So it has been a month, since I’ve started the 365 days of fitness challenge. Over the course of the last 31 days, the plan was to complete at least:
31 miles (50km)
775 situps
775 pushups
775 burpees
775 squats
620 lunges (310 per leg)
2, 325 jumping jacks
62 minutes of plank
62 minutes of wall sits
The first two weeks worked out pretty well. I had a specific list of exercises to complete every day, and most days I ended up with two workouts. I really enjoyed the extra little pick-me-up routine in the evening, which only took 20 minutes or so.
I found squats the easiest, and wall sits the hardest. The latter were probably the hardest, because they were new to me – I rarely incorporate those into my routine. Unfortunately, my knees did not like this particular exercise at all!
January was also the month when I started CrossFit. That coupled with burpees and push-ups every single day was way too “shoulder-heavy”.
Around mid-January, I started getting a little bored with the routine… My knees were complaining more and more about the wall sits. Then I sprained my wrist (and there went my push-ups and burpees). As a result, I did not complete all the daily exercises as prescribed.
However, January resulted in at least:
70 miles (110km) run/walked/hiked
775 situps
450 push-ups
450 burpees
775 squats
620 lunges (310 per leg)
2, 325 jumping jacks
48 minutes of plank
37 minutes of wall sits
In addition:
12 CrossFit workouts
3 swim workouts
1 outdoor running event
However… I still intend to finish all the reps I set out to do. I’m all caught up with my miles, and the last couple of days were squat and lunge heavy, as my wrist was taking a break.
As of today, I still need to complete:
325 burpees (+40 earned for being late to CrossFit) –> equivalent to missing 12 obstacles during a Spartan race
325 push-ups
14min of plank
25min of wall sits
Given the sprained wrist, I’m going to try doing 1 burpee/1 push-up on the 1st of the month, and adding one more rep every day.
Going forward… As I was taking this on at the beginning of January, I wasn’t planning to actually do the same exercises every single day for a year. I just… don’t function that way. It’s boring. Your body gets used to the exercises really quickly, and then it’s not really a challenge any more.
However, I’m really happy I decided to do this for a couple of reasons:
The first couple of weeks in January are often the hardest to power through – the holidays are over, and motivation can be pretty low. We feel sluggish and guilty after all the Christmas (over)eating. This gave me a very specific to do item for every day.
I also decided to make this challenge my own. I accept the 365 days of fitness challenge. I will aim to complete at least 20 minutes of physical activity every single day in 2013. (I’m on track so far!)
I love the idea of moving every day. But I don’t love the idea of doing the same thing. I also do not think it’s necessary to do 25 squats and 75 jumping jacks on a day that I have already completed a tough CrossFit workout, or ran 10 miles (or completed the Ultra Beast, or Goruck, or a full marathon, etc., etc.).
I’ve also completed this set of exercises enough times to memorize it, and so it can serve as a really easy light workout day, if nothing else is planned, or if I’m simply pressed for time.
That’s my thoughts for now. Now to figure out a new challenge for February!
Signing off, Solo