monthly challenges recap: june edition

Welcome to the sixth installment of the 2014 Monthly Challenges Recap, and quite possibly the last. I’ll explain towards the end of the post.

As a reminder, my June goals were as follows:

1. 30 Day Arm Challenge:

Results:

So I started strong on this one, but eventually got bored, due in part to finding the first few days of this program to be less than challenging. I started combining days (i.e. doing Days 1, 2, and 3 all in one day, etc.).  I never felt like I fully committed to it because of how I randomized the completion of this challenge through my creative execution. Conservatively I’d say that I completed 15 of the 25 active days of this program.  Mission not accomplished. But, as challenges go, this one wasn’t all that challenging. So… meh.

2. Bruce Lee Challenge:

Results:

Like challenge #1, this one started strong. I followed the calendar exactly. Even when my condo was registering 94 degrees Fahrenheit, I still got my Bruce Lee on. Next Bruce and I left for NYC for four days. Doing the challenge in the tiny NYC hotel room was interesting, but it got done. And then I continued on once I got to Toronto. Then the wheels fell off the bus the week of the 15th. I only did 2 of the 5 workouts scheduled. That trend carried forward to last week, when I repeated my 2 of 5 scheduled programs again. In my defense, I did jump head first into a really tough weight lifting program, called StrongLifts 5×5, which got my primary attention. Also, I will sheepishly admit that I have done more running in the 9 days since publishing my breaking-up-with-running post than I had in the previous 2 months. So between running and lifting, I shirked on kicking.

I decided to make up for the missed workouts by completing Bruce’s Day 30 program climax: 1,000 kicks, 1000 punches and 120 push ups. So, yeah, after that little Kung Fu extravaganza, I’m declaring this a successful mission.

3. More Movement:

My goal for June was to hit a minimum of 10,000+ steps per day for at least 24 of the 30 days in June, something which was proving to be a challenge for me in my WFH-but-sit-in-front-of-a-laptop-all-day routine.

Results:

I think I’m most excited about this one because this challenge was all about addressing what had become a VERY sedentary lifestyle since I went back to work in January. Outside of intentional workout time, I was getting little to no movement until well after 6pm. My goal was to get at least half of my steps in outside my formal exercise routines, making the workouts just gravy. And… MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!  I had well over 10,000 steps on 25 of 30 days in June, and just hit my 500 mile badge on the FitBit (lifetime miles since I started wearing it in February). Yay me! Where’s my cake???

Change in Direction?… Maybe.

In 2013 I had a clear plan: workout for 365 consecutive days. Towards the latter half of the year I decided to start keeping track of exactly what I was doing to get all sweaty each day. In retrospect, I wish I had done it from the get go. I introduced the idea of a weekly workout summary in this post here. These posts were tagged clearly so that those not super interested in the specifics of how I got my sweat on could just skip right over the updates.

2014 arrived, my 365-day challenge was complete, and I struggled to find my groove on how to set new goals for myself.

At the end of January, I finally shared what my plans for 2014 were. I would be setting ‘big challenges’ for myself each month and then reporting back on the success of those challenges. The only problem with this system was that it gave me a built-in ‘out’. By not declaring the goal up front there was no risk of having to report failure on missed goals.

Seeing the flaw, in April I decided to get more bold about declaring monthly challenges BEFORE I set out to pursue the goals. This felt like something that would drive a lot more accountability. And it did. The only problem was that it also felt very forced. I found myself struggling to come up with a list of challenges each month since then. Not fun.

So I’m at a bit of a crossroads here. I’m thinking that if my goal is to prove to myself and others that I’m actually maintaining this healthy lifestyle and working out every day (give or take a few), then why not just return to my old Weekly Workout Summary format, and be done with it? That’s not to say I won’t have monthly challenges, it just takes the pressure off having to make a circus of it every month. I’m not yet convinced one way or another. But for now, I’d rather just stay committed to being active every day, and picking up challenges that pique my interest as they come up.

Stay tuned…

Normally at this point in the monthly challenge recap I would share the full Bad-Ass Round-up. The truth is, I’m crunched for time, and doing a thorough round up of all the awesome stuff you guys are up to is a lot of work, involving a ton of online sleuthing. So I apologize in advance for a very abbreviated Monthly Bad Ass Round-up.

I was able to copy/paste these awesome challenge-takers from the June challenge declaration post. I know there are more. And I’m so sorry I can’t link to y’all.

• Martha at Boring Broad Runs
• Helen at 26 to 12
• Sam at Midsummer 365 Projects
• Kate at Did That Just Happen
• Kerry at Winding Road

If you took on a challenge in the month of June, please leave a comment, linking to your challenge summary post – or just leave a comment describing your challenge. I love reading about your awesome and bad ass accomplishments!

Carry on warriors!

Keep moving!

xoxo nancy