As we slide quickly from January into February it’s easy to let the goals we set for ourselves just a few shorts weeks ago get pushed to the back of our minds and the bottom of our priority list. We get busy with life and time for ourselves isn’t any easier to come by than it was last year.
Instead of getting complacent and letting our health and fitness goals be a side thought, we will stay motivated each day by making purposeful strides towards time for exercise and self care!
When I am pacing a training run or race, we often do a run/walk. We’ll run for a set amount of time then walk for a set amount of time for the entire workout. This interval is meant to give our heart, lungs and legs a short recovery, then it’s time to get moving again. The result should be a solid run where you feel good at the end.
With a run/walk it’s easy to let your walk portion slow down to a crawl. This is where a lot of people go wrong with this method. In order to be successful, each stride must be purposeful no matter if you are running or walking. Walk too slow and easy and your overall average pace will suffer. Run too slow during the during the run portion and you won’t make up the time, run too fast and you’ll out of gas before the end. Our effort during both the run and walk intervals must be purposeful!
It’s the same with our workouts! If we go hard all the time, we will burn out. But if our effort is too easy, or we slack off when we need to be staying on track, we won’t see the results we want.
For February, we are committing to being purposeful every day and staying motivated to reach our goals! Some days will be purposefully easy and restful. Others will be tough and might push us to our limits. Know in advance what your day will include and tackle the day with purpose!
Our February Strength Calendar is pretty awesome and I can’t wait to get started! Along with the killer workout month, I have also signed up for the Moms on the Run MOTRvate28 Challenge which will give me some accountability with my eating habits. My diet is all over the place so I am excited to put this together with a great month of workouts and get off those lingering holiday pounds! Learn more about the MOTRvate28 Challenge below.
MOTRvate28 Challenge
This 28 day challenge is open to EVERYONE! You do not have to be a member of Moms on the Run or go to MOTR classes to join in the fun and win prizes!
MOTRvate28 is a Moms on the Run 28 day healthy lifestyle challenge for February that includes points for cardio, strength, no sweets, eating our fruits and veggies, self care like rolling and stretching and even points for getting a good night’s sleep! Add up your points and post on the Moms on the Run National Facebook page each week and you will receive a prize pack at the end of the month!
It’s not too late. Sign up for MOTRvate28 today!
February 2019 Challenge: Stay Motivated
Our challenge this month is to stay motivated and on track with our workouts, our eating habits and our self care. Self care will be a bigger focus this again month! I have slacked off on talking about rolling and stretching lately and that’s about to change! I really want to see y’all spending some quality time with your rollers and yoga mats. Let’s get back to stretching and rolling consistently throughout the week. Each time you post with stretching and/or rolling tag your post with #selfcare. At the end of the month, I will look up how many #selfcare tags we have and maybe even give away a prize. Hmmmm…I know I can come up with something good! 🙂
We are adding a Gym element as a bonus to our February Challenge. This is an add on but a good one! If you have access to a gym or a barbell weight set 2x per week you can add in this short routine and see some even bigger results in your strength. If you don’t have access, please don’t worry or feel like February isn’t going to be awesome because it is! Our workout calendar is very strong on its own and if you stay motivated with me this month we are all going to be feeling really great at the end of February!
Our February 2019 Challenge Calendar with the months schedule of workouts plus all the links you need for the month’s exercises and routines can be found on our Strong to the Core Members Only Page. A link to this page can be found in our “announcements” at the top of our members only Strong to the Core private Facebook page.
Strong to the Core Membership and Guidelines
As we continue to grow and add more amazing people to our #CoreCrew family, it’s important to remember that this is a strength group. Strong to the Core is about motivating each other to get stronger!
Most of us are runners, but strength is the #1 goal of our group and you don’t have to be a runner to benefit from Strong to the Core. You can walk, ride, swim…whatever makes your heart and body happy you belong here…as long as you are also working on your strength! 🙂
To keep our #CoreCrew family focused on strength this year, we are adding a couple simple STTC guidelines. You do not have to post everyday…but when you do post, it MUST include some kind of strength work. If you post, “I went for a run today” or I didn’t do anything today” but include no strength work and I see it, it will be deleted. I am adding this because lately I’ve seen too posts that only include a run or other cardio workout. Going for a run or bike ride is awesome and I love seeing you being active, but there are so many groups where we can post a run and get tons of accolades. That’s not what Strong to the Core is meant for. If you go for a run but don’t do your strength, it doesn’t “count” for STTC so don’t post it. If you go for a run then do your Standard Core workout or get in some great hip and glute work, then post away! If you got in a plank and a wall sit on an off day then post it! If you took time for yourself on an active recovery day and did one of our Yoga for Runners routines or our 7 Key stretches for Runners then post it! If you don’t do anything…don’t post that you did nothing. That is not motivating to anyone! In fact, it gives others a reason to do nothing too!
Our monthly strength calendar, workout guides and videos and self care routines are for Strong to the Core members only. If you’re not a member of Strong to the Core but know you need to add strength to stay healthy, injury free and run longer and stronger click here for info on how to join.
Strong to the Core Guidelines:
- Posts on private group must include strength. No Posts with Only Cardio – Post your workout only when you have done your strength work for the day. This doesn’t mean you can’t post inspiring stories or messages, races you want others to know about, or fun memes to give us a laugh. And you may post your running stats once you have completed your strength! If you got in a run but didn’t do any strength work…post it somewhere else. 🙂 If you do post with just a run or “I didn’t do anything today” I will delete it without warning and I won’t feel bad about it. 😉
- Always be positive and supportive – Any posts or comments that are negative or demeaning will be deleted (this rarely happens with our #CoreCrew family!)
- STTC Monthly Challenge Winner – In order to be considered for the monthly Challenge Winner medal, you must post consistently, be positive and supportive of other members and be making purposeful strides towards your goals. Our monthly winner is always active in our group and motivates others to reach their goals too!
Thank you for continuing to be a part of our Strong to the Core family!
Remember that when the going gets tough, the tough get tougher. If something doesn’t go your way…if you don’t hit that goal race time or you pick something up and it’s heavy….it doesn’t mean you can’t run that PR, it doesn’t mean you can’t lift it….
It just means you need to get stronger.
Strong to the Core 