, it's about self-awareness and control.

Wondering what all of this detox stuff is all about?

Take a look at the concept behind our Detox Your Life Challenge here.

Let's take a simpler approach to money this time, shall we?

Start off the month by reading our post on 18 ways to save $15,000 in 2018! It has a ton of valuable information to help you reach your financial goals. Then, pick one (or two!) of our money saving challenges to try! Getting your finances in order sounds complicated but it's really simple. It not easy but it is simple. The easiest way to get started is by spending less than you earn and prioritizing your goals whether that may be to pay off debt or build emergency savings. How you do that is up to you but we will help guide you along the way!

Check out these money quotes to help motivate you!

So, what will we be working on this month?

  • Opening a new savings account to maximize the interest we’re earning
  • Categorizing our grocery receipts to help drill-down on wasted expenses
  • Reviewing our retirement investments to ensure we’re saving enough for retirement
  • Reviewing the new changes to the tax code to identify incremental income that can be poured into savings and take advantage of new opportunities

Looking for ideas for your own challenge?

  • Make this month a no spend month
  • Build a budget
  • Build a financial plan
  • Take advantage of free (or low-cost) financial advice through your employer or bank
  • Start an emergency fund (ANY amount helps!)
  • Cut back on how many times per week you eat out
  • Write down every single thing you spend your money on this month (count every penny!)

Need to write down your goals with pen and paper?

We do too! We have a simple printable for you! You can print it in color or black and white and then just fill in whatever notes or goals you need to jot down. Get it here.

Reminder: Make sure you are signed up for the Detox Your Life Challenge emails so that you know when a new challenge is released or we have something fun to give you like a new printable!

Check out these additional resources:

Start one of our free Money Saving Challenges:

Get Ready for New Articles to Help You Along the Way

We will come back here and add the links as we publish these posts!