Fitness February!

We received some great responses for the "what do you want in a challenge" email request. By far, the themes involved "I want to move every day" "something to challenge me" and "please, no swimming." While we've come to embrace our inner manatee...ok, we hear you. We'll save the swim challenge portion for the warmer months (so, yeah, you've got that to look forward to!).

Three options -- need your votes. Please send an email with your vote or leave a comment here on the blog.

Option A:  "2013.1" (idea stolen but modified significantly):

* It's the 2013.1 challenge. You have to complete 13.1 miles per week for the month of February: walk, run, jog, snow shoe, elliptical, treadmill, your choice.  There will be an option if you want to go all 26.2 on us.

Option B:  "The All-Arounder"

* minimum of 20 minutes of cardio - at least 4 days per week (walk, run, exercise bike, bungee jump...you get the picture).  

* Do each of these workouts twice 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

(oh, and if you're worried about the pull-ups/push-up/planks...we'll have some options)

Option C:  The Killer Combo:  Do both A and B.  Just do it...you know you want to.  Option A satisfies the cardio requirement in Option B.

Ideas will be fleshed out and rules developed...just getting a "head this direction" vote. As a reminder, you are responsible for your participation and for making good decisions. These are supposed to be a fun challenge - not something you use to crush yourself and get injured. These challenges are something you do for FUN. Being injured is definitely NOT FUN.

So, please vote. And if you have something you'd rather see...let us know.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of the Mortal Peeps!

As a quick recap - the Mad Elf Challenge participants racked up well over 10,000 holiday lights in 23 days worth of challenge time. Outstanding job! Toys for Tots was the charity selected by those who voted - so the Mortal Man staff sent a donation of $125 (1 cent per light rounded up a bit, because, well, it seemed the thing to do).

We've had some requests for another MMT Challenge and would like to get feedback. We've done a few different flavors / varieties and want to get some feedback. 

A quick summary to remind you of the different formats:

MMT 1) Complete an iron distance tri over the course of a month (2.4 swim / 112 bike / 26.2 run)

MMT 2) Complete a "session" per day for 31 days and 17 hours

MMT 3) We didn't publicize this one, but to focus on our bike endurance, during last year's Tour de France we matched the pro's ride-for-ride, except we only did 20% of their daily mileage.  In other words, when they rode hills, we rode hills.  When they time-trialed, we time trialed.  We just ratcheted the distances back to "mortal" levels.  

MMT 4 ) The Mad Elf Challenge -- earn lights and decorate your tree

There's some good variety there, but while the challenges certainly assist with *our* goals - we're not sure what your goals are or what types of challenges get you excited. 

So, if you're interested in a February challenge, please send us some feedback. Let us know what interests you -- tri focus, bike focus, run / walk focus, strength focus, "I just want to move every day" focus, general cardio focus, :I am training for a xx event and want something like that" focus, etc. 

Similarly, if you want off the mailing list, please let us know that too. 

Good luck in 2013!

It's March! That means...

...it's time for March Abness.

The challenge is all yours this time. Think about your core and your posture and set a goal.

For example, last year, we challenged ourselves to hold a front plank for 3 minutes by the end of March Abness. We wanted to get a jump start on strengthening our core to help maintain an aero position on the bike. This is an old photo (position has changed to go lower in the front), but it'll give you a rough idea. Note: the cell phone is not recommended for outside rides!

To practice holding that position for 112 miles, we started with challenging ourselves to hold a plank for 3 minutes. Good stuff.

So, pick a challenge that is appropriate for you and your training buddies...and have at it. Lots of different possibilities with this one and we'd love to hear about your March Abness Challenge in the comments. We're still debating our version - so we'd love to steal a good idea or two!

We're trying to figure out the next version of MMT -- look for more info toward the end of March Abness. In the meantime, we wish you safe training with lots of endorphins.

MMT2 - Halfway there!

Halfway there ... time to stay steady and keep up the good work. But first, a short detour for a public safety announcement (PSA).

This PSA has two parts - national news and the 4 Farm madness.

In case you didn't hear, Gene Hackman was hit by a car while riding a bike. First, anyone who is 82 and is riding a bike gets awesome points. And this next sentence in no way excuses the actions of the driver, nor does it blame GH in any way for the accident. But, if you're on a bike and you are outside - wear a helmet. Yeah, yeah, it messes up your hair -- shut up and wear a helmet. Rant complete. First part of the safety PSA - wear a helmet and be aware of your surrounding while biking, running, AND driving a car.

The second half of the PSA: check your equipment. One half of the MMT Staff got onto the bike trainer (the kind that lets you attach your own bike) without checking everything. Tires pumped, check. Front wheel block in place, check. Rear resistance unit in place and tightened, check. Skewer locked into place, not checked (note: this is the part that actually holds your bike in place - it "locks in" your rear wheel by the skewer (think axle)). Short version, 82 seconds into the ride, the rear wheel crashes to the floor and the whole bike attempts to lurch forward like it would outside when you're pedaling with both wheels on the ground. Luckily, the front wheel was somewhat trapped by a very stable block so instead of riding through the tv and causing catastrophic levels of damage, said MMT Staffer fell over sideways. Crashing noggin and shoulder first into a wall and using those parts to stabilize yourself until you can get un-clipped from the pedals and let go of the handlebars and brakes are NOT the approved solution for an indoor training ride. Apparently, the PSA part 1 helmet rant also applies if you are dumb enough to not properly check your equipment before an indoor ride. Be safe, peeps...this one could've been a lot worse than it was. Don't rely on luck. We all like to watch the "stupid human tricks" videos - but trust me, you don't want to be the starring crash test dummy.

Back to the regularly scheduled "halfway there!" portion. Hopefully, you're maintaining the pace and still enjoying the challenge. But here's where it gets hard. You've done a solid two weeks, your body possibly hurts in new and previously unknown places and there's a part of your brain that's going to try to tell you, "you've worked hard for two weeks, it's time for a break." If there's something that hurts (different from the good kind of ache) - absolutely. If it's the "but I don't wanna" or the "it's January and it's cold and dark and I'll start up again when it's warmer" voice -- be strong. You signed up for this challenge. This is YOUR choice. You want this! Own it. You are in charge.

Some tips that seem to work for either/both of us:

* Commit to 5 minutes. Get moving for those first 5 minutes and the odds are great that you'll finish the rest.

* Train with a buddy. Meeting up with someone or arranging plans to walk/hike with someone makes a difference.

* Mix up your workout music. Find an old CD or find a new artist - listen to something different.

* Mix up your training. Instead of turning right out your door, turn left.

* Leave a comment / send an email with your particular brand of demotivational woe and let the MMT staff heckle it out of you! (Yes, we practice this on one another...)

* OR: leave a comment with your tip(s) on how to beat the workout "blues" and keep your training momentum.

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!

10 Days Remain - Week 4 Challenge

Only 10 days to go! Lots of mileage racked up so far (we're well past our NY to Norway goal) and lots more miles out there calling our names. Thanks to everyone who's participating and logging miles - you're all very inspiring.

Since there are only 10 days left in the month - there are only 10 days left to achieve your Mortal Man Tri goals. If you're over, awesome - keep it up! If you're under, there's still time to train smart and safe and get to the finish line!

The Week 4 challenge is forward looking...since you're all close to putting the wraps on the Mortal Man...leave a comment with your next event (walk, run, tri, swim, bowling league, bike commute, etc.).

Two Weeks to go!

Get fired up! Mortal Man Tri goes live in just two weeks! Yay!

There's still time to sign-up.