Nia Peters

Nia Peters, November 2022

Before I discuss this challenge I just want to officially announce that I am on a weight loss journey to lose 50 lbs by September 2023 which puts me on the path to losing 1 lb/week. Overall I would like to get down to a healthy weight of 150 lbs and maintain that from now on. Ok now to the challenge!

Challenge Description: The goal is to engage in workouts 7 days a week for an entire month. These workouts will include but are not limited to Zumba, HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), weight lifting, and running. I will aim to do 45 min – 1-hour workout sessions and come days do two workout sessions (time permitting).

Motivation: Well this is a good starting point for my weight loss journey (building up good fitness habits).

Expectations: I expect this challenge to be relatively straightforward. This is a November challenge so I know I’ll be traveling for the holidays. During the November holiday, we eat and drink a lot so another part of this challenge is to continue to workout even when I’m traveling. I’ve even asked my family if I could do a kid’s and adult Zumba and a short HIIT class with them. Even if nobody joins, I’ll still have the class and this will be a great way for me to continue to exercise.

Grade: A+

Outcome: Oh yes! I killed this challenge! I woke up every weekday at 5:00am and attended a 45min long Tabata class on MWF and a 1 hour boxing class on TTh. Even after the classes I still had so much energy that I practiced new choreos for my Zumba class. I even posted short videos of new choreos on my Zumba With Nia TikTok, FB, and Insta accounts. This move put a lot more eyes on my Zumba instructor business. Double win! Plus I still taught 1-hr Zumba classes TTh so on some days I worked out 2+ hours.

Also on Saturday and Sunday, I did a mix of rigorous workout and fun-n-lite. On most Saturdays I went to the Pushing Limits HIIT workout at 6am in morning. Now that is an intense workout, but I always left feeling like I accomplished so much. If I couldn’t make this workout, I tried to do something active with my family such as hiking or going roller skating with my daughters.

Oh and there’s more. So I did indeed host a Zumba class for my family the day after Thanksgiving. A few of my family members already had YMCA memberships and for the others I had free passes and/or just offered to pay. The staff at the J. Smith Young YMCA in Lexington, NC were so generous and helpful. They allowed us to use the YMCA free of charge (with signed waivers) and gave us access to one of their fitness rooms. The children went to play basketball, the men did weight training, and I hosted a Zumba class for the ladies. It was awesome and it’s a new day-after-Thanksgiving family tradition!

Overall I think working out is my new normal. I honestly don’t mind getting up early in the morning. Even on the days that I do struggle to get up and get in a good workout, I always think to how wonderful I feel after a workout: energized and ready to face the day!

Next Steps: Like I said, it’s my new normal, so I’m going to keep it up. I think I realize that I just need to move and diversifying my workouts has kept it new and exciting. I’ll try new classes and activities and try to move everyday.