The temperature in San Diego has gone from a cool and crisp 65 degrees to a reasonable 70. (Don’t laugh – you know you were complaining about how freezing it has been.) This means the first signs of summer are here. As is tradition, many of you will sift through your closets and toss out unwanted items that have been taking up excess space. Some might take the car in for a much-needed detailing. Others will clean house from top to bottom until it sparkles. I like to think that this time of years offers the perfect chance to do some spring cleaning of a different sort (though the car could definitely use a bit of sprucing up!). Spring is a good time to kick-start your fitness and wellness routine. This year, I decided I wanted to do something different. I wasn’t sure at first what that meant, and then it hit me.

A few days ago I sat thinking about challenges and how they can act as a great motivator to kick start a health and fitness program, or lend a boost to one already in place. In my line of work, I spend a great deal of time pushing others to step beyond their boundaries, and sometimes I find there isn’t a whole lot of that “umph” left for myself. I, too, am capable of falling into a rut. I also know that some of my nearest and dearest have grumbled a bit about their own muddled efforts and backpedaling so I decided to pose a health and fitness-oriented Springtime Showdown to them. We will work as a group to hold one another accountable and to offer support on this journey to greater health and fitness. At the suggestion of one participant we have decided to put ourselves in the spotlight to inspire a few readers to join and start their own respective shape-up challenges. So, during the course of the coming 12 weeks, my compadres and I will strive to achieve a variety of individually set goals. Each month I will provide you with updates on the group’s progress as well as insight into each person’s thought processes. Read on to learn more about some of the challenges we have placed in front of us.

Collectively we have decided on a points system that will be calculated based on several factors. Here is a sample of what we plan to include:

Body composition: While there are many important factors that should be included in any shape-up challenge (and I’m not talking about that mischievous and disheartening scale), one of the greatest determinants for improved fitness is to decrease body fat and increase muscle. Each participant in my group will have body fat measurements taken as a baseline and will set healthy, reasonable goals for fat reduction and muscle building. A healthy body fat percentage for women is about 21-24 percent, while men might shoot for 14-17 percent. Points will be awarded based on each person’s individual goal.

Get your fruits and veggies: In order to improve body composition and to supply the body with much-needed vitamins and nutrients, fruits and veggies are a must. According to the nutrition department at Harvard University, it is recommended that the average person consume five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day (with more servings of veggies than fruit). Our baseline requirement will be five servings each day. A participant can gain a point by meeting the minimum requirement and will receive more points if he or she eats subsequent servings. Conversely, if a participant does not consume at least five servings, he will have a point deducted.

Hydrate: Staying hydrated throughout the day is extremely important for optimal health. Some of the many benefits of drinking water regularly include efficient transportation of nutrients, body temperature regulation, disposal of toxins and wastes, increased energy levels, appetite regulation and more. The Mayo Clinic recommends drinking a half ounce of water per pound of body weight. To keep things simple, my group and I are going to shoot for eight glasses of water each day. As with the fruits and veggies challenge, a person drinking the full eight glasses will gain one point. Those who don’t quite make it will lose points.

Fitness challenges: First, each of our participants has agreed to perform 1-hour of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise at least three times per week. As part of this challenge we have decided to include several strength and cardiovascular goals. For example, an individual might seek to increase the number of push-ups he can do; every time he adds five more repetitions he gains a point. The one-mile run can be your chosen method for measuring cardiovascular endurance. Reducing your time by a predetermined amount will result in points earned. Whatever physical challenges you choose to include, make sure to take accurate baseline measurements so you know where everyone is starting out. Try to retake measurements once a month.

Inner peace: The fast-paced lives many of us lead can result in heightened stress levels and increased propensity for life-threatening disease. Despite such dangers the majority of the population takes very little time out of the day to find peace and de-stress. Gobs of research has determined that regular meditation is an excellent method for reducing stress levels and increasing wellbeing. Other reported benefits include strengthening the immune system, memory enhancement, improved function of internal organs, greater concentration and more. As a group we have challenged ourselves to meditate daily for at least 10 minutes. Any more than that will garner extra points. For information on meditation visit http://www.how-to-meditate.org.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, fitness is a journey. Along that path, however, it is vital to integrate challenges to measure improvements and to achieve successes that will help keep you motivated to continue. The brave participants of this challenge have agreed to test themselves on all fronts to prove that they have the power to implement positive and healthy changes in their lives. They have also agreed to do so in front of an audience to show others that everyone is capable of making important lifestyle improvements.

We have yet to determine a “prize” or “award” for the person who makes the greatest improvements, but all involved have agreed that optimal health is reason enough. Stay tuned to find out what happens!

Ryan Halvorson is a certified personal trainer at Excel Sport & Therapy in La Jolla, and a health and fitness writer and speaker.