June 2022 Men's Health Month Fitness Challenge
See if this 30 day challenge is right for you
If you are stuck in a rut with your fitness plan or need to get started, I have just the challenge for you.
Since June is Men’s health month, I thought it would be fun to throw out a 30 day challenge just to break up the routine and to do something to improve men’s health.
This challenge includes dietary, exercise, sleep and gratitude practices. The challenge starts Sunday, June 19. Join and like my entirelyfit Facebook page if you are not already on there. During the challenge you are encouraged to post anything relevant regarding your 30 days.
I will be posting daily during this time. The basic details are below and more specific details on each category are found further down in the email.
Wellness is not a competition. It is a journey into feeling better and giving your body what it needs so you can do the fun things you want to do.
See the challenge below.
Dietary:
1) Get 6 servings of vegetables per day and 2 should be from cruciferous vegetables.
2) Get 2 servings of fruit per day.
3) Get 1 serving of beans or lentils each day.
4) Eliminate sugar and ultra-processed foods*
5) Eliminate dairy*
6) Eliminate alcohol*
7) Get at least 64 ounces of fluid per day. You may need 2 times that on hot days when you are outside and sweating.
Exercise
1) 3 days per week do the following strength exercises:
60 pushups
60 bicycle crunches
90 air squats
60 hip lifts
60 alternate arm leg raises
60 DB overhead presses
60 DB bent over rows.
2) On 2 other days do any cardio you want for 30 or more minutes.
Sleep
Get 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
Gratitude
Each day, think of and write down 3 things for which you are grateful.
Regarding anything in this challenge, take precaution to follow any guidelines set forth by your physician, physical therapist, dietitian or chiropractor so that you are doing what is best for you. If you are not currently exercising, it may be recommended that you get medical clearance before starting.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that people at moderate risk for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) undergo a medical examination prior to starting a vigorous exercise program. People are considered moderate risk for CVD if they have two or more cardiovascular risk factors. Risk factors are smoking, family history, inactive, overweight, type II diabetic, and high blood pressure.
The ACSM also recommends that persons at high risk for CVD undergo a medical examination and diagnostic exercise testing before beginning either a moderate-intensity or a vigorous-intensity exercise program. People are considered at high risk for CVD if they they have symptoms like chest pain, dizziness or shortness of breath or have known cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, or renal disease. So if you have any of these issues, please see your physician for clearance to participate in an exercise plan. Otherwise, start easy and progress as tolerated.
Dietary:
Focus on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and lean protein sources for most of your calories. Be intentional and smart about your diet.
**If you have special dietary concerns like gluten free or food sensitivity, or specific dietary guidelines from your physician or dietitian, follow those guidelines related to you and from your medical team. Otherwise as part of the recommendations above, do the following:
Eat 6 or more servings of vegetables each day- at least 2 from cruciferous vegetables. These vegetables include: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, arugula, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, collards, and radishes to name a few.
A serving is a ½ cup to a cup of most vegetables. I would go ahead and shoot for a cup in most cases. Salad lettuces and other leafy greens are 1.5 – 2 cups. You can’t go wrong getting 2 cups or more of these.
Fruit servings are generally ½ cup or a medium size fruit. Focus on getting more berries in your routine. There are many great fruits to choose from. Eliminate fruit juice.
Eat 1 serving of beans, lentils or other legumes per day. A ½ cup is a serving.
Eliminate sugar for 30 days. This includes high fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners except for stevia. You can do it. (If there is a special occasion, birthday, anniversary, wedding, etc., have a serving of dessert and enjoy.
All other days, eliminate sugar and high fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners. A tsp or 2 of local honey or real maple syrup are ok occasionally in tea, coffee or oatmeal maybe.
Special occasions and dessert are part of happiness and wellness, so enjoy and do not feel guilty about this type of sugar intake. The problem with sugar is that it is added to so many things, and we treat ourselves with sweets too often. This amount of sugar is creating problems with our health.
Have fun, but do your best to eliminate daily intake of sugar. Read labels as sugar is added to so many pre-made foods.
Skip ultra-processed foods. This would include any type of prepared food with flour and or sugar and other sweeteners, plus other foods like chips, crackers, cookies, pastas, most breakfast cereals, most breads, (a serving of real sourdough bread or real whole wheat bread is ok) cereal bars, ice cream, etc. Something that is 100% whole wheat is acceptable if you are not sensitive to gluten. This is just for 30 days, you can do this.
Drink 64 or more fluid ounces per day. Unsweetened tea, coffee, and water should be your primary beverages. Coffees and other specialty drinks with sugar should be avoided.
Eliminate or greatly minimize alcohol. I recommend eliminating alcohol on most days during this challenge but if you do partake, limit to 2 drinks.
Eliminate dairy except for kefir or plain Greek yogurt, unsweetened. You could substitute goat milk products for dairy if desired. The biggest concerns people have regarding dairy are vitamin D and calcium.
You can get vitamin D from sun exposure with 10-30 minutes of sun exposure 3-4 times per week. The best time to get exposure is noon. Three 10 minute sessions is an effective way as opposed to 30 minutes at one time. Make sure you do not get sunburned and if longer exposure is expected, use the recommended sun screen. Follow the advice of your dermatologist or physician related to sun exposure.
So get outside several times per day for a few minutes.
Also, you can get Calcium from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli so do not worry about calcium. Take a multi-vitamin if you are concerned.
Regarding whole grains and protein sources, just eat what you normally eat. Eat rice, barley, oatmeal (not the instant style), farro, etc. Eat poultry, beef, fish and be aware of your portion sizes. 3-5 ounces is a typical serving. Choose humanely treated, pasture raised and organic when possible with no added hormones or antibiotics.
Exercise
Do 60 pushups, 60 bicycle crunches, 90 air squats, 60 hip lifts, 60 alternate arm leg raises, 60 DB overhead presses, 60 bent over DB rows. 3 days per week. Break these up in as many sets as you want. These exercises will be demonstrated in a post on my entirelyfit Facebook page.
I will be breaking my reps for most exercises into 3 sets of 20 reps. For the squats I will do 3 sets of 30.
As the 30 days progresses, the goal is to increase the reps per set as tolerated and minimize the number of sets you perform.
If you have not been exercising regularly it is recommended that you get medical clearance before starting a routine.
*If you are already on a regular strength program, continue your program if you prefer. The main thing is that you are doing strength / resistance exercises.
If you have any medical limitations or if any of the exercises bother a joint or previous injury, either skip or modify with another exercise for that muscle group. Feel free to contact me with ideas.
Alternate days- do any cardio session you want. Aim for a minimum of 30 minutes. Walk, run, walk-run combo, paddleboard, bicycle, or do any other type of cardio you prefer.
Practice the downward dog yoga stretch daily and if this is a difficult stretch for you as it is for me, practice them on the stairs. I will demonstrate in one of my posts. This is good for low back and hamstring flexibility. We sit too much and our low back and hamstrings suffer because of this.
Try sitting on the floor for 10 minutes once per day instead of the sofa or recliner. This practice will help to improve hip, hamstring and low back flexibility and mobility.
Sleep
Sleep is quickly becoming one of the most (if not the most) important health behavior for long term wellness. Sleep deprivation is related to brain health, mental health associated with anxiety and depression, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, weight control, and a host of other illnesses.
If you have good sleep, keep it up. If you do not, try these holistic steps below first and see a sleep professional if it does not improve.
Go to bed and get up at the same time each day.
Sleep in a dark, cooler room.
Clear your head before you go to bed by thinking of the most important tasks for the next day.
Think about what you accomplished today.
Turn off screens 1 hour before bed.
Do not drink alcohol or any other beverage 2 hours before bedtime. Beverages will increase the likelihood that you will have to get up and pee. Alcohol, while it may seem like it will relax you and help you sleep, really interferes significantly with deep sleep. The deep sleep cycle is one of the most important periods in sleep.
Practice box breathing for 2-4 minutes after lying down. Box breathing involves an inhale for a 4 count, hold for 4, exhale for 4 and hold for 4 and repeat this for 2-4 minutes. Box breathing is associated with helping to fall asleep.
One way to know how much sleep you need is to pick 3 or 4 days in a row (probably including a weekend) and go to bed at the same time each night and do not set an alarm. See what time you wake up naturally. This is one way to get an idea of how much sleep you need.
If you snore or suspect that you have sleep apnea or other sleep issues, seek professional help. If you have body fat that you need to lose, make it a priority and this may have a profound effect on your sleep.
Gratitude
With everything going on in the world today it is easy to be affected negatively by the 24 hour news cycle. One strategy to find balance and to not get brought down by this is to journal about things for which you are grateful.
Another thing is to realize that we have very little if any control over most of the bad news we hear about every day.
We can just control how we react to the news. We choose our mindset in every situation. It is not always easy to be happy and grateful, but again, that is a choice. Be the best person you can be, take care of yourself and those loved ones around you and do the right thing all of the time.
Practice gratitude daily. Think of 3 things each day for which you are grateful. There are literally countless things for which we can be grateful. There are the easy ones like our health, our family, our friends, our jobs, where you live, etc.
As you develop a gratitude practice though, it forces you to be aware of the little things in your life that make you happy. Simple things like seeing a box turtle or your favorite bird become things for which you are grateful.
Your individual circumstances will open up countless things that bring you happiness, joy and peace in your daily routine. Sometimes even what seem like negative things will turn into something positive.
I heard a phrase the other day coined by a guy that had been given 4 months to live due to a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. The phrase was “live wide”. In his case, sense all of a sudden he was told he was not going to live long, he chose to live wide. I think you get what he meant, but basically it was to get the most out of the life that he had.
I challenge you to live wide every day.
If we all choose to start each day with a mindset of helping others, self care, gratitude for the things we have, and to be present in the moment as often as we can, our lives will have more meaning. This can have a profound effect on how we go through each day and how we treat others and react in all situations.
The whole idea of this challenge is to give you a focus in a few areas of wellness for 30 days, and to give an opportunity to break up your routine and do something new and challenging.
Enjoy. This is for fun. If you screw up one day, the challenge doesn’t end, just get back on track the next day. Go easy on yourself.
Reach out to me if you have any questions. Go to my Facebook page and see the details.
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Keep trying to be entirelyfit.