New Year New Challenge Whole Life Challenge

It’s a new year, and again, I have been slacking on my blogging. Today I embark on a new challenge, The Whole life Challenge. My wife and I are getting settled in a new home, a permanent home in Burns Lake, BC. My home gym is coming together, I have a space set aside for it, and the squat rack is set up, I just need to get a gym floor in there. My wife found out about a cool, paleo, lifestyle challenge through our friends at Bodyshop Crossfit in West Kelowna, BC.

The Challenge is run through the wholelifechallenge.com website and for the next 56 days, we organize our life around the WLC 7 Daily Habits:

1.       Eat by the WLC rules you choose at the level that is right for you. Make conscious choices that support your vision for a healthy lifestyle. Earn up to 5 points daily for nutrition.

2.       Exercise for at least 10 minutes each day. We recommend 3-5 “workouts” each week. The other days you’ll earn your points by being active. Ride your bike, surf, hike, even take an invigorating walk at sunset. This is your time to move daily. You earn 2 points for exercise.

3.       Stretch for at least 10 minutes each day. You earn 2 points for stretching.

4.       Water One third of your body weight in oz. of water each day (20 ml per kg). You earn 1 point for water.

5.       Supplement with a dietary supplement that would make a difference for your body if you took it every day. You earn one point for your supplement.

6.       Live the WLC weekly lifestyle practice – things like sleep, meditate, & supporting others. You earn 1 point each day you complete the weekly lifestyle task.

7.       Reflect at the end of each day and check in with how it went and how you’re doing. No amount of numbers can paint the whole picture. Your daily reflection helps you see how the challenge is really going. You earn 1 point daily for your reflection.

Our LIFESTYLE PRACTICE for Week 1 of the Whole Life Challenge is to practice Mindfulness for 10 minutes each day.

     What does that mean? Every day of week 1, starting on Saturday, January 17 and ending Friday, January 23 I will earn my lifestyle points for participating in a practice of mindfulness each day, 

·         Mindfulness can come in the form of meditation, prayer, or journaling

·         Any form of meditation or prayer counts

·         Any form of journaling counts, even if you develop “writers block” and have a hard time actually putting pen to paper for the full 10 minutes

·         Any combination of the above two is also acceptable. If you choose to meditate or reflect for a short period and then journal about it for the remainder of the 10 minutes, you can do that as well.

So this is where I’m at, completing my mindfulness task of the day blogging to you. I encourage you all to check out this website and try it out. Be a part of my Cannon Strength and Conditioning team. I hope to continue on this journey and complete the next Challenge starting May 2^nd as well. I hope you will be a part of that challenge with me.

Now on to the fun part, in order to start the challenge we must take before pictures, take measurements, step on the scale, and complete an introductory workout. I plan to use the WLC Fall 2014 Official Workout.

In 11 minutes:

Row/Run 500 m, 1000m, or 1500m(choose a distance you can finish in 6 minutes or less)

In the time remaining, complete as much of the following list as you can:

30 Air Squats

30 Sit Ups

30 Plank Ups

40 Lunges

40 Bicycles

40 Push Ups

50 Squat Jumps

50 Flutter Kicks

50 Mountain Climbers

100 Burpees

Your score is the total number of reps you complete.

Notes:

- Don’t worry – this workout was not designed to actually be finished in less than 11 minutes – just get as far as you can in the list and count all your reps as points.

- Your choice in run/row distance must remain the same for both your prelim and the final inventory.

So enjoy! And start following again, because, I’m back baby! 

Here is a little taste of the new digs...