The holiday party invitations are rolling in. December is just around the corner, and every weekend is already booked solid with merriment and celebration. The CAC 30-Day Challenge is just what I need to keep me on track so I’ll be strong enough to fend off the gym resolutionists come 2013.
If you haven’t yet seen the details, here’s the rundown. Once again, Chicago Athletic Clubs is challenging us members to hit the gym every day until 12/24. The more frequently you work out between 11/24 and 12/24, the better chance you have of scoring an awesome prize. If you go 30 consecutive days, you could get a free month, $50 credit, and 5 guest pases. There are other prizes for 20-29 visits throughout the month.
These last couple months of the year are when I need the de-stressing benefits of exercise the most, but I feel like working out the least. Everywhere I turn, there’s a sugary holiday treat or festive cocktail begging to be my friend. Holiday shopping, travel arrangements, and work are especially hectic, and a lot of the time I’d rather not add another thing to my to-do list and just skip the gym.
And for all those reasons, I loved this challenge last year. Even if I could only squeeze in a couple miles on the treadmill or a 30-minute class, I never regretted the extra gym time. Plus, the challenge forced me to break away from my usual gym routine. I typically don’t make it in on the weekends, but this pushed me to try new classes and instructors.
This year, I am going to try to use this challenge again as an opportunity to make it to more new classes. Yoga has slipped out of my routine because I haven’t prioritized it in the past few months, so I am also going to challenge myself to make it to two yoga classes a week. And there are plenty of other classes I have never tried before that could be interesting. Last Saturday, I attended a body bar class, which gave me the opportunity to try some new moves and get in some dreaded ab work (I never feel passionate enough about crunches to do them on my own).
Although I can’t make it for 30 whole days because I’ll be out of town one weekend at the end of the challenge, I am going to try for the second place prize. If you work out 27-29 days, you could win $50 credit and 5 guest passes. I already picked out how I would spend my credit: towards a massage at LPAC! After the holiday season and all this extra exercise, I will definitely be ready to take advantage of it.
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Betsy Mikel | betsymikel.com
