If you've read my novella Challenging Carter, you may remember the Wellness Challenge that Carter convinces Dani to enter. What you may not know is that the challenge is based on a real-life activity sponsored by my health club. (Okay, not really *my* health club. The health club I belong to.)
I've been participating in the Wellness Challenge for a couple of years now, signing up more often than not. For some reason, paying to enter the Challenge is a huge motivator for me. (I guess I just don't want to waste that $25.) If nothing else, it gets me to the club three times a week, which is better than nothing. And the idea of winning half the pot (which can be in the hundreds of dollars) is a motivating factor, too. I'm even taking some exercise classes this time around. Lots of fun, good instructor -- even if there is one woman who always sets up right in front of the instructor and DOES EVERYTHING WRONG. Seriously, wrong steps, wrong side, wrong tempo, wrong everything. It's very distracting.
So the current Challenge just ended, and yesterday I weighed out.
Not my favorite part.
It wasn't too bad, though. In ten weeks, I managed to lose three pounds and reduce my body fat percentage 3%. Not huge numbers, but better than gaining! (Signing up for a challenge over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is an exercise in futility. New Year's is a better bet.)
I'm thinking it's time to step up the actual workouts when the next challenge rolls around in a couple of weeks, though. I've got a trip to Hawaii scheduled out a year or so, and I'd like to be swimsuit-ready by then. I've been watching the discussion of C25K (Couch to 5K) and debating starting.
Any other suggestions? Good ab workouts? I'd love to actually win the Challenge one of these days!
