Today marks the first day of my participation in the 2013 Cross River Fitness Challenge. Although I live in Spring Lake, attended Spring Lake Public Schools, and will always be a Laker (including Grand Valley State University), I have joined the ranks of the White Pines Middle School (Grand Haven Area Public Schools) team as an employee participating in the 10-week challenge.
My "weekend warrior" approach to fitness was no different this past weekend as a prelude to this coming attraction. I spent nearly 90 minutes at the gym on Saturday and then ran 4.2 miles outdoors on Sunday. I have learned that burning a minimum of 2000 calories per week in physical activity is important to maintaining a healthy me. My weekend efforts generated nearly half of those calories.
So what goals do I have in mind for the next 10 weeks? Well, I am pressing toward a goal of 350 outdoor running miles this year and that will obviously be incorporated into the master plan. However, following the health assessment for this challenge, I discovered that strength training might help me reduce my percentage of body fat and my BMI. So, it looks like I will be doing more than cardio-related workouts this winter.
I freaked when I woke up this morning and discovered the air temperature was just above 20 degrees. I decided that I would wait until after school to work out at the Spring Lake Community Fitness and Aquatic Center. With a commitment to lose over 60-pounds four years ago, I discovered that a membership at such a facility is vital to continued maintenance efforts of weight management. It also allows me to incorporate some cross-training beyond running and cycling when Michigan weather is more friendly.
For those of you reading today and members of a team participating in the challenge: let the games begin!
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