New Years Challenge 2019

 

It’s that time of year again: New Year’s resolution time and our 5 week Nutrition and Fitness challenge is about to begin. While it’s best to make choices in accordance with your goals and values all of (or at least most of) the time, we recognize that many of us use markers like the beginning of the year to kick-start positive changes. This Challenge will follow a similar model to the last few that have run with a few minor alterations.

There are a few options you can choose from as a participant.

Tier 1 – Participant Level.

Athletes in Tier 1 will use this challenge primarily to focus on food quality and portion control. This is a perfect place to start if you are just looking to regain control of your healthy habits as well as be held accountable for your wellness. Participants will follow along with the challenge, but will be free of the stress of competing against others.

Tier 2- Challenge Level.

Athletes in Tier 2 will use this challenge to refocus healthy habits as well as compete against themselves/each other for bonus prizes. There will be a points system to follow, a leaderboard, bonus workouts, weigh ins and plenty of challenges along the way!

This Challenge will be 5 weeks in duration. Beginning January 1st. All participants will begin tracking their training, diet and will participate in bonus workouts throughout the 5 weeks.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

For Tier 1, only a desire to begin to make informed and better food choices. For Tier 2, you’ll need a food scale and a set of measuring cups and measuring spoons since you’ll be measuring out servings of lean protein, clean carbs, veggies, and fats. Whichever level you choose, you should plan to do a bit of food shopping and prep beginning the first week to make good food choices easy.

Most people will get great results and remain more sane with Tier 1,but the competitive athlete in all of us wants to win and show what they are made of! If you just want a stress free challenge, go with Tier 1. If you’re looking for an enhancing experience go with Tier 2.

PRIZES

Tier 2 Participants can earn prizes for their performance based on the work done throughout the challenge, fitness assessments, as well as the weightloss bonus challenge. Expect to win some Gym Money, swag, other assorted items and Top Athletes will win a 6 Pack of their favorite beer! (As long as it comes in 6 Pack form!)

CHALLENGE GUIDELINES

All participants will be asked to:

  • Attend 3 classes per week. (Attending more than 3 can be counted towards lifestyle)

  • Eat 3 Balanced meals per day (Lean Protein, Veggie, Healthy Fat)

  • Perform lifestyle tasks each day. (They will be listed on the board)

  • Consume 0g of Sugar.

  • May consume a Maximum of 1 Alcoholic beverage per day. (See rules below)

  • Perform Bonus Challenges each week.

  • Keep a journal or notes of daily activity.

  • Submit scores through the score sheet online.


Tier 1

“I’m not really sure what to eat or what recovery even means. This is the first time I’m going to follow any real guidance on what to eat” OR “I’ve tried counting macros, RP, strict paleo, low-carb, and none of it works for me in the long term. I want to eat food, not numbers”

You’ll work to develop a baseline of quality food choices and good sleep and recovery habits. Eating for health is the most important step on the road to fitness!

Goal: To improve food quality, balance training and recovery, and make choices that support your goals.

Tier 2

“I know what I should eat, I understand what macronutrients are, and I generally choose quality foods but am not where I want to be in terms of body composition and/or performance. I don’t have any food issues or dogmas, I just need to know how much of it to eat. I’m okay weighing and measuring food.”

You’ll work on a plan to eat the right foods in the right quantities, adding balanced portion control to an already healthy diet.

Goal: To eat optimally sized meals with good macronutrient balance, added to an already solid base of food quality. By weighing and measuring portions, you’ll develop an internal food scale that you can keep with you for a lifetime. As you’ve maybe discovered, it’s in fact easy to overeat paleo and “healthy” foods and succumb to cravings if overall diet and lifestyle isn’t balanced. Unbalanced food intake can lead to poor sleep, which can lead to carb cravings and/or over-reliance on caffeine, which can result in poor sleep… you see where this cycle goes. Particularly problematic can be “paleo” desserts, snacks, and treats.

  • Calculate your daily caloric requirements, and adjust based on your goals.

  • Eat a relatively balanced measure of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate, and fat) in each meal. All meals should be made up from lean animal protein, complex carbs, veggies, and healthy fat. It’s best not to use dairy as a main protein source.

  • Weigh and measure your macros and track them on MyFitnessPal (or a similar app). This is not mandatory, but may help you keep track of what you are eating.

    You can include the following in modest amounts:

  • Eat meals that are made up of whole foods like the following: lean animal protein, vegetables, whole grains or fruit, and nuts and seeds. A well-rounded meal would include something from each category.

  • Avoid refined sugar. This includes fruit juice, honey, fructose, coconut sugar, agave, maple syrup, and “paleo” or “healthy” desserts.

  • Avoid baked goods. These always contain refined sugar, unhealthy fats, and over-processed grain products.

  • A good rule of thumb is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store and eat foods that look basically the same on your plate as they started out in nature.

  • Drink ½ oz of water, herbal tea, or another non-calorie beverage per pound of bodyweight, or about 64 oz. each day.

Consider altogether eliminating the following throughout the challenge.
Allow small amounts only as needed to maintain sanity.

  • Dairy: cream in coffee, fermented unsweetened dairy like Greek yogurt, cheese, etc. One serving a day isn’t going to break you, but you might reconsider relying on cheese as a main protein source .Many people are sensitive to dairy, and it generally helps help with gaining weight so consider this depending on your goals.

  • Coffee/tea/etc. Yeah, I don’t want to know what you act like without your morning cup either but consider having a cut-off point early in the day, especially if you’re sensitive to it and/or sleep and hormonal recovery are large parts of your challenge.

  • Alcohol: Alcohol is empty calories, has absolutely zero health benefit, and can impair sleep. However, we understand that you may want a drink from time to time. All participants will be allowed a 12oz Beer or 8oz Glass of wine. No Spirits or mixers should be consumed throughout the challenge. Do your best to stay away as much as possible.

SCORING

Tier 2 Daily Points are earned as follows…

1 points each for:

  • 3 Balanced meals per day –  (Lean Protein, Veggie, Healthy Fat)

  • Consume 0g of Sugar – All Sugar is off limits. Honey is only acceptable sugar for challenge. NO Rx Bars!

  • 1 or Less Alcoholic Beverages per day. (Limited to 8oz Wine or 12oz Beer) Nothing more! This is not a cumulative amount. If you consume 2 in one day, but none the rest of the day – NO POINTS FOR YOU!

  • Perform 1 Lifestyle task every day! These will be posted on the board. Feel free to come up with new ones and ask if it works! The Same task cannot be repeated within the same week.

Your Weekly Points are calculated as follows…

  • 2 Points per Classes Attended throughout the week! (6 Points Max – 3 Classes per week)

  • Any extra classes attended throughout the week can be counted as lifestyle task for the day!

  • Bonus Challenge. Each week a bonus workout will be posted for all participants. Your rank each week will give you an extra score.

WEIGHT-LOSS BONUS POINTS

Based on performance at the end of the challenge. The top Male and Female for this part will win a small prize as well. Similar to the previous challenge.

CONCLUSION

We’re looking forward to huge, community-wide success once again with this year’s challenge! We recommend beginning ASAP to prepare by ridding your pantry of things that are not in line with your goals, making sure your kitchen is ready to prepare and store food, maybe looking into nearby restaurants and take out spots that can be a part of your challenge. Don’t go off the “deep end” by overindulging in the time leading up to the challenge. We have had great success with these challenges in the past and each time we try to enhance the experience so that everyone improves just a little bit more each time. Starting to clean up even just a little bit early can ease some of the ‘detox’ symptoms that may appear in the first 10 days or so. See the registration info below and ask any questions you have for more details!

REGISTRATION

Tier 1 – Member: Register Here
– New Member: Register Here

Tier 2 – Member: Register Here
– New Member: Register Here


 

 

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