30 Days of Fitness: Virtual Challenge

By Jenna McDonald

To say I’m excited about the Hope For The Warriors Memorial Day 30×30 Virtual Fitness Challenge is a bit of an understatement. Sure, sure, I know you’re saying, “Of course you are. It’s your job.”

Well, you’re right, or at least partially right. I am the Sports and Recreation Manager at Hope For The Warriors, and this program is part of my job.

But it goes way beyond that.

The 30X30 Challenge is all about helping to build a healthier lifestyle, and that’s something I’ve worked on personally my entire life. A healthy lifestyle to me is a habit. It’s almost like brushing my teeth. I’ve been an athlete and active my whole life, playing sports well past college, so incorporating activity into my life and lifestyle has always been a natural thing for me.

The goal for the 30×30 Challenge is get people moving by incorporating any type of physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes for 30 days. Any activity counts—walking, running, hiking, swimming, lifting—you get the picture. There are a couple of really cool things about the Challenge: you can participate from anywhere in the world, and it’s free!

It’s a combined effort working on your own healthy lifestyle, while honoring and remembering fallen services members. It’s also a great opportunity to get your whole family involved, too. 

One of the most exciting things to me about the 30×30 Challenge is to see all of the amazing ways that folks perform their 30 minutes of physical activity. I love to see how creative people get with moving their bodies, especially dancers. I’m a horrible dancer, so I’m always in awe of dancers.

My husband and I are the proud parents of a 2-year-old daughter. She provides even more inspiration for me to stay healthy and fit. When I was a young teen, I struggled with body image issues. I want her to be surrounded by active and healthy lifestyles and understand that being strong and active and smart is always beautiful and will empower her to do so many great things in her life.

Her inspiration makes it easy for me to be up bright and early for my 5 a.m. workouts in our garage. I’ve slowly built a little gym setup there over the past few years. That hour every morning is mine. I lift weights, I go running, and I incorporate many functional fitness workouts. I do love all of it, though I love to hike as a family, and I like to take “running vacations,” where I will do a half marathon at a cool place (mostly Disney World).

In our almost 13 years in the Marine Corps, we literally have been stationed around the United States. From Hawaii, to Jacksonville, N.C. (three times), to California, we have been on the move often. For some, that may would have created a roadblock to fitness, but not for me and other services folks.

Being a military spouse means finding your tribe wherever the military sends you. I have found my tribe many times over through physical fitness. I think this challenge is a great way to bring like-minded, like-spirited folks together, even in this crazy world of social distancing. The virtual platform and sharing of photos and stories will allow us all to share these great feats of physical activity through the 30 days.

Shared experiences are always the common factor for us as military spouses. It could be a common duty station, or deployment, or love for running—it’s something we can share together, commiserate about together, and survive together.

Participants are encouraged to register for the free 30-day fitness challenge before or by April 30, at hopeforthewarriors.org. Participants can log their daily activity through the registration website to maintain a cumulative total for the challenge. Twice a week, participants will receive emails that motivate, inspire, and share ideas to help sustain well-being. 

For $30 a 30×30 Challenge T-shirt is available during registration (the shirt will arrive toward the end of the challenge). There is also an opportunity to sponsor a warrior for $30, allowing a service member or military family member to join the challenge with a T-shirt.

Jenna is the Sports & Recreation Manager at Hope For The Warriors, where she provides adaptive sports, running. and outdoor adventure opportunities to service members, veterans, and families. Jenna has worked at Roger Williams University (Bristol, R.I.) and The Department of the Navy—Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Jenna graduated from Springfield College in 2007 with her Bachelor of Science and continued her education at Southern New Hampshire University, obtaining her Master’s degree in Athletic Management / Sports Administration in 2017. Jenna is a mom, dog-lover, and CrossFit fanatic. She is originally from Chepachet, Rhode Island, currently living in Jacksonville, N.C., with her husband of 10 years, an active-duty Marine officer, 2-year-old daughter, and two dogs, Friar and Lucy.

All photos courtesy of Jenna McDonald.