Week 5: Day 7

Fitness fanatics!

How are all of you doing this week? I think you are all amazing!!!!

Only one more week until we are half-way done with the challenge!!! I hope that when we are done, some of you are inspired to run this challenge for your friends, just like I have for all of us. If you are, we will have a meeting where I can teach you how to do the google doc's etc. Let me know if you might be interested in that. It'd be fun to keep this going!!

This week's mystery challenge is in the survey. The weekly challenge is to write in a journal EVERY DAY! It doesn't have to be a novel, it can just be a journal where you write about insights that you had that day from things you experienced, learned, or felt. Hopefully with increased prayer and scripture study, you are feeling more inspiration and learning lots. You need to WRITE IT DOWN so you don't forget, so your family can learn from you and so you can learn more! (more on journaling later).

I hope you are all striving to get your own personal best each week. Although we send out a list of where our points rank- the most important thing is that you keep trying to improve yourself each week! Like Dwayne said to me "Points matter, rank doesn't." Heaven isn't graded on a curve, we are all allowed in if we do the best we can with what we are given. 

One more thought. I have been reading a cool book by Steve Chandler called "The Story of You." He is a great motivator and teacher and talks a lot about how much of our life is dependent on our perspective of things and how we tell ourselves stories. My story used to be, "I just don't have the energy to work-out like I used to." And now, thanks to the challenge and all of you my new story is "Exercise is an important part of my day and I love to workout almost every morning!" Maybe you are holding yourself back because you are "a procrastinator" or "Just not a scriptorian" or "Too busy" or "Don't have willpower." Those are just stories that you are telling yourself, but you can write a new story whenever you want. You have incredible power and opportunities awaiting you when you see things this way. When trying to solve a problem, or overcome a weakness, Steve says...

"Bring all you've got to it as fast and as forcefully as you can to MASSIVELY OVERWHELM the problem, as though KILLING AN ANT WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER!"

I hope this helps. There are enough hours in the day to get these things done, and you do have the power to resist temptation. You just have to decide to reinvent yourself and then become the new person who does those things you want to do. The only question is, "How bad do you want it?"

Week 4 charts!

Gotta love these charts! 


I hope the forgiveness is flowing this week and your abs are burning! Hopefully some of the challenges that used to be difficult for you to either do, or remember to do, have become habits now!

MYSTERY CHALLENGE: Forgive someone (or yourself). Worth 3 points.
	YES! Holding grudges only hurts me and I'm ready to let go! 57 22% No, I like the pain. 0 0%

Did you feel the effects of added fiber in your diet this week?
	Yes, I felt like my insides were scrubbed clean! 18 7% Somewhat. It helped a little but I didn't eat as much fiber as I should have. 21 8% No, I ate lots of fiber but didn't notice a difference. 13 5% No, I didn't eat any extra fiber 5 2%

Which daily challenge was the most difficult for you this week?
	Twice daily personal prayer 2 1% Daily personal scripture study 3 1% Not eating after 7:30 7 3% Exercise 15 6% No desserts 15 6% No Soda (or other personal nemesis) 9 3% Eating recommended amt. of fiber 6 2%

Are you going to incorperate last week's challenge (eat more fiber) into your daily routine now?
	Absolutely! I love eating nuts and twigs! 20 8% Somewhat, I will eat more fruits and veggies 35 13% No. I love it when my intestines get all blocked up 1 0% No. I hate fiber with a passion! 1 0%

Are you getting better at things that used to be hard for you?
	YES! I am conquering my demons :) 19 7% Sorta- I am stronger but fall back into bad habits sometimes 36 14% NO!!! Grrrrrrrr! 2 1%

Rate yourself between 1 and 5 on how much you pushed yourself this week.
	1- I didn't try at all 2 1% 2- I tried a little but can do much better 17 7% 3- I put a decent amount of effort into it 15 6% 4- I wasn't perfect but worked hard 19 7% 5- I gave it all I had this week! 4 2%

Did you try harder this week than last week?
	Yes 22 8% No 16 6% Same 19 7%

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

Week 5- Day 2 (May 10)

You are 1/3 of the way through the challenge!!!  

CONGRATS ON ALL YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED!

This week's challenge is to do 100 sit ups per day- but before you do that, please read this email from Jennie Blaser, this week's educator and cheerleader. She will surprise you with what she has to say! 

Here is my 'advice'

I chose to cheerleader the 100 situps a day, simply because I think that sit ups are one of the worst things you can do if you want to have a flat tummy! Traditional sit-ups actually build your abdominal muscles and create that 'pouch' look, like you are always 3 months pregnant. So, if that is the look you are going for, do your traditional sit-ups and you don't need to read any more.

If, however, you want a flat tummy, read on! Pilates has several exercises that are designed specifically to flatten your tummy. It works by using your lower and inner abdominal muscles and toning and tightening them rather than building them. There are three exercises that I want to teach you about to try and incorporate into your week:

1) The pilates 'Hundreds'

This takes as long as it takes to breath 100 times. It would probably be the equivalent of about 20-30 situps. Here is a video explaining how to do it and different modifications. Do not do the advanced one unless you are already familiar with pilates.

http://www.ehow.com/video_2365444__hundred_-exercise-pilates.html

2) The pilates roll up

One of these roll ups is equivalent to 6 sit-ups. So, you could do 17 of these each day and call it good, but more than 10 a day is not usually recommended. If done correctly, they are quite difficult. If you get stuck, use your hands behind your knees to pull you up instead of 'grunting' your way up. That grunting is building your abdominal muscles and will result in a larger tummy.  Here is a video of the correct way to do the roll-up

http://www.ehow.com/video_2365446__roll-up_-exercise-pilates.html?cp=1&pid=1&wa%5Fvlsrc=continuous&wa%5Fvrid=66d52f84%2D00ae%2D4ea7%2Db971%2D161caf051bd2

3) Rolling like a ball

This is a fun one! It's almost like a back massage while toning your tummy!

http://www.ehow.com/video_2365451_rolling-ball-exercise-pilates.html

My suggestion is to spend 10-15 minutes doing a combination of all of the above each day. That will be adequate to comp for '100 sit-ups'.  Here's my personal testimonial. Since I've started doing Pilates, without any other changes to my exercise and diet, I went down a size! I can do up my pants without having to suck in at all. Men, you might not know what that feels like, but it is wonderful to be able to just put on pants, even fresh out of the dryer, and not feel like you are in pain! :)

So, happy tummy toning this week!

Thanks everyone and have a fantastic week!

YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS... YOU ALREADY ARE!!!