The Whole Life Challenge is a brand new way of looking at your life...your whole life.
This is an 8-week long "online social game", which gives attention to the various areas of our lives which play into our total health and wellness: nutrition, workouts, daily habits, body measurements, performance, and mindset. True change happens when ownership occurs - when we take responsibility for our decisions and choices. For the evolution to take place, the desire to change must be greater than the desire to stay the same.
We often feel tied up by our limitations, and find ourselves trying to blame the external world for our lack of progress. If only I had the money, or the time, or less responsibility, or fewer commitments, or... Life will always provide an excuse; the purpose of this challenge (and yes it will be a challenge...), is to expose those areas where our control seems to slip out of our grip. This challenge is designed to help you break free from what has limited you in the past.
During the next two months leading into the holidays, you will learn to take accountability for the results that you want. This isn't an 8- week starvation sentence that ends with you looking like an emaciated model and promptly returning to your old habits; it's a comprehensive dive into a new way of life. If you take this seriously, you will not only look and feel better, but you will perform better. Yes, the rules are pretty stringent! You will be asked to eat strict paleo and remember to take fish oil daily. You will need to log in daily and track your results. You will need to set a timer while you tackle your mobility issues. But attention to detail is everything. If results were easy...well, everyone would get them. If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you. But at the same time, this isn't just about getting a perfect score every day; it's about having to score each day to both know how effective you are and to be held accountable. Increasing your effectiveness over the course of the challenge is where it's at.
How the game is played:
*Your score will be 50% daily accountability tracking, 25% performance improvement, and 25% change in body measurements.
*Weekly challenges will released every Friday to give you "extra credit" points which you can use to catch up or cheat a bit.
*You will be measured in the beginning and at the end of the challenge to track your improvement - body measurements and physical performance.
*Every day you will be challenged to live by the following standards. By 3pm, you must enter your info for the previous day, to earn up to 6 points daily:
Nutrition - No grains or starches (including corn and soy), no sugar (artificial or natural), no alcohol, soda or juice, no dairy and no artificial or processed foods. You can earn up to 3 points maximum for each day of nutrition. Violate one of your rules and subtract 1 point. The lowest score you can get on any day is 0. Sound tough? It is. That's why it's called a challenge. Sexy ain't easy. A bit scared because you've never eaten this clean before? I bet you have never gotten results like this before either...
Workout - Every day. The rule is 10 minutes minimum, and you get to say if it was a workout for you. You will receive 1 point for working out.
Mobilization - Stretch daily, 10 minutes minimum. You can do this any way you want...foam roller, yoga, lacrosse ball, mobility class. You will receive 1 point for stretching/mobilizing. This, for a lot of us, is the element holding us back from progression.
Fish oil - Take a daily dose of fish oil. There is no minimum, but research suggests a 4000mg combination of EPA/DHA per day. I could go on for days about the benefits of fish oil, but I'll let you turn to Google if you are curious. Put the ibuprofen down, and pick the fish oil up.
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How to get started:
1. Register now HERE. Cost is $45, and includes access to the Whole Life Challenge WORLDWIDE online scoreboard. You can view scores within Paradigm as well as the CF world at large, chat and talk smack with your competition, and keep track of your performance. Anyone and everyone can register; friends and family are welcome to sign up through Paradigm CF, even if they are not a member.
2. Mark Saturday, Sep 15th on your calendar for the Prelims, when you will get started @ Paradigm during the morning classes.
3. Save Saturday, Nov 10th, for the Finals and post-challenge party @ Paradigm!
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Common Questions:
What about the dates coming up that I know I will be away from an ideal nutrition situation (i.e. a wedding, birthday, or holiday)?
-You can simply choose to take a "hit" that day with your points in this area. Perfection is not the goal here - accountability is. Better to miss some days and still get the benefit of the days that you can do well with, than to miss out on the results and opportunity completely.
If 50% of my score comes from personal reporting/honor system, won't people just cheat?
-Not really. And this is the beauty of the competition. Even if someone was to lie, which would be beyond lame since the whole point of the challenge is change, they cannot lie about change in body measurements. While there will be some Paradigm prizes given out, the real prize is the shift in way of life...which is deeply personal. You are not going to get rich off of this contest - which means that the person entering false information is completely missing the point. The benefit is only derived from using the accountability system in place, to actually form new personal habits - and there's no way to lie with that! Plus, Ronny and I have been doing this long enough to know when people are lying and full of crap.
Can't people just sandbag their performance in the Prelims?
-A little bit, but they will look really stupid. Plus, the potential for true and drastic performance change, from start to finish, is much greater than the ability to purposefully sandbag. If you take fish oil daily, eat right, mobilize, and train every day, your performance is going to skyrocket. The person who does this will improve their performance much more than the person who half-asses it on day #1 and then reports false daily performance points. Plus, that person is not going to have any significant change to their physical body.
If you follow the parameters of this challenge 85-95% of the time, which we are all capable of, you will have success. And success will be obvious with the true winners; they will have a different personal outlook on their health and fitness, and a new ownership of the factors that play a part in it.
Registration for this contest closes September 1st! Don't miss out...
Workout for Tue, August 21, 2012
Skill: L-sits
Strength: 3RM Bench Press
Conditioning: Wind Sprints
