Fitness February - Here's the Scoop

The resounding result of our non-scientific polling was that folks wanted Option C - the Killer Combo. Y'all are some motivated peeps! (Or crazy...as we repetitively prove, it's a very fine line....) 

So, here is Fitness February's Challenge:

* Move your body a minimum of 13.1 miles of human powered cardio motion PER WEEK (swimming, biking, running, walking, elliptical, unicycling...you human power it, you count it). (Note: if you want us to tweak your spreadsheet so that you're targeting 26.2 per week...we can do that.)

* Do a minimum of 2 of each of these strength-based sessions PER WEEK (so 2 each arms, 2 each legs, 2 each core):
        1.  Arms: 2x30 sec push-ups + 2x30 sec tricep dips + 2x30 sec pull-ups
        2.  Legs: 2x10 each leg lunges + 2x10 each leg step-ups + 2x10 each leg fire hydrants (oh yeah, we went there)
        3.  Core: 30 sec plank + 30 sec back bridge + 30 sec each side plank

For those of you who were curious about "authorized" variations -- here are our pre-approved variations. If you'd like others to be considered, drop us a note and we'll consider it. We'll keep the blog updated so you'll know what counts and what doesn't. 

* Push-Up: standard, close-hand, wide-hand, the one on your knees, and if you are really hurting -- get in a push-up position and push for all you're worth. You can split up the 30s intervals if you need to, but get 1 minute total of work done.
* Tricep dips: you can do it on the gym machine; you can find a sturdy surface in your house and do dips; you can do body-weight only; you can add weight plates to your legs. Same deal - if 30s at a pop crushes you, you can break it up, but get the total work done. 

* Pull-ups: any hand position is fine. Partner assisted is fine. If you can't pull yourself up (it's okay, these take practice), try! Hanging from a bar and tightening all your body muscles will do something for you even if you don't move that much. You can break these up...but do a minute's worth of work. If you don't have a pull-up bar -- a door frame can work (we haven't pulled molding off yet) although it will work your hands a bit more. Or, you could find a playground and use the monkey bars. We like monkey bars. We also have had some good success with the "as seen on tv" $20 gadget that fits in door frame.  

* Lunges: standard; side; with one leg resting on a bench; with weights; body-weight only; walking; stationary.  

* Step-ups: you set the step height, so we don't have any variations for this one. 

* Fire hydrants: if you'd like to substitute the kick-backs...we're okay with it 

* Plank: you may break up the time, but try to hold for the full 30s. 

* Back bridge: some folks like to hold "up" continuously, others prefer the "up, squeeze, down, repeat" cycle. Just don't cheat us out of the 30s! 

* Side planks: feet together, top foot lifted, top arm at side, top arm pointing to sky...lots of options. You may break up time, but give an honest 30s for each side.  

Thanks to everyone who voted -- we like you guys! (Even if we were slackers on email-ing back this past week.) 

Have fun psyching yourself up for Fitness February and keep in mind that March Abness is right around the corner!

MMT2 - Week 1 Complete!

One week in to the Challenge! Woo hoo! Most of the folks in MMT2-land are logging their exercise sessions and time and are *crushing* the challenge. Only a few are having a bit of trouble finding their mojo - it's in you somewhere...really…you can do this.

Then there are some folks who had their mojo flowing for a few days and then got side-lined. Perhaps it was work-related, an illness, owwies, the blahs...there are lots of reasons we fall off our exercise plan. But, if we're going to make this MMT2 Challenge work - they have to stay valid "reasons" and not become "excuses." Overcome the setback and get back on track with accomplishing the goal.

There's a common phrase/quote that we like: "Failing to plan is planning to fail." The MMT2 staff is currently hanging up a door-sized year-long planning calendar. We'll mark out the events we want to do this year and backwards plan to figure out some intermediate goals and milestones. Every time we walk between the kitchen and living room we'll see the goals and reasons we're getting out there and getting it done - even on dreary days when we'd really rather grow roots in the couch.

Yes, it's a bit intimidating to write down your goals and display them - putting yourself out there is tough. But it's a great way to focus and to hold yourself accountable. It's also a great way for other folks to help with your goals -- anyone who comes over to the house notices the calendar and inevitably offers support (and the obligatory "you're nuts!"). I also have an index card with a few priorities/goals sitting visible at my desk at work. Looking at the card and the calendar every day helps make the things on them real. It's as if writing down or displaying the event moves it from the "it would be good to ..." into the "I am going to ..." world. "I will" and "I can" are powerful phrases.

Lao Tzu said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Pick your destination, write it down, and take that step. It won't be easy, but choices rarely are.

Now that you have your goals displayed and a weekly/monthly plan, it is also important to write down what you have accomplished. Keep an exercise diary and log your workouts! We have our primitive version on the MMT blog, but that is really just designed for the challenge. We also use a free online exercise log at trainingpeaks.com to keep track of our training. I'm sure there are others - and you can always resort to using a primitive word-processor (a pencil). The most important thing is to keep track of what you are doing. It will give you a sense of accomplishment and you can see the progress you are making! By keeping a record of your exercise it also helps to hold you to your plan.

For the record, ya'll have logged over 145 hours -- if we were a relay team, that's more than 6 days of continuous exercise!

Keep up the great work!