The At-Home HIIT + Bible Study Workouts are designed to scorch calories, burn fat, and build lean muscle.  Each of these (approximately) 30-minute workouts are appropriate for all fitness abilities. You’ll use heavier dumbbells to increase intensity, or follow the provided modifications to make each exercise accessible for your fitness capability.  

Here’s what you can expect with each Bible study workout:  We’ll begin with a warmup stretch as we listen to the focus Bible verse, then we’ll begin the workout.  The HIIT intervals will be 20-30 second of work, followed by about 10 quick seconds of rest. We’ll follow this format for a complete round of exercises, usually about 2-3 minutes, and we’ll conclude each round with a stretch.  During each stretch, we’ll consider focus questions related to our focus verse or listen to other verses related to the Bible Study topic.   

SoulStrength Fit 8 Week Challenge integrates the following Bible Studies into the at-home strength training workouts:

• Use Me God
• Use Me in My Weakness 
• Proverbs 31 - Woman of God
• Comparison and Envy 
• Forgiveness and Mercy 
• The Lord’s Prayer 
• Hurried Life 
• Fruit of the Spirit 
• Anxious No More

The SoulStrength Fit 8 Week Challenge includes 3 at-home Bible Study Workouts per week.  3 strength training and cardio HIIT workouts per week will sculpt your body and get you lean!  What you’ll need for the program: a couple sets of dumbbells, one lighter and one heavier. You could begin with a set of 5 and 10 lb dumbbells.  As your strength increases, you may want to invest in an even heavier set, perhaps 12 or 15. Novice exercisers might begin with a set of 3 lb and 5-8 lb dumbbells.  Other than that, a mat is optional if you’ll be exercising on carpet. If you’ll be exercising on a hard ground, a mat is highly recommended.

We can’t grow in our walk with God if we don’t spend time in His word.  Therefore, the one crucial habit we will focus on in regards to our spiritual strength and growth will be spending time in God’s word. This program will therefore provide daily devotionals (Monday-Saturday; Sunday I encourage church attendance for teaching, growth, and fellowship time).  These devotionals are meant to encourage time for meditation in scripture. I want you to lay the foundation of developing the habit for daily time in God’s word. Some days you may struggle with time and find that you are able to devote just enough time to go through the devotional.  Other days you may feel called to continue reading beyond the verses listed in the devotional. Or you may feel pulled to dive into other scripture as well. Or you might find the time and need for a longer time in prayer and just sitting with God. As your SoulStrength guide and coach, I want to help you form the habit of daily time for scripture, prayer, and meditation on God’s word.  

On your non-strength training days, you’ll follow a Walking or Cardio Plan that can be used as a 5K training program.  This walking plan includes the amount of exercise recommended as the minimum amount to reduce your health risks and maintain optimum health, and it increases from there.  Any preferred cardio could be substituted for walking. If you have access to a bike, an elliptical, stair stepper, or rower - or if swimming is your thing, utilize the weekly schedule as a goal time for cardio exercise, whatever the form may be.  This Cardio plan will get you fit and healthy!

In order to optimize your results and get you to your best, healthiest self, focusing on your nutrition is a crucial part of the equation. Therefore, Soulstrength Fit 8 Week Challenge includes a Nutrition Guide.  This guide focuses on proper nutrition and macronutrients to ensure that your body is processing the proper ratio of fats, carbs and proteins needed to maintain energy and muscle growth, all while changing your body for the better.

We’ll start out with 22 strategies to make macro and calorie counting simple and sustainable.  From there, we’ll dive into the following nutrition strategies that will benefit your health and weight loss (or maintenance) goals:

• The Basics: Calories and Macros
• Recommended Sources of Carbs, Proteins, Fats, and Vitamins and Minerals
• Eat Like a Cavegirl: Paleo Basics
• Foods to Eat; Foods to Avoid
• Intermittent Fasting

Let’s take the mystery and difficulty out of healthy eating with SoulStrength Fit 8 Week Challenge Whole Foods Recipes. Each recipe will be Paleo friendly, whole foods based, and perhaps most importantly, easy to prepare and family friendly. Eating healthy meals prepared at home can be easy, inexpensive, and tasty. Each recipe has been hand-selected because it’s simple, doesn’t require a ton of ingredients, is healthy and nutritious, and can become a staple in your personal or family meal planning.

We often believe that significant changes in our health, weight, or well being can only come from drastic actions or huge lifestyle changes.  But small changes add up! Small changes in behavior can make a big difference. Every small habit you develop - whether good or bad - can have a big impact when repeated enough. Our daily habits can determine who we are vs. who we could be.  Our habits can put us on a path to becoming a mediocre version of ourselves, or they can put us on a path to becoming the best version of the person we were created to be.  They can keep us from developing our fullest potential, or they can provide the building blocks needed to become our personal best, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  SoulStrength Fit 8 Week Challenge includes a Building the Habits for Success Guide that will lead you through the process of setting health and spiritual goals for yourself, and then helping you plan and prepare for the habits that will lead you to those goals.

Plan your week, track your habits, prioritize your to-do list, schedule in your workouts and devotional time with SoulStrength Fit 8 Week Challenge Weekly Planner for Busy Women.  Developing the habits that lead you to your goals doesn’t happen by chance.  It requires focus and it requires planning. We’re not simply hoping to become stronger, fitter, more focused women of God; we’re planning for it.

One of the most effective things you can do to change your habits is to join a community where your desired behavior is the normal behavior.  SoulStrength Fit includes in the program a Private Facebook Group for women working to build the habits that will improve their physical and spiritual well being.  This group is meant to encourage one another along our journey and be a place to share tips, small victories, and questions.  Surround yourself with women who share your goals. Be encouraged and inspired by their successes, and be present to encourage and inspire others as well.  In addition, you will receive guidance from SSF founder and creator throughout the program. Ask your fitness and nutrition questions, share your victories and results, and receive the motivation and accountability you need.