Happy Monday!

Entering Week 8. WOW. It is normal and OKAY to hit the wall. Quarantine is affecting how we live our lives in all ways, exercise and nutrition included. We have been at this for a least two months, some even longer and it seems it will continue for the indefinite future. Lacking our social groups and face to face encounters with each other and our trainers may be making it difficult to stay motivated. After all, we here at APF feel like a very close knit community! Social fitness brings the buddy system to life no matter where you are. If you're going for a walk, vacuuming the house, running, or working out at the gym, you're not doing it alone - you are connected to others who are trying to increase their activity, too. One of the most motivating factors in group workouts, and therefore social fitness, is competition and SHARING!

We would like to offer a challenge to motivate you for the remainder of MAY, starting today and ending Sunday May 31. No fees, no gimmicks. A goal of 280 minutes of exercise per week and logging your nutrition daily. The group challenge is set up through My Fitness Pal, (https://www.myfitnesspal.com) . Once you let me know you want to participate and activate your myfitnespal account, I will invite you to our private group. You can then encourage your fitness friends in the group and gain encouragement yourself! Remember, this is a NO JUDGEMENT ZONE! If you are a more private person you can go the your settings and click private. I will post daily encouragements in the group as well as call out people who have done a great job on the challenge! I hope you will all use this challenge as a way to motivate yourself and help motivate others to make it through the rest of MAY!

Addendum: article in the Wash Po that came out on Tuesday: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/losing-your-motivation-to-exercise-as-the-pandemic-drags-on-heres-how-to-get-it-back/2020/05/11/72e41a3c-93af-11ea-91d7-cf4423d47683_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_lean_and_fit&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_lean

Gretchen Rubin is the author of several books, including the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold 3.5 million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages. On her popular weekly podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, she discusses good habits and happiness with her sister Elizabeth Craft; they’ve been called the “Click and Clack of podcasters.” Her podcast was named in iTunes’s lists of “Best Podcasts of 2015” and was named in the Academy of Podcasters “Best Podcasts of 2016.” BuzzFeed listed Happier in 10 Life-Changing Things to Try in June and the New Yorker said, “Their voices remind you that life is a human project that we’re all experimenting with.” The podcast consistently ranks in the iTunes Top Charts. Fast Company named Gretchen Rubin to its list of Most Creative People in Business, and she’s a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100..

In the gym a few of my clients and I have been talking about her 4 Tendencies Quiz and how understanding our “tendency” can lead us to better adherence to our health and wellness plan! I am an “Upholder” which means I am generally good at meeting inner and outer expectations. The problem sometimes with being an Upholder is knowing when to stop. It is why I have a hard time calling it quits. I also have a strong “questioner” tendency which is sometimes seen as a negative (I find it can be for me because I spend a lot of time researching when I could be DOING!). I am curious if you will find this as interesting as I do . Here is the link to the quiz:

https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=popoutmenu

I'd love for you to take a moment to do the quiz ! If you care to share the results with me, we may be able to use them to help you with your fitness plans & goals!

Additionally, Gretchen’s app is called Better. I would love for you to join me in Better, which is a community where we can meet, message, share ideas, and go deeper with our peers on the topics we care about most.

When you join, you'll be able to contribute your own stories and experiences. It only takes a minute to sign up. Here is my personal link to use!

www.betterapp.us/share/gPNM-g-IDOt0bGIp

Let me know your thoughts!

APF UPDATES