Coffee Talk #146: Planks and Positive Affirmations Challenge

It’s Tuesday! Grab your cup and let’s start chattin’.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that last week’s Shore Fit Explore Orientation went so well. I curated a series of fit activities for new first-year students (I had 12 total): HIIT barre, kayaking, a healthy living talk on the importance of sleep, zip lining, kickboxing, yoga, and SUP yoga. It was a long short few days of “season 3.” I’m glad to be able to use my coordination skills and fitness expertise to share these experiences with new students.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’m gearing up for tonight’s volunteer meet-up for my position with Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. I’m putting on one of my many other professional hats to host Volunteer Meet-Up at Cult Classic Brewing Company — we’re IN NEED of amazing individuals like you to inspire future generations. If you can’t come tonight, consider attending the September 13 Kent County Volunteer Training. This will gear you up to volunteer in the classrooms at Kent County High School for our programming, working with high school students on their future success. Of course, this means that I also had to cancel my class this evening, BUT stay tuned for the announcement of a NEW class coming your way.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’m ready for my YTT training to begin! I’m sharing the full experience on my yogi insta page, but I’m sure I’ll also share tidbits and musings here.

If we were having coffee together today, I’d tell you that I’m gearing up to offer another FREE challenge on facebook. I get requests for simple challenges all the time, and this one is near and dear to my heart. The goal behind this challenge is to build strength — core strength but also mental strength. Instead of just a physical challenge, I’ve been leaning toward offering challenges that also expand the mind. My goal as a fitness professional is to teach and boost confidence in my clients. I do this by offering a huge variety of classes to get people moving, and by creating content meant to inspire and motivate. This challenge takes us to the next level. Improve your planks AND your mind.

Planks and Positive Affirmations Challenge

How it works:

1. Join the facebook group.
2. Print or save the planks and affirmations guide.
3. Make a commitment to show up every single day for this challenge.
4. Share with friends! This is free and anyone can join.

We will start the physical challenge with a timed plank on Day 1 – see how long you can hold your plank! The goal for the physical side is to improve your time.

If you have a plank <3o seconds, you will follow the plan as it is written. If you have between 30 seconds and 1 minute, you will double the plan. If you have more than 1 minute, you will triple the plan.

You could do this two ways if you are doubling or tripling the plan: 1) hold the plank at one time for the full amount of time 2) take a break in between sets. I recommend option 2, as this will help you build your overall plank endurance.

For the wellness/mental side, I want you to say the positive affirmation out loud to yourself, as many times as you need it throughout the day. I highly recommend trying it in front of a mirror. Look into your eyes as you make these affirmations.

I hope you will join! This is for EVERYONE. We use the group to post our progress, and to share inspiring thoughts and ideas with each other. You are not alone. We are doing this together. It’s more fun together!