The Healthy Habits Challenge is a community competition available to all CrossFit Montgomery members that is designed to promote healthy behavior by rewarding healthy choices. The first challenge ran five weeks, from Monday, October 17 to Saturday, November 19. Participants submitted the best four weeks out of the five-week challenge to be counted towards their performance.

Member Kelli Strowd was the overall winner, placing 1st in all five categories. Kelli won one month’s free membership for her and hubby Mike, A.K.A. Strowd (both pictured on the far left of the photo above). All of the coaches are very proud of her. We are all impressed by her determination and achievements! For more information on how the challenge works, read below:

Resources

• Challenge Journal
• Food Block Chart
• Nutrition Overview
• Paleo: Getting Started Guide
• Zone: Getting Started Guide

Categories

Points will be awarded each time a chosen action is performed by a participant. Each action will have a point value assigned to it that will be awarded to the participant upon completion of that activity. Activities will have a limit to how many points can be obtained daily or weekly. Each participant will accumulate points during the competition by completing any task identified below.

List of Categories

• Attendance
• Nutrition
• Body Composition
• Recovery
• Performance

Attendance

An attendance log will be posted at the gym. Each participant will be responsible for tracking their attendance.

Metric: Attend a class and complete the daily posted WOD at the gym.

Points: 1 per day, maximum of 5 points per week

Nutrition

Participants will be required to maintain a food journal documenting each activity in which they wish to receive points. Participants will choose either the Paleo or Zone diets to follow during the competition. Both programs will be presented and resources made available to assist the participant in following their chosen diet program. Please don’t cheat. You are only cheating yourself if you do not take your nutrition seriously.

Metric: Eat a meal that adheres to the “generally accepted” Paleo or Zone diet guidelines. Participants will only be allowed to receive a total of three points per day.

Points: 1 per meal

*Note: If you are following the Paleo Diet, consumption of sugary alcoholic drinks is not allowed. Consumption of wine, in moderation, will be allowed.

Metric: Eat a meal or an item that does not comply with your chosen diet program.

Points: -1 per meal

Metric: Drink an adequate amount of water each day. Participants will need to drink at least half their bodyweight in ounces per day to receive a point.

Points: 1 per day

*Note: Consumption of alcohol causes a loss of hydration. If you consume alcohol you must increase the amount of water you drink that day to compensate for the amount of alcohol consumed.

Body Composition

All participants are required to utilize the same bathroom digital scale and fat loss monitor located at the gym. A coach must be present for each participant’s initial and final weigh-ins and calculations and will record these figures on a spreadsheet.

Metric: Points will be awarded for each pound lost.

Points: 1 per pound

Metric: Points will be awarded for each percent of body fat lost.

Points: 1 per percent

Recovery

These activities promote recovery and are a necessary element to achieving overall wellness. There will be a mobility WOD that each participant will be able to perform in the gym each day.

Metric: Sleep a minimum of eight consecutive hours each day.

Points: 1 per night

Metric: Perform the daily mobility WOD.

Points: 1 per day, maximum of 5 points per week

Performance

Performance tests will be completed before the challenge commences. Each test will be repeated following the challenge. Points will be awarded for improvements in the performance of the participant.

Metric: Standing Press

Points: 1 point per pound increased

Metric: Deadlift

Points: 1 point per pound increased

Metric: Back Squat

Points: 1 point per pound increased

One of the following time workouts will be retested.

Metric: 100 Burpees

Points: 1 point per second improvement

Metric: 150 Air Squats

Points: 1 point per second improvement

Metric: 100 Pushups

Points: 1 point per second improvement