This challenge is for the beginner and intermediate female trainee, from the ages of 36-plus who are willing to work hard, pump iron and give maximum effort.

Whether you’re familiar with the weight room or not, as long as you’re open to new and challenging exercises then you’ll enjoy this challenge.

The main focus of the Masters Women 21-Day Challenge is to show you different ways to workout with weights and how to implement simple nutrition strategies to achieve your desired health and fitness goals.

Who is the Masters Women Challenge NOT for?

The Masters Women 21-Day Challenge is not for advanced trainees who are already on a well-designed program and haven’t hit a plateau yet or have a good grasp on nutrition.

This is also not for women who are stuck on the idea that lifting weights will make them bulky.

If you’re not comfortable working out in a small group than this isn’t the best choice for you at this time.

Will you give a meal plan for this challenge?

Nope.

I won’t be giving out meal plans for this challenge because it won’t teach you anything and on top of that meal plans and diets are not sustainable.

Meal plans can put too much pressure on you especially if you can figure out when to have your meals because life gets in the way. Instead you’ll get tools to learn how and what to eat when it’s appropriate for you.

Do I have to spend a lot of money on food and supplements?

Absolutely not! It’s a misconception that eating healthy is expensive but it’s actually not the case. Most people eat out a lot, which isn’t limited to restaurants but eating food outside that you didn’t prepare yourself and it all adds up.

By preparing your own foods and following the 5-Habits you’ll find it cheaper and that you’ll also feel fuller, longer.

I don’t think of myself as a beginner or intermediate, will this challenge be too easy for me?

To be honest, everyone could use a trainer and I can almost guarantee that there are a few exercises that you may have never performed before and pretty much for most exercises there is a harder variation that can also be loaded with heavier loads.

A lot of times even the most advanced trainee could use a push.

Breakfast seems to be just too much food for me to eat in the morning. I can’t eat all that food for breakfast, what can I do?

You can split breakfast up if you want. As long as you get all your food in by the end of the day it doesn’t matter much at the beginning. Though sticking with it and getting used to eating more food earlier in the day will yield better results.

Wake up earlier if you have to.

I find I am hungry in the late afternoon/evening on training days. Is it okay to add some more food at dinner?

It’s okay to add a little more food if you’re hungry until your body adapts. You should eat more food earlier in the day when you’re out and about, moving around and such and less in the evening when you’re not doing much anything physical.

That is if most of your activity is in the morning, the opposite is sometimes true if most activity is in the evening.

I workout in the morning and I’ve kept my carbs around my workout but I find I still feel hungry late afternoons or at dinner, how come?

You can try adding a little more carbs post-workout or at lunch if that helps. If you’re hungrier around dinnertime then have a little more protein and veggies.
It’s okay to go up to 5oz instead of 4oz of protein if that’s what you were having and veggies are freebies so you can totally load up on them.

If feels like I’m eating all day and I can barely finish my food because I’m full!
You’re feeling full probably because you’re not used to the amount of food and the frequency. It’ll take several days for your body to get used to things and before you know it you’ll be hungry every 3-4 hours.

As you’re adjusting things you could eat a little less. Always leave the table a little empty and pay attention to your satiation cues. With frequent feedings, every 3-4 hours your metabolism will increase and you will begin to lose weight.

I’m finding it very challenging to follow the meal recommendations 100% of the time?

You only need 80% adherence to achieve awesome results. So that’s 6 days per week that you need to be making conscious decisions as to what you’re putting into your mouth.
MyFitnessPal is a great tool to use to track your food choices and show so you can see exactly what you’re eating, when you write it down it’s real.

As your health improves, so do your taste buds and you’ll find that healthier foods begin to taste better, which will open up a lot more food choices so following the meal recommendations won’t feel as challenging.

Do I really have to take photos; do I have to submit them?

You don’t have to take a photo if you don’t want to. It’s optional. Though if it’s for a challenge then you need to submit them in order to be eligible for a prize.

Photos are a great way to track your progress because sometime you may not see any changes with the scale but a big difference between photos.

At the end of the challenge, if you’re really happy with your transformation and you’d like to be featured on my page, I’ll ask for your permission to do so.

In the meantime, your pictures will remain private at all times and you’re free to opt out of the photo process if you choose to do so.

I do encourage that you get out of your comfort zone and give this process a try.

I already have a personal trainer can I still participate?

Of course you can, joining this challenge gives you an opportunity to try a few new things that you can implement into your current training regime with your personal trainer.

As long as you let your personal trainer know what you’re doing so that he or she can modify your workouts if necessary.

I have a few injuries, is it a good idea to do this challenge?

Yes.

Injuries happen, it’s almost unavoidable but I understand your concerns. When training with me I can tailor certain exercises to fit your needs.

Once you’re signed up we’ll go through a brief questionnaire to find out your current fitness level.

How do I choose the right protein powder, what’s a good use and where do I buy it?

Depending on your needs and goals your choices will vary. If you are not a vegan or vegetarian or you don’t have any know allergies to dairy then you can opt for a whey protein isolate that is low on sugar and sweeteners and hasn’t been heat treated.

For vegans and vegetarians you could opt for hemp, pea or other non-dairy protein powders.
Protein powders are a quick, convenient and easy way to get your dietary protein up. Remember though that it is a supplement and most of your food should be coming from “whole” foods.

My top choices for brands are from the Poliquin Group, Poliquin Group Canada, Exos Fuel Performance Nutrition or ATP-Labs.

How many calories I should be consuming each day?

Honestly you shouldn’t count calories, chances are you’re not actually eating enough or frequently enough anyways. Calorie counting can lead to poor decisions kind of like points in weight watchers.

If you follow the 5 habits and make good choices you’ll find that you’ll feel fuller longer and lose weight… but if you insist you can go HERE to learn how you calculate it and then you can enter it into MyFitnessPal.