Two viewers accepted our 30 day fitness and health challenge

We put out the call for two viewers who were looking for some help reaching their health and fitness goals in the new year, and Patricia and Amy accepted our challenge! We've paired them up with dietician Nishta Saxena, and fitness expert Heather Wilson-Philips to complete 30 days of workouts paired with a nutrition plan to encourage a healthier approach to eating. 

Heather put together a comprehensive workout calendar that has both women completing six cycles of exercises - four days on, one day off - over the next 30 days. Each workout day they'll complete 5 sets of strength training exercises, followed by a burst of cardio. You can check out their workout calendar here. 

Their workouts build in intensity over the 30 days, but the best part is that it involves very little equipment, which means it's easier for them to fit in a workout whenever they can. If they don't have dumbbells on hand, laundry soap containers or large bottles of water can do the trick! It's all about finding a way to fit fitness into their current lifestyle in order to make it stick.

Some exercise days are easier than others, and some days they may find they have more energy, so completeing a routine twice is totally possible since they're fairly short in duration. 

Most of their exercises are also customizable and can be modified as they build strength so they can avoid injury. Slowly but surely, their strength and endurance will increase. 

If you're following your own fitness routine, Heather has a few tips that can help everyone get the most out of their workouts:

• Take a rest day as indicated - your body needs that time to repair the muscles
• Make sure you wear proper running shoes or sneakers that will give you the support you need during your workout
• Have a stopwatch or clock close by so you can time certain exercises where indicated and to ensure that you are not resting to long in between sets
• You may also want an exercise mat to perform some of the exercise on the floor
• Choose a time of day as your set time to get your workout in (i.e. waking up earlier first thing before work or the kids get up)
• Ensure you get a good night’s rest, so that you’re refreshed and ready for your workout the next day (7-8 hrs.)
• Always have lots of water with you to ensure you stay hydrated. However, you only want to sip on the water during your workout.  You can drink as much as you want the moment you’re done
• Play music in the background if you need to, to help keep your energy levels up during the workout
• Keep a journal, track how you’re feeling each day, what changes are happening, how are you feeling, what are you noticing about yourself?
• Make sure that you stretch after every single workout, it will make all the difference for the next day
• Whenever you’re feeling sore soak in a bath of Epson Salts or take a cold shower

Fitness activities shown and nutritional advice will not be suitable for everyone. Consult with your physician or other health care professional before starting any fitness or nutritional program to determine if it is right for you.  For exercise, this is particularly true if you (or your family) has a history of high blood pressure or heart disease, if you are pregnant, have exercised induced asthma, recent head injury, current ongoing physical injury or have ever experienced chest pain when exercising or in the past month, if you smoke, are obese, have high cholesterol, etc…  Nutritional suggestions are not appropriate for people under 22 years old, people who are over 75 years old, individuals with kidney disease or women who are pregnant or lactating.  The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.