Squad Monthly Challenges
Know what you should be doing when it comes to your fitness, nutrition and wellbeing but find yourself losing motivation down the track? The Grace, Grit & Gratitude Squad Monthly Challenges are designed to give you bite-sized monthly goals to work towards. This is with the mindset that making positive changes to our daily habits is what gets the best results!
Once you’ve signed up to the Grace, Grit & Gratitude Squad, you get to participate in the challenges that we host on our private community forum, plus we email through tips and inspiration weekly to help you along the way.
You can choose to participate in some or all of them depending on your goals.
If you’re a Squad member, you can check out a more detailed overview of this month’s challenges HERE!
JANUARY
FITNESS – #GETOUTDOORS
There’s nothing like heading outside for fresh air and sunshine in the summertime; it’s time to synthesise some Vitamin D and get moving outdoors!
NUTRITION – #WATERTIME
Hydration is so important – even more so when it’s hot. So being summertime this month’s nutrition focus is drinking H2O.
WELLBEING – #GRATITUDEATTITUDE
People who practice gratitude regularly have a more positive outlook; get ready for 31 days of gratitude!
FEBRUARY
FITNESS – #PUSHUPPOWERUP
A push up a day gets the biceps out to play! We teach you how to do push ups correctly and give you variations to keep things fresh.
NUTRITION – #EMOTIONS&EATING
When you have your meals and snacks this month, notice what your emotions are doing at the time. If you notice an emotion such as boredom/stress/happiness/sadness is making you reach for food, try to channel it into a different activity.
WELLBEING – #SELFLOVE
This month is about giving your wonderful self the appreciation it deserves by having gratitude for your body, a quality or skill that you have, every day.
MARCH
FITNESS – #MARCHMADNESS
This month you’re going to pick an exercise and see how many reps you can do, or if it’s cardio how far you can go, in 5 minutes. This is your little challenge every day – see if you can improve on it by doing more reps or going farther by the end of the month!
NUTRITION – #BETTERSNACKING
Having healthy snacks on hand can help you make healthier food choices. This challenge is about prepping to ensure you have healthy snacks sorted for the day ahead (and that the less healthy options are out of reach!).
WELLBEING – #MEDITATIONMARCH
This goal is all about meditation practice; for a minimum of one minute each day. If you’ve been wanting to get started with meditation but struggle to sit still or know what to do, this is the challenge for you!
APRIL
FITNESS – #BENDANDTWIST
Hippocrates said, ‘If you seek health, look first to the spine’ – so this month’s challenge is all about getting bendy and twisty to increase mobility.
NUTRITION – #HARAHACHIBU
This Japanese mindfulness technique is about eating until you feel 80% full, and it’s your challenge this month! It’s a reminder to tune into your body’s signals and to recognise feelings of hunger, fullness and satiety.
WELLBEING – #GIVETHANKS
Who has helped you out or done something nice for you? This month’s challenge is about mindfully giving thanks to the people in your life who lift you up.
MAY
FITNESS – #PACKOFCARDS
You don’t need fancy equipment to get a decent workout! For this month you’ll need a deck of playing cards. Each suit corresponds to an exercise, the number is your reps, and each day your aim is to do a workout with at least 5 draws!
NUTRITION – #PORTIONPOWER
Learn how to measure your food portions using your hand as a reference, and use this method when serving up meals and snacks.
WELLBEING – #WINNING
This challenge focuses on your achievements; every evening this month you’ll be thinking about one thing you did well during the day.
JUNE
FITNESS – #PLANKIT
One of the best ways to challenge and strengthen your core muscles, this month’s all about planks. Full ones, 3/4 ones, wall planks, hovers… choose your favourite and let’s get planking!
NUTRITION – #FOODORIGINS
Where did your food come from? This month we’re getting mindful about how your food arrived in front of you. Who made, gathered, or harvested it? What were the original ingredients? For produce, what work went into growing it? Where did it travel from and how did it make the journey?
WELLBEING – #HAPPYTIME
Our happiness can sometimes get put on the back burner thanks to everything else going on in life. This challenge is about hobbies, interests and self-care. Do something every day that is focused on making you happy.
JULY
FITNESS – #JULYJUMPS
Plyometrics, or explosive movements, get the heart rate going, help strengthen muscles through load… not to mention make us quick and nimble 😉 If jumping’s not your jam, no worries, we’ll be providing alternatives to help you through this month’s challenge!
NUTRITION – #EATYOURVEG
Veges are full of fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients – how could you get more of them into your diet?
WELLBEING – #SLEEPYTIME
Are you getting a decent 7-8 hours of sleep each night? This challenge is about forming a sleep routine and aiming to improve your sleep!
AUGUST
FITNESS – #GETSOCIAL
We can’t stress enough how important it is to exercise with others – whether they’re friends, family, work colleagues, a PT or a sports team. We’re made to be sociable, and combining this element with exercise makes it much more enjoyable!
NUTRITION – #SPICEITUP
Herbs and spices are great for adding healthy flavour to the foods (and drinks!) we eat. Each day this month, experiment with combos, try something new, or use them to add a new take on an old recipe. We hear hot chocolate with a touch of chilli powder is good 😉
WELLBEING – #MORNINGYOGA
This challenge is about developing and maintaining a yoga self-practice to kickstart your day. Whether it’s a minute of mindful breathing or a full yoga practice, on your mat or in bed, it doesn’t matter – it’s all about getting into the habit!
SEPTEMBER
FITNESS – #SQUATSSEPTEMBER
Work that booty! One of our key functional movements, squats are fab for developing leg strength and helping us pick up heavy stuff (kids…dogs…groceries….) off the ground and lifting it.
NUTRITION – #READTHELABEL
This month’s challenge is about learning to read and interpret nutrition labels. Each day this month, pay close attention to labels on the food you eat. How much sugar is in it? How much fibre? How much fat? What are the ingredients? If you buy takeaways, check the restaurant’s website for meal nutrition information. Having this awareness is a good way of comparing and contrasting food (plus you know what’s going into your body!).
WELLBEING – #LETTINGGO
Whether it’s your wardrobe, food cupboard, work desk or garage, we all keep material things we never use that add clutter to our lives. There are also things we hold on to mentally that don’t serve us. To help out with spring cleaning, your challenge each day of this month is to throw away, let go of, donate or gift one thing that you no longer need.
OCTOBER
FITNESS – #CORECRUSHER
While we’re not going to actually crush your core, this month is about developing some real core strength (and that doesn’t mean 100 situps a day!).
NUTRITION – #MINDFULBREAKFAST
Carve out the time each morning this month to eat breakfast slowly and mindfully. Focus on the flavour and textures as you go.
WELLBEING – #BUILDRESILIENCE
Every day brings new challenges and experiences that may not go according to plan! What was difficult? What needs changing? Rather than focusing solely on the negatives, what positives came out of it, how could you turn it around, and did you learn anything?
NOVEMBER
FITNESS – #WALKITOUT
We don’t care where you do it or how fast you go, we just want you to get moving! Walking is free, low impact and gets you from A to B – we’re excited to see where you go!
NUTRITION – #NODISTRACTIONS
Do you eat at your work desk? While on the run? While on your cellphone? In front of the television? This month is about removing distractions while you eat (though getting social with others at the same time is fine!).
WELLBEING – #GETBENDY
This month is a yoga challenge! We teach you a pose each day to help improve your flexibility which can improve muscle tension and tightness, and reduce risk of injury.
DECEMBER
FITNESS – #CHRISTMASCHAOS
December tends to be crazy for everyone, so with that in mind the challenge for this month is to move in whatever way you can but it MUST be Christmas related! Even if it’s a set of squats underneath your Christmas tree.
NUTRITION – #LOVEYOURFOOD
This month is often about barbecues, cooking and baking, Christmas parties and other social occasions. We’re not going to guilt trip you about any of that! But we do want you to be mindful of the foods you’re eating and appreciate them!
WELLBEING – #JUSTBREATHE
It can be tough finding the time to do anything this month, so this challenge is simply to take at least 5 mindful deep breaths every day for a moment of time out.
