Challenge: Review

7 Days of my Strength Training Challenge : Done

For those of you who may have missed it, I started a challenge a week ago after recognizing a need to fit more strength training into my work out routine.

I sell tickets to this gun show.

For whatever reason, I am not good at dedicating days in my routine to strength training, especially when I’m in a race training cycle.

A while back, I started doing 100s, strength sessions that last about 20-30 minutes that require little space and no equipment.

These are perfect to squeeze in during lunch breaks at work or when I have some spare time at home.

But what if you can’t or don’t want to dedicate your break working out?  I understand that…

Do you have 2 minutes?  Can you dedicate 2 minutes to strength training when you find it?

• Break between clients?  Bust out a plank hold.
• Waiting for something to finish in the microwave? Do some crunches
• On hold on the phone? Bust out some push ups.

It’s simple, and let me tell you, if you do this consistently through out the day, it adds up!

And THAT my friends, is the challenge.

7 days of “fitting in” strength training.

How’d I Do?

Well, in one week I completed:

• 175 oblique crunches L & R
• 259 REAL push ups
• 125 squats
• 100 knee highs
• 980 seconds of plank holds
• 60 hip dips
• 275 calf raises
• 25 lunges
• 100 crunches
• 100 seconds of wall sits
• 200 bridges
• 50 full sit ups
• 3 minutes of pigeon L & R
• 100 jumping jacks
• 100 reverse crunches
• 100 leg lifts
• 50 seconds side plant L & R

for daily break down of what I did, I posted what I completed each day through out the week.

And this is all just while I’m bored or had a minute to spare.  Pretty damn good if you ask me!

Thoughts

I’m stronger than I give myself credit for.

Before this challenge, I had never done more than 10 real push ups uninterrupted.

I am now doing 32 uninterrupted.

Before this challenge, I’d never help a plank over 100 seconds

I added 5 seconds to my planks each day and ended up doing a 155 second plank yesterday…

Before this challenge, I would do body weight work outs in 25 rep sets.

I’m now doing 50 set reps because I know I can. 

Through out the week I found myself building upon the previous day’s work.  Like adding a push up, or adding 5 seconds to my plank.

My goal with strength training is to add reps or weights.  It shows that you are building strength and pushing yourself.  So even though I wasn’t doing full work outs, I was showing improvement and pushing myself with this challenge.  That was probably my favorite part of the experience:  seeing improvement.

Isn’t that the most important thing in motivating ourselves to work out?  Being able to see the changes and improvements?  I know for me, it’s what keeps me challenging myself on a regular basis.

Will I Continue?

Absolutely.

Especially while I’m still training for the STL half.  My body is always more fatigued than normal during training sessions so it’s hard to push full strength work outs, so squeezing it in at various points through out the day (instead of in one, continuous session) keeps me from fatiguing myself as much.

I will admit that this challenge does NOT equal a real beast of a strength work out, and I do plan to work on integrating full strength work outs into my routine where I can.  But it IS something.  I AM fitting in quick, high intensity work outs, and that is good.

I like feeling strong, and I never feel as strong as I do after busting out some real push ups or holding a plank FOREVER.

What can I say?  I like my work outs strong, just like most things in my life 🙂