Welcome to the Challenge!!

Hello and welcome to the Springtime Showdown Fitness Challenge blog! This is a place where you can see the progress made by participants in this challenge, and perhaps play long with your own group of family and friends. Before I get to the challenge, I thought I'd share a bit about how it came about.

A few weeks ago I decided that I'd been allowing myself to indulge a bit too much, and that, despite my own fairly successful fitness program, I needed a bit of a boost. Knowing full well the many benefits of the support from friends and family, I decided to challenge my friend Rafael to join me. Rafael then suggested we open the challenge to anyone else interested in participating. So far we've received responses from about 7-10 people which is far more than I anticipated would want to join us. As a personal trainer, this type of interest and cameraderie is truly inspiring.

The purpose of this 12-week challenge is to see how well each of the participants can integrate a variety of lifestyle changes into his or her normal routine. Rafael and I thought long and hard about what should be tested and we have come up with a program that I believe encompasses a well-rounded lifestyle. From exercise to meditation to healthy eating, this challenge runs the gamut of a holistic fitness and wellness program (please see the "Springtime Showtime Challenge Details" post for the exact nature of the challenge).

In the coming weeks, Rafael, some of the other participants and I will document our progress as well as our struggles within this blog. A large part of this blogging process is that it acts as a motivator and increases accountability amongst the group. Another aspect of it is to show others that making healthy lifestyle choices is a feasible endeavor and that amazing results can be yielded with a bit of willpower, informed decisions and a whole lot of heart.

The unique part of this challenge is that each person is starting from a different level in the various challenges. What might be a simple augmentation for one might prove difficult for another. Though each is competing with the other for a "grand prize," we have all decided to support one another no matter what. This is what makes the group dynamic so special.

I hope you find this process as inspiring as I hope it will be. Please do continue to check back over the next 12 weeks and share with us this journey into a healthy and fulfilling life.