I’m so excited to announce that throughout September, we’ll be raising money for the American Heart Association and working on our own heart health with a daily steps challenge.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is one of my favorite organizations promoting fitness & wellness in the United States. They are one of the oldest organizations in America dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke by funding life-saving research and promoting health awareness and education. I use their educational materials in my coaching all the time!

Leading up to World Heart Day (September 29), we’ll be doing a community fundraiser during our Fit Q&A streams on Twitch to raise money for the AHA. Click the button below to donate!

At the same time that we raise money for the AHA, we’ll also work on our own heart health with a Daily Steps Challenge 💪 The goal of this challenge is to get you moving!

Most Americans spend the majority of their days seated or standing still (aka, sedentary). Having a sedentary lifestyle is terrible for heart health, often leading to heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses. Even if you go to the gym and exercise, being sedentary most days can still lead to illness and even early death, as a 2015 study showed.[1] The effects are so dire that in 2015 CNN’s Jen Christensen coined the phrase “sitting is the new smoking.”[2]

Sitting still for most of the day can also make your body age faster! A 2017 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that cells in womens’ bodies age a lot faster when they have a sedentary lifestyle.[3]

Staying active, on the other hand, can actually fight the effects of aging and in some cases reverse it! As we age, we tend to lose muscle mass and bone density, meanwhile our overall metabolisms slow down. This leads to a loss of coordination, strength, and increased risk of injury and weight gain. Our bodies also get less efficient at repairing DNA and tissues. Several studies show, however, that doing moderate-intensity exercise regularly can keep your muscles strong, improve your bone health, boost your metabolism, and keep your body at a healthy weight. It can also improve the body’s ability to repair DNA and boost cellular health.[4, 5, 6]

So let’s keep our hearts healthy by getting up and moving around throughout every day in September! Keep reading below to learn how to participate in our September Steps Challenge 💪

How to Do the Steps Challenge

First, make sure that you are a member of the Coaching Corner Discord server. This is my private community server for clients and followers who are interested in improving their health and making gains. Click the button below to join:

Use a pedometer, a fitness tracker, or your smartphone to track your steps every day in the month of September. At the end of each day, take a picture or screenshot of your total steps and post it in the #steps-challenge channel of the Coaching Corner Discord.

You can select between 3 different levels of the challenge, depending on your current level of fitness:

• Level 1: If you’re currently sedentary and out-of-shape, aim to get between 3,000 and 4,000 steps every day.

• Level 2: If you already exercise regularly but don’t do much cardio or activity, then aim for between 5,000 and 7,000 steps per day.

• Level 3: If you are fairly active and exercise regularly, challenge yourself to get between 7,000 and 10,000 steps each day.

Regardless of level, the people who check in the most throughout September by reaching their steps goal will win some prizes—including my Trainer’s Guides for Fat Loss & Meal Prep.

If you’d like to participate, make sure to introduce yourself in the #steps-challenge channel of the Coaching Corner Discord and let us know what level you’ll be participating in!

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to post in the Discord!

Alright, let’s get out there and get those steps in! 🙌

❤️ Jayd