2014 Olympic Challenge!

The 2014 Winter Olympics are almost here! I love watching the athletes and cheering them on in their sports.  However, just hanging around the television in the evenings, snacking etc. doesn’t seem to be the best way to celebrate the Olympics.  This year I am challenging you (and me too!) to join along with an Olympic-sized challenge.  

Almost every athlete in Sochi, Russia, will have a considerable amount of travel to get there and get home again at the conclusion of the Games.  As most of us will not be able to be there in person, I challenge you to figuratively journey right along with them. 

We will have 17 days – beginning Friday, February 7^th –to reach Sochi, Russia, and to travel home again.  For our starting point we are using New York City, which is 5,319 miles from Sochi, Russia.  To make it home again, we will travel a total of 10,638 miles.  How do we do this?  Each minute of exercise we complete will be worth 10 miles of travel.  That means we have 1064 minutes of exercise to complete within 17 days.  Sound like an Olympic sized challenge to you?  We will need to average about 63 minutes of exercise each day in order to make that round trip by February 23^rd.  However, I can’t think of a better way to support our athletes and improve our own bodies than to go for such a challenge.

Now, if you are thinking, it is physically impossible for me to exercise 63 minutes a day, don’t just give up on this.  Here is a somewhat smaller challenge: Rather than making the round trip, just make the trek to Sochi.  You’ll need about 31 minutes per day to complete that portion of the journey.

What counts as exercise? The choice of activity is up to you.  However, if you are going for cardio, you should break a sweat! If you’ve never done any strength type activities before, this is a great time to start.  Try a class at a nearby gym, get out a Pilates DVD from the library, or perhaps even set up a workout with a personal trainer for some one-on-one instruction. 

Below are just a few ideas you might try.  If you feel especially inspired by the amazing athletes you are watching, you might even try out their sport! Although I’m not really sure where you can take up bobsledding… =)

• Basketball
• Bicycling
• Cardio Kickboxing
• Crossfit
• Dancing
• Elliptical/Stepper/Rowing Machine
• Group Fitness Classes
• Ice skating
• Pilates
• Rollerblading
• Running/Jogging
• Strength Training
• Swimming
• Skiing
• Volleyball or other sports
• Walking
• Yoga

Just print out the map below and get started!!