Week 7 Holiday Challenge
It's Christmas week and regardless of if you celebrate the holiday, I have a luxurious week lined up for you!
We'll get cozy, spend time with our loved ones and feel awesome about our new healthy lifestyle!
BUT FIRST! Check out this week's Charity Challenge!
Last year we raised over $800 for the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and we had about half the number of participants in the Holiday Challenge as we do this year.
I was able to bring a huge check and got a tour of the hospital and it was an amazing experience. I am so thankful to all of you to get to do things like this!
SO, this year, let's not just DOUBLE our donations - let's see how high we can take this! These children and families are in need of some Christmas Cheer so let's do this!
The Challenge:
Anyone who raises $100 by the end of this week get's 10 points to add to their weekly total.
$200 points gets 20 points
And the person who raises the most by the end of this week gets all 40 points! So you can sit back and just enjoy this week with no point worries ;) It's Christmas, after all.
Quick view summary of Week 7:
Nutrition: Healthy snacks (eat consistently and healthily so when you indulge you feel great!)
Fitness Challenge: Lazy Dayz workout every day!
Wellness Challenge: One point for every day you have the link to our LPCH posted on your social media or sent by email to your friends and family. (link: https://my.supportlpch.org/fundraiser/1776348)
You can read on or check out your week 7 challenge here OR you can find a link to it in the Holiday Challenge Virtual Gym (pswd: S.WellHolidays)
NUTRITION:
While you get your hang time in, try to introduce some fun and healthy snacks into the mix. This will keep you satiated without feeling like you need to have 3 huge meals throughout these long days off! Check out the recipe ideas below!
Or try Peanut Butter and Fruit dip:
Mix equal parts organic greek yogurt and natural peanut butter (just peanuts - no added sugars or preservatives! Salt is ok).
Add in honey to taste.
Use to dip any and all fruits!
FITNESS:
The Lazy Dayz Workout:
Grab your ugliest/coziest pajamas and do this super easy but really effective workout. These exercises will work on all the important muscle groups to keep your body working and moving it's best. We'll get those deep ab muscles, the glutes and those rhomboids to keep our backs feeling healthy and our posture on point!
Start lying on your back:
- Heel Slides/Leg lifts:
Press your spine into the ground and, using the abs, slowly bend the knees while you keep your feet on the ground and slide them toward your butt. Once bent, slowly lift the feet and bring both knees in toward your chest using the abs and keeping the neck and shoulders relaxed. Grab the knees and stretch out that lower back. Let go of the knees and slowly bring the feet back down to the ground (yes, you got it, using your abs to control the movement). Continue pressing the spine into the ground as you slide the feet out and straighten the legs. Repeat 5-10x (or whatever you feel like!)
- Glute arches:
Roll onto one side. Place your arm under you head as a pillow. Pull the belly button in toward your spine and lift the top leg up about 2.5feet. Keep that leg straight and slowly drop the leg, toe first, to tap the ground in front of you. Now lift the leg back up and drawing an arch backwards, drop the heel to the ground behind you. You can use your top arm for balance. Repeat drawing an arch forward and backward, toe to heel 10-15x. Repeat on the other side
-Butt crunches:
Roll onto the tummy. Make a pillow with your hands and place your forehead on your hands. Pull the belly button in and bend one leg as much as you can. Now try to lift that leg off the ground a couple inches and place it back down. Keep the abs engaged and lift and lower the bent leg 15-20x. Repeat on the other side
- Arm lifts:
Stay on your tummy, keep the belly button pulled in and place your forehead on the floor or a rolled up hand towel. Move your arms so the are straight out to your side like you’re making a T. Slide the shoulder blades down your spine and lift the arms, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Keep the head and chest down. Lift and lower the arms 20-25x.
-Repeat or stop and get some stretching in! Easy Peasy!!
WELLNESS:
Just like we described above - let's raise some money for LPCH! Spread the love and spread the word!
And if you're looking for some fun ways to interact with your family so you can avoid awkward political conversations and so you don't get cabin fever, try out some of these! Post on Social Media and tag me for an extra point!
Fun Games to Play with Groups:
Here are 10 fun ideas for games to play with things you have on hand - in small or big groups of all ages.
1. SHOUT IT!
Shout it! has 4 levels and 2 ways to play so everybody can have fun. Perfect for kids and grownups, 2-10+ players. There are 128 cards and you can print them double sided; Get them here!
2. PASS IT ON!
Super simple, yet pretty genius game where not so perfect drawing comes in handy. It’s like a broken telephone game, only this time is in drawing. Draw what you see then guess what you saw for hilarious and unpredictable outcomes. It’s miscommunication at its best! Perfect for terrible artists! Get the printable files and instructions here.
3. KNOCK IT OUT.
You will need: orange (or tennis ball or an apple) and nylons. Put the orange in the nylons and put it on your head. Challenge: try to knock over water bottles placed on the floor. Silly, but fun! So fun! Who wins? Whoever knocks off most bottles in 1 minute – WINS!
4. DEFYING GRAVITY.
You will need: balloons. Challenge: Bounce 2-3 balloons (depending on the age and abilities) at the same time with your hands without them falling on the floor. Who wins? Time it and see who can bounce balloons the longest.
5. CHOCOLATE FACE
You will need: chocolate bar. (you can also use candy or cookie).!Challenge: Place it on the upper cheek and using your facial muscles get that piece of chocolate in your mouth. And eat it! Don’t use hands. Who wins? Whoever eats the chocolate fastest – wins the game!
6. TELL A JOKE
You will need: spoon and small ball. Challenge: Tell a joke while holding a spoon in your mouth with the ball in it. It wasn’t that hard to tell the joke while holding the spoon in your mouth. The hardest thing was to not to laugh after the joke together with everybody else.
7. YANK ME GAME
You will need: (For each player) 4 paper (or plastic) cups, 3 slips of paper, timer
Challenge: Stack cups on top of each other with paper slips in between each of them. Then, starting from top try to yank each paper without the cup falling and destroying your tower. The cup has to fall on another cup and then another cup and then another cup. Until there are no papers left. Players have to do this within one minute or if more than one playing – whoever does this FIRST – wins! It will take practice, fast motion, patience.
8. JUNK IN THE TRUNK
To prepare for this game, empty a tissue box, and use an Xacto knife to make two slits into the bottom of the box. Thread an adjustable belt or wide ribbon through the two slits to create a tissue-box-on-a-belt. Removing the thin plastic barrier from the tissue box opening will make game play easier (for younger children) or keep it intact for more challenging play.
To play the game, strap the tissue box onto the player’s back, and fill it with 6-8 ping pong balls (we used 6, but 8 would be appropriate for older children and adults). Shake, shimmy, jump, and dance around until all of the balls have fallen out of the tissue box. No using your hands and no laying down! This game is hysterical to watch in action!
9. BUILD A TOWER
Use fruit or veggies to build towers. Whoever builds highest structure in 1 minute WINS the game.
10. SUCK IT UP
You will need thick straws (thin ones work too), small sheets of paper. Using straw players will need to suck the paper sheets and transfer them from one pile to another. Whoever does this first WINS the game.
Here and here are some links for more fun ideas!
Keep on being amazing!
Love,
Shannon