"Elevate Your Fitness" Elf Challenge

This one is going to be FUN! As always adjust to your fitness level, if what is listed above is too difficult cut the reps/time in half. If it seems to easy you can do more than one round!

Remember, this shouldn't be your only workout - you still need to keep up your weight lifting! Use one of our workout plans, our 4-Week Busy Body Plan would be perfect this time of year! You can read all about those here.

Not only does this challenge include what you see listed above but I'm working with Moms RUN This Town to bring you an extra "secret" challenge each day! You will be able to view the extra challenges on our Instagram page!

We have even more secrets in store for you including an entire YEAR worth of challenges to keep you motivated and inspired for 52 weeks straight! To be notified when more information is available please fill out this form.

Interested in more challenges? Try our Santa's Sprint Challenge and Santa's Step-Up Challenge! We also have our Healthy Living Challenge {Holiday Edition}! This is another completely FREE challenge to join where you will have the support of numerous trainers and coaches to help you stay on track over the holiday season! (If you are already in the Healthy Living Challenge Group on Facebook you do not have to request to join again!)

Healthy Is Not "One Size Fits All"

This is something that I posted a few months ago in our FREE Healthy Living Challenge group but wanted to share it here as well. Honestly this is just a few rants from me. :-)

As we've mentioned many times previously, what works for one person might not work for you. What works for you this year might not work for you next year. Our bodies are always changing and we need to be flexible and learn to listen to our bodies. For example, some people might feel better with higher carbs and less fat and some people might feel better with lower carbs and higher fat. One isn't better than the other and one isn't "wrong"! Maybe your best friend did lose 20 pounds by cutting out carbs and instead started eating coconut oil, peanut butter, and bacon with each meal but if you tried the same thing you would end up eating an entire jar of peanut butter instead of one tablespoon. What do you think would be better? That you continue to eat a balanced diet, even if it is more carbs than her, or try to force yourself to eat the same way she does, knowing that you will over-indulge in those foods? Being healthy and fit is NOT one size fits all. You have to take the time to find out what works for you (be patient, this can be a long process!).

I also see way too often that people get hung up on "being perfect" or "being holistic" that they just give up and don't do anything. How does that make sense? You wanted to be perfect and/or holistic but you couldn't so you just gave up? Make small changes that add up over time to a HEALTHY lifestyle change...notice I didn't say perfect. As we mentioned in our Getting Started with Clean Eating post, we changed everything "overnight" but if you can't do that - that's okay! Just get started!

Keep in mind that you will be able to find anything you want online...on both sides of everything. Every day something new will kill you if you eat it - according to someone. YOU must find balance and find what works for YOU. This takes TIME. If it sounds good to be true it probably is. Only eat bananas all day, no fats, no carbs, only eat grapefruit, no protein? Seriously?! Just eat a balanced diet of HEALTHY food and LIVE YOUR LIFE. Don't get so hung up on every single detail. The details will ultimately drive you crazy.

Am I as lean as I once was? Nope. My priorities have changed - I now spend more time coaching others and I'm being pulled in a million different directions all the time. Is this an excuse? Not in my mind because I'm still in the gym 4-6 days a week and I still eat healthy and I AM STILL HEALTHY. Being lean doesn't equal being healthy. It takes A LOT of focus, time, and energy to be super lean. Honestly, I think the reason I've been successful is because I've been on this "fitness journey" for almost 4 years now and I've never tried to get a "bikini body". I did do a photo shoot but that wasn't my main motivator, I just wanted a healthy lifestyle - one where I could travel and hike and do all the things I love to the best of my ability. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a "bikini body" or whatever your goal is but there HAS TO BE SOMETHING MORE! There has to be something else driving you. What happens after you work for 3 months just to walk around in a bikini during the summer? What happens in the fall? You just go back to your old habits until March rolls around again? Is this the position you are in right now?

Interested in more? These posts may interest you:

30-Day Turkey Trot Challenge

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We've had a ton of different challenges before but we've never had a run/walk challenge! I wanted to do one this month since most of us tend to fall of the cardio bandwagon this time of year - which also coincides with the time that we indulge in more treats than usual! Let's keep our cardio game going with this 30-day challenge. You can run, you can walk, you can hike, or you can do a combo - just get it done! I also suggest that instead of just running you try to mix it up. Some ideas are sprints (30 seconds on - 30 seconds off, etc), incline training, or a combination of both (check out our cardio/HIIT routines for ideas).

Remember, this shouldn't be your only workout - you still need to keep up your weight lifting! We have 4, 6, and 12-week workout plans for all fitness levels! Use one of our workout plans, our 4-Week Busy Body Plan would be perfect this time of year! You can read all about those here.

Follow us on Instagram (heandsheeatclean) - we would love to see you trotting - use the hashtag #heandsheeatclean.

This isn't the only challenge we are introducing though! We are going to have our Healthy Living Challenge {Holiday Edition}! This is another completely FREE challenge to join where you will have the support of numerous trainers and coaches to help you stay on track over the holiday season! (If you are already in the Healthy Living Challenge Group on Facebook you do not have to request to join again!)

Looking for a little bit more of a challenge this month? Pair this with one of our workout plans & our Turkey Tone It Up Challenge!