Bodyweight Exercises Workout Challenge
Day 5 of our 30 day challenge is already here. My how time does fly (well maybe not for all especially since we took coffee off the list). Great job everyone who is sticking with it, and don’t worry in phase II we will let you start to work foods/drinks back in again (that includes coffee, after all we are not sadists here!). The benefit about routinely cycling off things like caffeine for a bit, is it should increase your sensitivity when you go back to it (so you will need less than before). Also you are proving right now to yourself how strong you really are mentally!
Today we are laying out a bodyweight exercises workout challenge for you to accomplish at some point this weekend.
Exercise Should Not be Seen as Such a Task
In our time management exercise on Day 3, we talked about making time for daily exercise. I know everyone has different schedules in life, but the one thing we shouldn’t think is that a fitness program has to be complicated or time consuming. It doesn’t! Daily movement can come with just simple steps and you don’t need an expensive gym to be able to challenge your muscles. In fact you can get a great workout in your own home in as little as 15min a day!
Do you actually dread trying to make time to exercise? Are you overcomplicating your plan? It shouldn't be a burden on you, it should be enjoyable.
Remember that there are many benefits to exercising/moving daily including better glucose management (blood sugar), reduction of disease risks, lowered fasting insulin (the biggest marker in health), keeping your muscles (use it or lose it afterall…which are also your fat burning factories), better moods, stress reduction, and the list goes on and on.
Proper strength training will also build strong muscles (not necessarily huge ones, so don’t worry if that is not your goal), help you look more defined and raise your resting energy expenditure (burn more calories).
Using Your Own Bodyweight
Who said you need an expensive gym? You have nature’s gym with you at all times, your own body!
Many people are healthy and fit just using bodyweight movements and exercises. Look at many martial artists, gymnasts, military, and others who may not have access to equipment and still can make do.
All it takes is a plan of action, and then making it happen. So I’m giving you the challenge, but are you going to take action on it?
The Workout Challenge
Seriously, how awesome is this picture of a group of people doing burpees outside. It gets me a little pumped and makes me want to go join them!
This is the challenge I am throwing down, and see if you can come thru for me. I understand that people are of different levels of ability, and all I ask is that you just do your best and report back.
The Challenge:
- Warmup for 5 minutes (get the blood going, do some jumping jacks, few pushups, few squats, walk/jog in place, jumprope, etc)
- Get the clock ready/nearby (so you can see when your time is up)
- In 15 minutes see how many circuits (or rounds) you can do of the following
- For more Beginners: 10 squats, 5 pushups, 20 jumping jacks
- For more Advanced: 20 lunges (10 each leg), 10 pushups, 10 burpees (EDIT: You can leave out the pushup part of the burpee, just don’t go down all the way to the floor with your chest, as you are already doing them before)
- Come back and report in the comments how many circuits/rounds you got!
Remember to scale for your needs and ability (it’s about being smart and safe too). Beginner squats can be done by getting up and down out of a chair, or even using something to hold on to for balance (without chair). Pushups can be done at an angle for easier use (like leaning against a higher step on the staircase or side/back of couch). Keep your movements in control and challenge yourself to how much you can do in 15 min.
This is just a basic and very simple setup, but keep that in mind when you think you don’t have time for a workout (or have to always get to the gym for one). Doing this simple progression 2-3x a week may give the added boost you need to burn some extra fat. You can add in more advanced programming with resistance bands, bodyweight straps/rings, pullup bar, and even a set of dummbells/kettlebells. I’ll have more advanced challenges coming soon.
But for now….you have as many times as you want to try this challenge over the weekend. Come back and report how well you did and let’s see those impressive scores that I know are out there!
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{18 Comments. Read them below or add one}
Great advice! As a former gymnast, I firmly believe that body-weight exercising is the best way to train for overall fitness … AND it is the most efficient way to train. No need for weights or a gym. My mantra for 2010 – No Excuses!
My brother (also a gymnast) and I put together a great body-weight training fitness program at http://www.GymABstics.com. Included are 3-minute Ab Burner routines that anyone can do whenever they have a couple of spare minutes. You can see one of them for free at our web site.
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I’m good with that challenge, I am off to the gym at least 3 days
a week for strength training, bike, and treadmill, but I am
willing to do the extra here at home. I like Jay’s exercise
routine he has worked up. I have done a lot of that in the
first parts of my weight loss and it has made a hugh
difference in the way my body looks after losing 70 lbs. I
don’t have all the extra skin hanging around that many do
that lose weight without strength training. Well, I am off
to the gym, have a nice day.
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I’m unable to make it to my crossfit gym today to train (we drive an hour just to train at the nearst cf!), so I’m taking your bodyweight workout to my nearby “globo-gym” (where it’s warm) and hitting the 15 minutes for max rounds of lunges, pushups and burpees (although pushups in burpees following “pushups” is going to be a killer!). That’ll be a great warmup for “Cindy” or “Mary”, my CF rx for today! Great way to start the Friday/weekend!
Also, in lieu of coffee, I’ve turned to Guayaki Tea’s Chocolate Mate tea with little almond milk in the morning. Gives me a little zing, but not “coffee” per se. Is that OK?
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Oh, and TO JAY: I bought the GymnAbstics series when it came out – LOVE IT! Saved each email to so I can go back and review/re-do the series. Another great way to train in such a small space w/out any equipment. I was sweating each time and my clients loved the change up too.
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@Sam – Mate, from what I understand, contains caffeine (about half as much as coffee and more than brewed tea). At a guess, if coffee is off our drinking list, mate should probably be, as well.
I failed yesterday’s challenge. I got home and checked my spice rack and was surprised to find I have no fennel! I regularly use all the spices in there, so this weekend I’ll go out and buy something new to experiment with. I also found I’m out of turmeric.
I’ll report again when I’ve done today’s challenge…
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Just completed the beginners version (squats, pushups, jumping jacks):
9 rounds in 15 min
Don’t let this simple circuit fool you…I’m going to have trouble getting out of bed tomorrow, I know it.
Come on people, let’s see those scores!
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Whew! I must be sooooo out of shape. It nearly killed me to do 11 rounds of the beginner version in 15 minutes. Afterwards, I had to sit down for a while because I felt like my knees and ankles were going to give out.
When it came to doing the pushups, I had to do the “leaning on the stairs” because I had hurt my right arm playing tennis and I am on a month long sabbatical from playing tennis. But this was good, I needed something different for my exercise routine to break up the monotony.
The third day of this challenge has been the hardest for me and I feel like I’ve gotten over the hump, this week any way. What I miss the most is my raw milk and yogurt. Otherwise, I have been ok so far in not having sweets. Hopefully, I can stay focused and stay the course.
It sure helps to have words of encouragement and tips from Mike to see us through this challenge. What is going through my mind as I take on this challenge is to enjoy the journey and see how this will impact/change me as a person.
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I ended up doing our CF gym’s workout of the day, which was a bodyweight workout: Cindy: 20 minutes, as many rounds as possible of: 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 bodyweight squats. I managed 14 and 2/3 rounds. I was tough!!
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Mike OD Reply:
Edit: You can leave out the “pushup” part of the burpee (as you are doing enough pushups already).
Nice job everyone so far. Yes it may leave your muscles a bit sore the following 48 hours, but the more consistent you stay with exercise the less DOMS you will have overtime.
@Sam – Cindy is a great BW circuit. Nice job on the 14 rounds, that is really good! (I think the last time I attempted Cindy long ago I had a PR of 16 and it left me wiped!)
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Day 5:
I was really looking forward to this post. It would be great if you could set some optional work out for beginners like me, 3 times /week. I have no problem with cardio ,but with crossfit a bit lost!!!
Ok I did the beginners one, managed only 8 in 15 min ( shame on me), and I am sore ugh. Did my usual 1 hr walk too.
B- herbal tea (not hungry)
L- Chicken curry + mixed salad
D- veg broth
Baby squids and mixed greens
S- grapefruit
Lots of herbal tea during the day, slept well but not enough.
I feel a bit tired so is going to be an early night on Saturday!! getting old maybe;)
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Great post, as usual…I did really good starting out on the challenge (beginners) at the beginning, but got slower as the time went on…only ended up with 8…
I haven’t had any problems with the first 5 1/2 days. I’ve missed my coffee, but I don’t think I’m really missing the caffeine. I didn’t weigh or measure, but have been using my jeans as a sign of progress…and the progress isn’t looking great right now. They are feeling very tight at the moment.
The only thing I can think of is I’m overeating. I’ve been eating two meals a day and maybe a snack if needed. Possibly I”m eating too much at those two meals? Or I’ve taken in too much salt (had pork ribs a couple times this week, and had restaurant fajitas last night). Trying not to get discouraged…..
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Day 6:
B- 2 eggs and bacon + herbal tea
L- Shepherd pie subs parsnip for potato+ geen salad ( ate too much)
D- baked fish+ grated beet w lemon and olive oil
work out: 1/2 hr of walk
some streching.
Motivated and feel good. Probably a very high calorie day!!!
Ok I am going to try and make mantra or a song out of this paragraph to help me with work out motivation:
“Remember that there are many benefits to exercising/moving daily including better glucose management (blood sugar), reduction of disease risks, lowered fasting insulin (the biggest marker in health), keeping your muscles (use it or lose it afterall…which are also your fat burning factories), better moods, stress reduction, and the list goes on and on.”
Have a nice day everyone.
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Mike OD Reply:
@Thania – Good luck making a song out of that!
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That picture is so cool!
One of the things I’m having to learn as a new Mum is how to fit in workouts in a) shorter timeframes and b) without relying on the gym and/or machines.
A new favorite is Tabata training – 4 minute killer sets of cardio-based exercise, either with your own body (i.e. squat jumps/push ups) or using some equipment such as a skipping rope. It’s a great variation from traditional training and seems to be pumping my metabolism up for a good couple of days each time!
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Mike OD Reply:
@Kat – Congrats on being the new mom! You probably now appreciate those shorter workouts now more than ever! Best part, is you can get a good intense workout in 5-10minutes and doing repeated efforts over a day (spread out) will actually boost more fat releasing/burning hormones to help you burn more fat and stay lean all day long. Worst part, no more excuses!
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I did something different.I usually train with weights.My work out consists of dead lift,renegade row,barbell row,side press,sit ups,push ups,etc.So that’s what I did and do four times a week.I also do interval cardio when the weather is nice.
I’ve done my workout only a different then the one above.
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I’m a little behind the schedule… I’m new to BW exercise so I took the beginners track- 13 reps. Squats by far the most difficult part.
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Not bad… but you should check out Coach Wade’s _Convict Conditioning_ from DragonDoor, great stuff and detailed progressions.
~Leslie, Z Sports Performance / aspiring Strength coach =)
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