YMCA of Greater Brandywine Healthy Living Director, Brian Kish here, inviting you to bring your family and friends together safey this Thanksgiving in health-promoting behaviors. 

Jackie, pictured above in her Turkey Day hat has put together an amazing line up of virtual classes for Thanksgiving Day, you can view them here.

If you want to dive even deeper, we challenge you to the Thanksgiving Day Challenge!

You have two challenge options. You are not required to be in same residence, so invite all your family and friends to play! Note that the honor system will be utilized if participants aren’t in the same residence! 

Challenge One:  

Rules: The person with the most points by the end of dessert/clean-up wins! Earn 1 point for each task you complete throughout the day...PLUS, you’ll have the opportunity to earn bonus or “gravy” points too.

• Thankfulness - Tell everyone in your family why you are thankful they are in your life. To earn a point, you must either tell everyone in your home why you are thankful for them OR text/call a minimum of 4 people who you are thankful for and share with them why. [POINTS: 1]
   
  • Thankfulness Gravy Point Opportunity - Think of one thing that a loved one does for you that makes your life easier, and do it for them. It can be as simple as making the bed or offering to wash all of the dishes this day. [Gravy Points: 1 for each “Act of Thankfulness”] 
     
• Gratitude - Write down 3 things that you are grateful for in your life and post them in visible areas of your home. Ideally, you can use post-it notes, but tape works too! [POINTS: 1]
   
  • Gratitude Gravy Point Opportunity - Think about a time that you were down in the dumps and how you reacted. Now shift your thinking and write 3 positive things that made the situation not so bad. (ex: a supportive spouse, a warm bed, lessons learned, etc.) Write this down and post it in a visible area of your home. [Gravy Points: 1 for each “lesson of gratitude”]
     
  • Fitness Gratitude Gravy Point Opportunity - partner up with 1 or all members of your home (or do it solo) and pick a part of your body that you’re grateful for and give it some TLC through fitness! Do 5-10 reps of each thing and take 45 seconds of rest. Repeat for 5 minutes as many times per day as you want! Example: I am grateful that I have legs that take me places. I will do 10 bodyweight squats, rest for 45 sec. And repeat until 5 min is up. [Gravy Points: 1 for each 5-minute cycle you do] 
     
• Joyfulness - Participate in something that brings you and others joy. Examples could include setting time aside for a game of touch football with the family; trivia contest; board games; watching a movie/show; looking through old pictures; going for a walk; etc. If you are alone, you can do things like call a friend; video chat game of cards; play a video game online; create a piece of art with someone overf video chat; etc. You will need to collaborate to earn this point! [POINTS: 1]
   
  • Fitness Joyfulness Gravy Point Opportunity - Exercise for 20 minutes OR complete a minimum of 4 rounds of the Fitness Gratitude Challenge. Exercise increases endorphins, so try and go for a twenty-minute run, walk, bike ride, HIIT workout, yoga session, etc.! Check out the Y’s virtual classes on Thanksgiving! [Gravy Points: 1 for each 20-minute exercise cycle]
     
• Nutrition - Eat at least 1 vegetable with each meal. Whole yams or sweet potatoes or baked in their natural form count, but mashed potatoes and French fries do not. [POINTS: 1 for each meal that you eat a vegetable]
   
  • Nutrition Challenge Gravy Point Opportunity - Research and share with someone 2 benefits of each vegetable you eat for the day.  [Gravy Points: 1 point for every 2 benefits you learn and share]

Happy Turkey Day. Share with us on social using #TurkeyDayChallenge and see who wins! 

If the challenge above isn't your speed, try our Simple Thanksgiving Challenge below. 

Challenge Two:

Choose between workout one or workout two to complete in the morning and pick two things from workout three to do during the day!