JUST DO 10!
by Jennifer Mahone
We are so very excited to be Announcing our Newest Campaign Challenge! JUST DO 10!
Just a few years ago you would never see our family doing any substantial exercise besides racing through a theme park. That was our occasional burst of energy and often times it didn’t matter much because we were still indulging in the delicious (not so healthy) theme park foods. It was a positive turned negative. Plus…the energy alone was not there and we later found out that our complaint for being grumpy was actually this new term called “hangry”.
So what did we do? We ate whatever we could get our hands on in that moment of distress!
But were we really in distress? Not at all. We were overweight and out of shape and each time we felt there was no way we could possibly keep going on. We blamed our energy level on the (what we thought was fact) reasoning that we must just be out of fuel and it was time to eat. It was a never-ending cycle.
Many people including us have been trained this way our entire life.
So we decided it was time for a change and it needed to be a family effort for all of us. And who doesn’t love accountability and fun?! Right!
For almost 2 years we have been on this mission to better ourselves and move forward. We joined an Amazing Family at Palm Beach Fit Body Boot Camp, learned so much and changed our eating habits for good. It has not been easy but so very rewarding and constantly a learning process. The learning never ends!
Which is what brings this Challenge from US to YOU!
Our family here at Expressions of Destiny is challenging YOU to JUST DO 10! with US.
I first began this challenge with my daughters as a way to keep us active throughout the day. We started off by setting aside 2 days a week to have exercise time together. Although it was a great idea and we still do it, we found ourselves often times having to rearrange the schedule for other outings we had to plan and so forth. So one day we thought:
“What if we set an alarm for every hour from 8am-8pm and EVERY SINGLE hour we stop what we’re doing and do 10 of whatever exercise we choose?”
That first day I chose pushups and the girls decided to jump rope. It didn’t matter what we were doing, if that alarm went off we dropped whatever we were doing and started doing our chosen exercise. And it only took a minute at most. By the end of the day we added up the amount of reps we had done and the total was an AMAZING 120! And let me just tell you that I can’t stand pushups…Lol!
The greatest part about it is that it kept us moving consistently throughout the day and our energy level was amazing. We felt good about our accomplishment! Considering that I will often sit for at least 2-3 hours at a time writing, I was excited that this new challenge had forced me to get up and move even if just for a few minutes.
Consider this:
It is recommended that people take at minimum 10,000 steps a day. This often caused me to become somewhat obsessed with my Fitbit. I was always looking to see how many more steps I needed to reach my goal and if I didn’t reach it then I either felt like I completely failed for the day OR I would quickly walk through the home trying to rack up as many extra steps as I could.
So many people have the same dilemma when they are expected to sit for hours on end at a job all day. Often this goal can seem so unattainable. Not that its not attainable but notice I said “It can seem” unattainable.
On top of the fact that we have been sitting for most of the day, we then try to get up and get moving and our joints are stiff and sore because they have not been utilized. Our bodies need movement and that movement helps our joints stay healthy.
If we commit to stand up at least once every hour on the hour, we spark the ignition in our bodies to kick start this amazing engine that was created to help us run at our greatest potential.
I challenge you to choose 1 specific exercise every day to perform every single hour on the hour and see the difference it makes, whether big or small, in your life.
This may be a starting point for some and a continuation for others but either way it will be a great benefit for all!
How can you implement it where you are?
There are 3 main groups we focus on:
FAMILY – This is such a fun way to get the whole family involved. We literally all got up from the dinner table the other night to do our 10! Why? Because it only took 15-20 seconds to do and we all kind of giggled about it as we did it. Love those moments! And let me just say…the times we have been out at a store and the alarm goes off are the best! We laugh the whole time while we’re trying to find the best spot to do our 10 without too much of an audience. It’s quite hilarious! Especially if someone does catch you off guard. I’m still waiting for someone to ask me what it is that I’m doing. Oh Man! And I can’t wait for the day when someone actually joins in to do it with us! That would be Epic! If you get caught in an awkward position and your alarm is going off in the middle of a store VIDEO IT! And please SHARE IT with us on our FACEBOOK or tag us on INSTAGRAM! We would love to see how you’re inspiring others to JUST DO 10! We will be sharing ours as well!!!
CORPORATE WORLD – This group has it hard. Day in and day out the majority of Americans spend most of their hours at a desk. And although some of them do exercise on a regular basis this still poses a problem to both the active and not-so-active. First of all, those who are not as active don‘t really see any type of movement in their day except for an occasional stroll to the car and back, to lunch or down the hall. More and more people are starting to take walks on their breaks but often times that hype dies down when the first few months of the new year has passed. Others who are active with gym time and regular walks/jogs still spend a huge amount of their day in consistent NON-Movement time. This can cause joint stiffness or pain for some. You can relate this to gears in a clock that have not been oiled quite enough. It just won’t turn right without causing some type of friction.
I challenge you to take 1 minute at the start of each hour to commit to getting up and JUST DO 10! That’s all it takes. And think…you may just inspire an entire company to move just a little more each day. It has been proven that more movement in our daily work creates better productivity within a company.
So if you are a Team Leader, Administrator, Supervisior or the Big Boss…I encourage you to Challenge your Team to JUST DO 10! You just might see an increase in every area, including the physical and mental health of your team.
Here are some simple ways to get moving at work. Some were also quite funny (like #10…The Silent Seat Squeeze Lol) but why not have a good laugh while your getting active.
Deskercise! 33 Smart Ways to Exercise at Work at https://greatist.com/fitness/deskercise-33-ways-exercise-work
- SCHOOLS – I read a great quote the other day by Rae Pica, Author of “What if Everybody Understood Childhood Development?” Her main focus is on the importance of movement in and outside of the classroom. If you would like to read the entire article HERE at http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/20180130/education-speaker-defends-recess-physical-learning
This is the part that stood out to me though…
“I don’t know why we associate sitting with learning,” Pica said. “I think, at this point, it’s a matter of, ‘This is the way it’s always been done,’ and that’s not a good enough reason for anything. … We know that moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, the kind that gets the breathing and the heart rate up a little, delivers oxygen, water and glucose to the brain. This is brain food. We would never consider not feeding our body for days, weeks, months, years at a time, but when we don’t get that vigorous activity, we’re depriving our brain of brain food.”
I can’t even express to you how much I completely agree with that statement. If we could get our children up and moving, especially with the demand of so much standardized testing, we would see a world of a difference in the performance and grades of our children. Once again that engine gets sparked and they begin to run on that much needed fuel. There have been studies that show that “children who are more active exhibit better focus, faster cognitive processing, and more successful memory retention than kids who spend the day sitting still. Keeping the body active promotes mental clarity by increasing blood flow to the brain, making activity vital to both learning and physical and neurological health.” To read more visit https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2017/08/08/learning-in-motion-bring-movement-back-to.html
I want to Challenge all the teachers and administrators out there to JUST DO 10! in your classrooms and across your campus. Just try it for a week and see how your children respond to the 10 reps of exercise at the beginning of each hour. Use it as a moment to get up and stretch. Allow the kiddos to create the schedule of exercises and JUST DO 10! together as a class. If you are concerned about it becoming a distraction, use this as an opportunity to present to them an incentive that can be taken away if they lose focus on the work that follows. The most important point here is to be able to implement movement into their day by promoting healthy activities for both them and you.
So Here Are The RULES
- Say “I can and will do this!” (because really…by you deciding to do it, you’re gonna help change so many other lives)
- Set an alarm for every single hour from 8am-8pm
- Pick your exercise for the day and stick with it (Ie: Monday-Pushups, Tuesday-Squats, Wednesday…..)
- Every time that alarm goes off DROP everything your doing and JUST DO 10! (Seriously! Drop EVERYTHING! It will only
take 15-20 seconds) - Invite anyone and everyone to join you (It makes it that much more fun!)
- Get a good nights rest (at least 8hrs)
- Wake up and REPEAT! New exercise though 🙂
And thats it! JOIN US on this CHALLENGE to JUST DO 10!