Just because it’s August doesn’t mean summer’s over and you shove your bathing suit in a drawer along with your fitness hopes and dreams. Vida Fitness has got you covered with its first-ever Glow Up Challenge, a free, open-to-everyone (not just members) month-long challenge that has six components, including nutrition, workouts, mindfulness exercises, weekly personal assessments, and an element of ~community~ through a Facebook group. The primarily-online challenge starts August 6, and here’s what to expect:
Nutrition
Vida Fitness registered dietician Addie Claire will share super-food recipes for dishes such as sweet potato egg bake and seared tuna stir fry. She’ll also provide a handy grocery list, taking that whole no excuses thing to another level.
Fitness
At the core of the Glow Up Challenge fitness component is progress, not weight loss. Vida instructor Shawn Morris has designed a workout program that gradually gets harder, with plans ranging from stretching to total-body circuits using free weights. The workouts can be done at your gym or at home.
Events
Beginning August 8, meet at Vida Fitness Gallery Place for a bootcamp with Vida certified personal trainer Katie Cosper, which will be held indoors or outdoors depending on the weather on every Wednesday in August at 6 PM. Look out for other events at other Vida locations, including weekend open houses where you can work out and meet the instructors (stay tuned for time, date, and location).
Mindfulness
Reflect on that weekend scooter crash with that most intangible component of wellness: mindfulness. Vida yoga instructor Chris Parkison will teach meditation tips and breathing techniques to help you get your mind right. Each week will have different mental health exercises on the following themes: gratitude, patience, compassion, and forgiveness.
Weekly Personal Assessments
Pros know that tracking progress is the key to making progress, so each week you’ll write up what you ate and how many squats you did. There’s also a progressive fitness element: Each week you’ll track how long you can hold a plank and how many burpees you can do in a minute.
Community
Don’t worry, you don’t need to leave your living room to experience all the community feels. Hop on a private Facebook group to chat Glow Up with Claire, Parkison, Morris, and other participants for an outpouring of support and emojis. The instructors will offer tips and answer questions, and you can update peeps on your plank progress.
Starting August 6, each participant will receive a weekly email detailing that week’s workouts, recipes, grocery lists, and mindful exercises. Again, all of this is free and you do not have to belong to Vida. Participating Vida Fitness locations include City Vista, Gallery Place, Logan Circle, The Yards, and U Street. You can sign up here.
Kim Olsen ([email protected]) is a freelance writer in Alexandria.
