As of this Sunday, February 21st, there will be 100 days left until Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. Often we all have goals related to how we want our bodies to look on that day when we get into our swimsuits to cool off at the pool (or often, for us, the splash pad). I know there are all sorts of reasons we shouldn't be concerned with how we look. We should all focus more fully on our character development, health status and service to others. But I think we can work on all of those aspects and still worry about how to shed the winter bulk we've accumulated. Doing anything specific and difficult for 100 days requires tenacity and discipline both of which are essential for achieving any worthwhile goal. Take these 100 days to develop those attributes while still working on your physique. Here are a few suggestions:
100 Burpees a Day. Check out this blog post on rosstraining.com. This lady did 100 burpees a day for a year. You can handle 100 days. I started this challenge once and made it to day 23. I got extremely sick (unrelated to the challenge, fully related to a sick niece) and never picked it back up. I've read it's good to both tell other people your goals and to keep them to yourself. So, who knows? Maybe you should tell somebody you're trying it or maybe keep it to yourself. In a standard burpee you start out standing straight up, squat down until your hands touch the floor, kick your legs out straight so you're in a plank position, bring them back in to a squat, and stand up. You can create different variations (add a pushup, pullup, weights, jumps, etc.). You can be strict on form or flop down and whip up. You can do them all in one session or throughout the day. You create the rules for yourself depending on what you hope to accomplish with the challenge. You just do it for 100 days.
Squat Everyday. There are various ways to approach this challenge. There are books and articles written about it. Some people have dedicated their foreseeable future on this idea. You can either max out everyday like some people in this program or just do working sets moving through different rep ranges. You can incorporate front squats or just stick with back squats. Again, it's your call and depends on your goals. I learned about John Broz on Youtube a few years back and squatted to a daily max everyday (often twice a day) for about six months. My back squat went from 130 kg (286 lbs) to 160 kg (352 lbs) and my front squat from 115 kg (253 lbs) to 140 kg (308 lbs). I also saw gains in every other lift in did, regardless of how often I attempted those lifts. Some days you feel terrible and some days you feel great. It's fun in a weird way. I'd personally follow schemes that involve a lot more working sets between 70-85% but others far stronger than me have found success with the daily max method.
No Sugar. If you thought doing some squats or burpees for 100 days would be tough, those seem fairly straightforward compared with this challenge. I've done Paleo and Whole30 challenges but I've never gone that long without added sugar. If your challenge is related to training you only have to do it for one session during the day. That could be as little as 5 minutes (if you have some great conditioning for burpees) or as much as an hour (working up to your squat max and doing some working sets). With a no sugar challenge, you never get a break until you're asleep. You have to decline all sorts of free and tempting food. I've got no problem with sugary treats but if they dictate your life, this may be a good challenge for you. This one requires significant planning and control. You could remove all sugar not found in vegetables or just stick to added sugar. You could create a variation in which you only get sugar within the hour after you've done your training session (a la carbohydrate backloading). Or you could give yourself an hour long cheat one time per week wherein you binge and feel terrible enough not to do it again for a week. Whatever you do, you simply try to eliminate the control sugar has over you, or "slay the sugar dragon."
This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the possible challenges you can do. I like challenges like this because it gives you some guidance and experience with a tough fitness or nutrition principle without having to take some crazy life-long stance. Maybe it would be a springboard to better physique, health or athleticism. You'll likely be closer to whatever goal you have for your summer body. You may find that you enjoy it along the way.
If you're thinking to do something and want some encouragement throughout the 100 days, let me know and I'll offer whatever I can.
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