The Real Olympic Challenge!

Olympic Creed:

The most important thing in the Olympics Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

I think this is applies perfectly to our own Olympic Challenge: I know many of you don't even bother with the bonus challenges because you think, "why bother; I haven't done many/any up to this point, and any points I get won't help me win." But, the important thing is to just take part! Fight with us to overcome Lazy!

You MUST see this video, by the way, it gives me goose bumps every time! Click on the link below to watch.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HBu14q1dNP0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Olympic Challenge:

Complete all 5 challenges during the duration of the 2012 Olympic Games (July 27 - August 12).

Point Value:

Gold Medal: Completed all 5 challenges: 10
Silver Medal: Completed 4 challenges: 8
Bronze Medal: Completed 3 challenges: 6
Honorable Mention: Completed 2 challenges: 3
Way-To-Go Mention: Completed 1 challenge: 2

Physical Health Challenge: Do any (or all) of the balance exercises in the video 2 x/week. Do 10 repetitions on each side. Note: you can make any of them WAY more challenging by closing your eyes. Also, I highly recommend standing close to a counter or chair so you don't fall over!

(Please note: The video will be coming demonstrating the above exercises. Keith has not had a moment to spare to help me with this and I can't do it without him! Pathetic, I know. So work on the other challenges for now!)

Nutritional Health Challenge: Try out a new healthy recipe and share the results on the blog (good or bad!). Use one that's already been shared on the blog or search for one of your own. I know this is a goal for many of you but I've enjoyed it so much, I want ALL of us to do it.

Spiritual Health: Add a little more gratitude to your attitude. Pay particular attention to the gratitude portion of your prayers. Use this thought to help you: What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

Mental Health: Limit the amount of time your TV is on to 2 hours every day. Not how much you watch it, but how much time it's actually ON. The only exception is if you are watching the Olympics. No joke. This might be a tough one for many of us, but this is an excellent anti-aging practice for our brains. (Read this link if you need convincing: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongrelationships/tp/Turn_Off_TV.htm) Use your free and quiet time to exercise your brain (these might help: http://www.brainmetrix.com) and/or work on any of these Olympic challenges!

Emotional Health: Compliment at least one person each day. Mix it up: family, friends, strangers. Try to do it verbally and in person, but I'll even count texting, emailing and phone calls.

Please note: you don't have to do these challenges perfectly! In the spirit of the Olymic Creed, just take part! You will earn your points if you honestly attempt to incorporate these challenges during the next 3 or so weeks.

"Faster, Higher, Stronger" - in all aspects of our lives!

Faster, Higher, Stronger

Okay, mi familia, I have not been a strong presence in our Golden Sneaker Challenge lately. Sorry. But, let's move on to bigger and better things. Like our Olympics bonus challenge!!!
I am not going to issue the actual challenge just yet. But, I want to get you motivated and prepared to jump into it! Even if you have not been participating up to this point, this is a good one to start with - everyone can do it and it has plenty of variety.

This challenge is based on the five Olympic rings. You will have 5 different challenges to work on during the 2 weeks of the 2012 Summer Olympics which run from Friday, July 27 to Sunday, August 12.

The 5 challenges cover these areas: Physical health, nutrition, spiritual health, mental health and emotional health.

I repeat, EVERYONE CAN DO THESE, I promise. I will issue the actual challenge within days (I know you've heard that before!) so you can hit the ground running after watching the Opening Ceremonies on July 27!

Let's DO THIS, everyone!

Overcome Lazy!!!

This reperesents my dream Olympics!

No, wait... this one does.  Really!

A Little Fun With Stanley

Ah, it was so great to see Fit Stanley again and catch up with him. (Still waiting for the pictures, Twitchells - hint, hint)  I'm sending him on ASAP, but in the few days we've had him here, he was itching to get out and do something (he really hates sitting around) so we took him up to Mt. Charleston to do some hiking with us.

It was significantly cooler up there and it was wonderful to escape the Las Vegas heat for the afternoon.

This hike was in Fletcher Canyon and as we got further in, we had to scramble over some very slippery rocks (which we dubbed "silk rocks" because Zoey asked why the rocks had silk on them).

We even found a natural rock slide which the girls and Stanley enjoyed several times. They made Stanley go first just to make sure it was safe.

So, watch your mail: Fit Stanley is ready for his next active adventure!

Hello, My Name Is Sharon...

I've been so out of touch this last month that I feel I need to introduce myself! Between school ending, family visitors, a vacation, a near search-and-rescue mission (the van Keith was driving to scout camp broke down in Death Valley - emphasis on Death) and a few family health crises, it's been one crazy month! Looking back, it hasn't been the laziest month, thankfully, but it was just haphazard and chaotic with plenty of good AND bad stuff thrown in.

What I mostly regret is not getting a monthly challenge out, nor any check-in surveys to see what's going on with everyone!  One bright spot was getting Fit Stanley back home safe and sound.  The Twitchells kept him active during some summer activities (Note to family - please don't COMPLETELY submerge him - he's not waterproof - but he can handle a few splashes).  I know they took pictures to document it, we're just waiting to see it on the blog!  (Hint, hint).   Ooooo, who'll get him next??? Watch your mail!

Also, watch the blog because the JULY CHALLENGE is coming within days, perhaps even hours.... but most likely days. It will be Olympically-related, of course! I can't wait to watch the games and be inspired by some seriously un-lazy folks.

We survived June! Let's tackle July!

I Miss Stanley

Fit Stanley, in case you forgot who that is. I sent him off into the cold, cruel world and haven't heard a peep from him since. I hope he hasn't fallen into a deep ice crevasse during a hike up Mt. Everest or flapped away into the wild blue yonder during the free-fall of a skydiving outing. Most likely, he's just having such a good time that he hasn't had a spare moment to check-in with the mother ship here. Which means we should have a plethora of amazing photos of his active adventures once he finally pauses to catch his breath (hopefully very soon, hint, hint).

I was going to name it Nigel.

I wish I could officially annouce the news of the birth of my baby kidney stone, but, it must've scraped (ha, ha, ouch!) on through before I could catch any of the evidence. Good news: urine is clear; Unpleasant news: I'm still having some pain and discomfort in my kidney, so it's off to the Dr. I go just to make sure something weird isn't going on. But it's nothing like the pain of the first attack, thank goodness. I absolutely know that it's been the prayers and fasting of you, my family, that have gotten me through this. I thank you all sincerely and exuberantly for that!

And, finally, I really racked up the points on this Bonus Memorial Day Challenge! 20 big ones for me!!! I know there were a few of you that earned some as well, because I was also on the receiving end of the challenge, and boy, was that fun! Thank you so much to my wonderful family who "remembered" me and sent some love my way. What a boost!

I AM SOOOOO BLESSED AND I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY ON THE PLANET!!!
THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU!
LET'S HAVE AN UN-LAZY WEEK!

Bonus Memorial Day Challenge

Every man is a hero and an oracle to somebody.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope it's lovely for everyone. I think it's an occasion that warrants a bonus monthly challenge! And it's non-physical, which might please some of you; might disappoint others.

Memorial Day is a special time to remember those that have passed on, but the Bonus Challenge is about recognizing loved ones still with us that might need a little "remembering."

Challenge: Send a card or email to someone who might need a special hello or words of encouragement at the moment.

Point Value: 2 points for every card/note mailed (snail mail), 1 point for every email sent. (Keep track and report to me - preferably via your surveymonkey emails. That way I only have to look one place to keep track of points!).

Deadline: May 31. See how many you can send out in 1 week!

I think this definitely qualifies as an exercise in emotional strengthening which can benefit both the giver and receiver! It's a great way to overcome Lazy... How many times have you thought: "I should send them a note...." and then put it off?

Well, DO IT this week!

A Few Things To Report

No one has reported earning any points on May's monthly challenge so far, except Keith... and I've earned some as well.  I hope you guys are doing it but you won't get points unless your report them to me!  C'mon, who doesn't want to win $50???!!!  There are still many days left to earn many more points this month so get going!  C'mon who doesn't want to feel good in the morning???!!!

I'm glad to be able to report on other activities going on.  Mom and Dad report that they usually get at least a couple of workouts in during the week.  Stephanie has texted me and facebooked several of her workouts lately and she's mentioned that Chrystie is involved in many of them, so good job ladies!  Keep swimming and treadmilling and circuit training, etc., etc.!  Jean and Travis mentioned doing some P90X workouts lately and I know they continue to head out on family bike rides.  Now if they'd only remember to include Fit Stanley maybe we'd see some cool pictures of him in action!  Jean has plans to do better with her snacking this week, so we'll wish her the best on that!  It was great to hear from Alex, who checked in with his survey monkey this week.  He didn't sound too pleased with himself lately, but I think he should be proud of his sweaty yard work and football playing.  Now, follow through with your plans for running this week, Alex, and you'll be able to score higher next week!  Keith continues to bike like crazy both on and off road.  We've both been enjoying our new fitness toy, the heavy exercise rope. That thing is killer!  Keith was skeptical at first, but he's been won over.  If you have a spare minute and 46 seconds, you can see it in action in a video on my latest blog post:  www.lazytrainer.blogspot.com.  I also, am working on controlling my snacking with mixed results.  Some days are definitely better than others.  I've been finding that consuming a few shakes/smoothies throughout the day helps.  I keep them low-cal and find that they keep my stomach pretty full for quite some time.

Keep working hard, family.  I love when you take the few minutes to fill out your survey monkeys.  It really helps me to put together these updates!

Everyone do a morning activity burst tomorrow!!!