Posts Tagged ‘get in shape’

It’s been way to long since I have written on this blog. But rather than get into the reasons why, I would rather like to talk about why I will be writing more often.

A couple years ago, I did a Get Fit in 30 Days Challenge. The challenge was to see how good of shape I could get into by exercising 5 times a week and not changing my diet. I also limited the amount I was able to exercise to 5 hours per week. I was actually surprised at how good of shape 30 days really made. The project was a lot of fun.

This April I will turn 30 years old. And since I am not in the best shape after the  holidays (not bad, but not great), I figure what better way to start off my 30th birthday than being in the best shape I have ever been in.

This year I am changing the rules a bit. Since I am going for max results rather than testing to see what simple exercise can do in 30 days, I won’t be limiting myself to a certain amount of hours/days per week.

However, all exercises will be something that anyone can do at home with minimal equipment. I don’t believe that a gym is necessary to get in shape. Though it might be helpful to get coached and stay motivated

THE RESULTS

For the last challenge I took pictures once a week and then posted them each week. This time I will take pictures every day and then turn them into time lapse video.

THE PROGRAM

I will be following two programs. One is a workout/ab program and the other is on dieting/eating. I will not be following these too tightly though as I will also be using my own exercises. I will write more about these later.

A lot of the exercises I do will be my own (not part of the program), and I will mention these as we go along.

COMING

In the next few posts I will talk about the programs and equipment I will be using.

GETTING STARTED

I believe the best time to start is always now. So I will be taking my first picture today and the end date is April 18.

Wish me the best of luck and feel free to follow a long and do your own challenge. Also feel free to comment and give me feedback. I am sure there will be times when I need the motivation.

Since I am getting this post out a little late, I have decided to combine day 26 and 27 (yesterday and today). This works out well since I added a swim to my exercise routine for the last two days. Though technically I was snorkeling, and the water was too cold to stay in more than about 10-15 minutes, I tried to get as much exercise out of it as possible. It also helped me to realize another reason to break up your exercise routine through out the day. Something unexpected may come into your schedule that stops you from completing that day.

Being that it’s February, it had been a while since I had been out under the direct sun swimming. Putting my body under a bright sun for a little over an hour zapped all of my energy. I didn’t notice it at first, but a couple hours after I returned home I became very tired and wasnt motivated at all to do my exercise routine. My whole body felt heavier and sluggish. I would have been perfectly happy to fall asleep in front of the TV.

I actually did go on and push myself to complete the rest of my routine and even went for a short run. I felt much better afterwords and my energy seemed to be restored. It also helped that I knew I would be writing about it later and that the results wouldn’t be as accurate if I missed a day.

However, I had already done a parts of my routine in the morning and combined with the swim that would have been an adequate workout for the day. It wouldn’t have been a big deal to let my body rest for the night.  If I had a set workout schedule, skipping the routine without effecting my results wouldn’t have been possible. Knowing that part of the workout was already finished also made it easier to start again when I was tired.

Tomorrow is technically the last day of the challenge so please be sure to tune in for the final results. Technically the challenge was 30 days, but the following 2 days would be rest days and so won’t count.

Exercises of the Day

Bicycle Crunches- Laying with your back on the floor and your legs bent and elevated of the floor, slowly crunch your right elbow to your left knee (then do the same with your left elbow and right knee). Using your stomach muscles lift your upper body as much as possible off the ground when doing the crunch. I also hold each one for a second or two. This exercise is still one of the most difficult for me.

Pull-ups- The reason I am such a big fan off pull-ups is because of the number of upper body muscles it requires. Not to mention that using only a bar, you can do several types of pull-ups, working different muscle groups. Seeing my upper body strength increase by the ease I can do  pull-ups has been very motivating.