Great stuff guys! I think this could turn out to be pretty fun and challenging.
One note: The goals like, "I want to weigh X pounds and run X miles" is great for motivation, but I won't be using those. For the contest, I'll be using the "Exercise 4 times a week" type goals, as that's the type of thing that will get you to X pounds over time.
You're right I need a minimum, I'll start with cardio 4 days a week for 45 minutes a day.
<Mr Burns>Excelleeent</Mr Burns>
I need to put on some muscle, so I'll commit to doing wall-sits, twisty-half-situps* and push-ups every day until 2010.
Sounds good. Have you thought about adding leg lunges to the mix? They would make a fine addition to your routine.
Goals (don't laugh - I said I was wimpy):
Drink only two cans of soda a day
Eat at least one serving of fruit/vegetable a day
Continue to walk at least a mile with my husband 3 or more times a week.
Do some kind of crunches every day for . . . I'll start with five minutes and add a few more minutes each week
No one is laughing - those sound like admirable starting goals. I do recommend you make it a 5 day a week on the crunches thing. 7 days a week doesn't allow much room for error or rest.
If you want to challenge yourself a bit more down the line, you can always add other types of abdomen exercises. I did that a long time ago, and it was really satisfying to see the difference after being consistent after 2 months.
My goal would then be to resume my 3x/week schedule I had going before and stick to it, less a few unavoidable exceptions such as illness, injury, and absence. Keeping the pace for 6 straight months would be quite the feat for me.
I think 6 straight months will be a feat for everyone participating in this thread. Those sound like solid goals to me - that's enough to build some muscle at least.
And of course there will be leeway for illness and injury. All I really expect is some sort of communication so that I know you are still trying and just had a setback.
I want to continue my exercise schedule- Run 3 days a week, 1 day soccer, 1 day volleyball (which will switch to hockey in October).
Sounds pretty challenging! Soccer is a great workout - tons of sprinting.
Oh yeah, to make things interesting and more challenging, I'm going to throw in some dietary goals to lose some weight as well. I already have the no junk-food, no sweets, no added sugar, no wheat, lots of water and walking thing going on but I want to make the healthy meals more regular = 3 full meals and 2 snacks a day.
Between that and the yoga that sounds pretty worthwhile and challenging to me. No junk food and sweets over 6 months isn't very reasonable, though, especially since we have the holidays coming up at the end of the year.
May I suggest that you allow yourself a bit of leeway? Unless you know yourself well enough to know that one cheat will ruin your efforts, at least.
goals-
take a class at the gym four times a week and burn at least 600 calories per class.
elliptical (at home) at least 30 minutes four times a week. calorie burn at least 200.
cut back on sugar.
drink more water.
class schedule-
monday- muscle class at 6:30 pm
tuesday- cycle at 8:30 am
wednesday- boot camp class 10:00 am
thursday- muscle class at 9:30 am
I like those goals. Getting involved with a class is a good idea. How long is the class?
Alright
My Super Epic Goals (The Minimums)
10 push ups a day
30 sit ups
4 sets of 4 lunges on each leg (total of 32, 16 for each leg)
Walk more. 30 minutes?
More water/tea minusing sugar.
Incorporate even more pilates, to not bulk up on muscle. Ew.
Sounds good! Although by now you may know my stance on doing exercise every day. Rest is good, and so is room to error. Might I suggest 5 days a week? You can always still do 7 days on your own, but consider 5 the minimum.