December Fitness Challenge #SparkTheSeason

After the birth of our perfect son in September, I was faced with the joy and the challenge of returning to my un-pregnant body.  I shouldn't really say return because the body that I have now is very different than the body I had in 2012.  My slender build and flat stomach are hidden behind some new found curves, and I'm fairly certain my pants will never fit the same way again.  As I've become more familiar with my new body, I've been able to make peace with it.  I love my body. It grew my son, and even now it keeps him healthy. My husband thinks I'm beautiful, and what more can a girl ask for?

All that aside, there is always more we can do to be healthy.  That is why I am going to do the SpakPeople.com #SparkTheSeason Challenge.  It's incredibly simple.  Pick a goal for December and stick to it.  Every day in December post/tweet about your progress with the hash tag #SparkTheSeason and you'll receive words of encouragement.

There is also a photo component to the challenge if you're in to that sort of thing:

To pick my goals I took a look at what I needed to accomplish, and what's kept me from doing so.  I came up with two specific, measurable, attainable, and relevant goals. I need to keep toning up and I need to stop drinking so many calories each day.  I plan to:

• Exercise 10 minutes ever day.
• Drink lots of water and only drink a non-water beverage (like juice, milk, or soda) once each day. 

Exercising 10 minutes a day might not sound like much, but it really adds up.  Plus with a cranky baby to care for its hard to fit in much more.  If you need some ideas for workouts you can do in 10 minutes, here's some inspiration from Pinterest. You may have to skip a few reps to fit them in 10 minutes, but they can all be done at home with nothing more than an exercise ball and some light weights. If you don't have a jump rope, you can just pretend.  Get the kids to jump up and down with you.  It will be a great time.  Click on the images to make them larger. 

Lower Body: 

 

Upper Body:

 

Core:

Full Body/Cardio:

And if that doesn't work for you, you can always pick up an exercise DVD .  There are lots of options for short workouts!

Have fun, good luck, and don't forget to share your progress using #SparkTheSeason in December