Biggest Loser and Cardio Challenge!!!
Biggest Loser Challenge:
This challenge is simple. The team that loses the most weight…WINS!
Now, put your team together, assign a team captain and then email me your team’s name and the names of the people on your team. Next, schedule your weekly or bi-weekly weigh in. Remember to weigh yourself on the same scale and at the same time of day if possible. Report your weight to your team captain who will be in charge of keeping track of everyone’s weight loss.
Where to start? If you don’t already have a plan of action, start by reading some of the short articles on the Grapevine (www.grapevine.mckinley.com) under Weight Loss 101, such as:
~ How many calories do you NEED?
~ Do you really understand how to lose 1lb?
~ Physical Hunger vs. Emotional Hunger
The challenge will start on Monday, January 6th 2014 and will end on Monday, May 5th 2014. This is a four month challenge for two reasons:
1. The first month will be an educational month for most. You’ll be figuring out what kind of adjustments you need to make to your diet and your schedule. Make the time for strength training and cardio!! If you’re just starting out I recommend finding a fun class to join or a fun friend to workout with J. The remaining three months will be spent mastering your new routine!
2. There will be two, two month challenges for everyone to participate in during the Biggest Loser Challenge. These two month challenges will serve two purposes: 1. To help those trying to lose weight in the Biggest Loser Challenge. 2. To help those not trying to lose weight get stronger and push their cardiovascular limits!
The team that loses the most weight by May, 5th 2014 will win a $100 gift card to their choice of grocery store or restaurant. You can also create a competition within your team. If you choose to, have each one of your participants submit $20-$50 into a pot at the beginning or end of the challenge. The person who loses the most weight will win the pot of money!!
Cardio Challenge:
The cardio challenge will be measured by time. The team with the most amount of cardio minutes/hours will win a $100 gift card to their choice of restaurant or grocery store. Put your team together, assign a team captain and then email me your team’s name and the names of the people on your team. Keep track of your cardio minutes and email them to your team captain weekly.
I have received questions about what will count for cardio minutes when it comes to classes or sports. Before I go into some examples of what counts and what does not, let me be clear about what the point of this challenge is. I want you to carve out a specific time in your schedule to do cardio. I also want you to challenge yourself with the type of cardio you choose. If you are a runner, choosing to take a walk would not be challenging. If you are new to any kind of cardio activity and you choose to walk on the treadmill at an incline and a brisk pace, that would be a great challenge! Email me if you would like some help coming up with the appropriate cardio activity for you.
Here are some examples of what counts, what does not and the amount of time:
1. There are both strength and cardio components in my classes. If you are attending one of my circuit training classes, you can count that as 20min of cardio. If you are attending one of my H.I.I.T. classes, you can count that as 15min of cardio.
2. Sports: Hockey, basketball, soccer, volleyball, racquet ball…approximate how much time you actually played throughout the game and count that as your minutes…not the duration of the whole game (unless of course you played the whole game J ). I would not count rock climbing as cardio. While it is a great activity, it definitely involves more strength than cardio.
3. Cardio classes: Zumba, spinning, step aerobics, boot camp, kick boxing…count the duration of the whole class.
4. Shopping: Window shopping does NOT count but if you are going with the specific intent of walking the halls of the mall aka “Mall Walking”, that does count.
The challenge will start on Monday, January 6th 2014 and end on Monday, March 3rd 2014.
FYI, I will NOT be dividing the total number of lbs lost or total number of cardio minutes by the number of people on your team. Why? I feel it will encourage more people to create a team instead of doing the challenge on their own. I want you to take advantage of the encouragement and accountability that come from being a part of a team J
Email me if you have questions or need some help getting started. Also, email me your team’s name and the names of the people on your team by the end of the work day on Monday, January 6th 2014. Thanks!
Have a great weekend!!!