In celebration of Healthy Workplace Month in Canada, we thought to inspire you with some health challenge ideas to extend this healthy sentiment amongst your family and friends!
Whether you’re feeling a bit of a lull in your exercise routine or if you feel like you need a little nudge in transitioning into a healthy winter habit, here are four ways to get started!
Remember, these health challenge ideas below are always done better with a buddy, to provide you with moral support and to keep you accountable.
1. Host A Cook-A-Thon At Home
Find a cooking buddy to be adventurous with you in the kitchen this month. Try a new recipe once a week or explore recipes of a new cuisine you’re unfamiliar with. The ultimate purpose is to encourage you to foster the habit of cooking more at home. And of course, cooking with a partner is always better than cooking solo!
Here are some of our favourite holistic food bloggers:
www.loveandlemons.com
www.minimalistbaker.com
www.mynewroots.com
www.holisticfoodie.com
www.naturallyella.com.com
www.nutritionstripped.com
www.rainbowplantlife.com
2. Meditate
Meditation is the practice of flexing your brain muscles to help you gain focus and redirect ruminating thoughts in a healthy way.
Benefits of meditation range widely, from increasing awareness of yourself and your surroundings to reducing stress and developing greater concentration and even gratitude.
The great thing about meditation is that you can practically meditate anywhere, as long as you can find a quiet space to be in.
Create a meditation practice with a family member or a friend. Try setting a time to meditate together during the day or week. Set up a video call to meditate together if you need to do it socially distant. Having a meditation buddy can help you upkeep a regular meditation schedule easily.
There are many different styles of meditation to try. To see which style fits you best, check out guided meditations offered by the University of California Los Angeles.
The many styles of meditation offered include but are not limited to:
- Breathing meditation
- Breath, sound and body meditation
- Loving kindness meditation
- Short body scan
- Body scan for sleep
- Body and sound meditation
You can also explore meditation apps that help you refocus and center yourself, no matter where you are.
Here are a few meditation apps we like:
3. The One-Healthy-Habit-A-Day Challenge
Staying on top of your nutrition, diet, and fitness goals can be a challenge, especially for many of us that are juggling with a busy schedule. However, we also understand that bad habits are hard to break, and when it comes to shifting into healthier habits, it takes time and effort.
The best way to shift into healthier habits is to find ways to introduce one healthy habit at a time.
We encourage you to challenge yourself and a friend(s) for 30 days to incorporate one new healthy habit into your routine each day. As you check off each healthy habit on your list, take a photo and share that with your accountability buddy!
Here are ten ideas to get you started:
- Take a 10-minute walk during your workday or at lunch.
- Correct your posture. Leave a note reminding yourself to sit up straight instead of slouching.
- Incorporate a 15-minute stretching routine when you wake up.
- Go to bed 1/2 hour earlier, if you’re not getting a solid 8 hours of sleep a day.
- Add an extra cup of leafy greens to your meals.
- Remove processed sugars from your diet.
- Go meatless for a day!
- Include a mindfulness and gratitude practice at the beginning or end of your day. This can include writing in your journal for five minutes or sitting quietly to do some breath work or meditation.
- Drink a cup of water before anything else in the morning.
- Take a weekend to be disconnected from your phone.
4. 10,000 Steps A Day Challenge
The goal of reaching 10,000 daily steps is the recommended step target for adults to achieve health benefits. Walking 10,000 steps a day offers benefits such as weight loss, improved glucose tolerance, and reduced blood pressure.
Whether you’ve been working from home, where it has become more challenging to incorporate a workout routine in, or whether you just haven’t developed the practice of being active on a regular basis, we are here to give you some simple ideas to reach 10,000 steps easily.
- Create a playlist with 5-10 of your favourite upbeat songs. Grab a friend or your partner to dance like nobody’s watching.
- Live stream a workout. There are endless workout videos to choose from on YouTube. You’re bound to find one that fits what you’re looking for.
- Skipping rope.
- Shadow boxing.
- Craft a standing desk.
- Make a walking “loop” in your house. Find a place to walk around in your house for an extended period of time, a minimum of 15-20 minutes.
- Walk in place while you’re watching a show.
These are just a few health challenge ideas to help you kickstart into healthier habits this Fall season. Remember, healthy habits take time to develop. Take it one step at a time. In due time, these healthy habits will become daily practices.