Hey fitness freaks....and wannabe freaks. Time for the November installment of the fitness challenge. To try to be more inclusive and get more participation, I'm going to open things up in a new way.

The point of this challenge is to set a goal for yourself for the month of November. A fitness goal which will be challenging.....slightly more than you know you can do, more than you did last month. The goal needs to be a concrete measurable goal. The goal can be miles run, walked, biked, swam, ellipted or paddled....or a combination of all of them. But it can also be a goal of hours of exercise. 30 hours of exercise in a month is a challenging goal for many people. It can also be a specific exercise if you prefer....like 3000 squats and 1000 push-ups. Whatever it is, make it challenging, not easy. As I always say, growth and comfort cannot coexist. You want to be slightly uncomfortable. The goal should challenge you...make you slightly nervous as to whether or not you can reach it. Then....GO FOR IT!

Introduce yourself and spell out your goal for the month. Then come back here everyday or as often as you can and update the group as to your current progress toward your goal. Whether or not you make your goal is not the point. The point is to push yourself just a little further than you thought you could go.

I'll start. I'm only 4 weeks post op from my TT so not back to 100% yet, but I anticipate getting stronger as the month goes on. So my goal for November is to walk/run 60 miles. That's double what I'm going to do this month, so a challenging goal. Wish me luck.

Please join in and get moving.

Managed the 10lb. increase, then started a completely new kettleball routine so no idea where I am now. :-) Very little biking but I started couch to 5k and I'm running 2.5 miles every other day. Easily passed the walking goal, by about 20 hours.

Oh look how casually she throws out " and I'm running 2.5 miles". Woo hoo! That's fantastic!

Well, I've been out of town today, but want to close this Challenge out. I adjusted my goal over the course of the month, adding my strength training about mid month. My goal was to meet or exceed 10,000 steps per day, but I wasn't getting that in on strength training days.

On Nov 18, my daily average was 10,782, and I'd walked/jogged 52.16 miles. After that day, I stopped using the pedometer, and on cardio days (3x/week) did the C25K for 3 miles. So add to that total 6 days of 3 miles/day and that puts me to goal re: the 10k step average, and a grand total of 70 miles for the month. Also on cardio days, I'm planking (up to 60 secs front/on toes and 30 secs side/on knees), crunches (3 reps of 10), squats (3 reps of 10) and lunges (3 reps of 10).

On strength days, I'm doing several different combos of arms/legs, and increased my weight over the last two weeks of Nov. My final weights/reps are:

Hip abductor (3 reps of 12 each side @50 lbs)

Assisted pull-ups (3 reps of 8 with 160 assisted weight)

Push-ups (45 degree angle, 3 reps of 20)

Leg press (3 reps of 12 @90 lbs)

Seated row (3 reps of 12 @70 lbs)

Free weights over head (3 reps of 10 each arm @10 lbs)

This week, I'm adding throwing a 10 lb medicine ball back and forth with one of my new gym buddies, Chris!

Finally, I transitioned from C25K on the treadmill exclusively, to running on the road. Let's just say that I'm repeating week 1 for the third time!!!

I'm calling my first EVER solid month of exercise a rousing success.

Haven't been on keeping track on here daily, but since my surgery I wasn't sure what a realistic goal was. Had my panniculectomy and hernia repair Nov 5, so I set my goal at 20 I think. I just calculated and hit 33.85 miles, which is nowhere near what I did in Oct, but far exceeded my goal for November....I just need to remember it will take time you get back to where I was! Is there a Dec challenge, I hope?

Haven't been on keeping track on here daily, but since my surgery I wasn't sure what a realistic goal was. Had my panniculectomy and hernia repair Nov 5, so I set my goal at 20 I think. I just calculated and hit 33.85 miles, which is nowhere near what I did in Oct, but far exceeded my goal for November....I just need to remember it will take time you get back to where I was! Is there a Dec challenge, I hope?

Yes there is a december challenge. It's in the fitness forum. Join in. I know you're not 100% yet but I'm sure you're ready to get back to your previous activity. Are you walking?

Yes there is a december challenge. It's in the fitness forum. Join in. I know you're not 100% yet but I'm sure you're ready to get back to your previous activity. Are you walking?

I found the forum, yes I've been walking. I'm struggling from pain on left side, sharp stabbing, not able to breathe deeply, cough or sneeze without dying. I put a call into the dr. Just waiting now. I think my goal Could be 2 miles a day for Dec.

I hope it's nothing serious. I think you're gonna be surprised at how much better you'll feel by xmas.