Anyone else doing the SELF 2020 Spring Fitness Challenge?

MaltedTea

Hi MFP family,
I'm starting my first ever discussion because I'm super curious whether anyone else is incorporating these short 30-minute equipment-free/bodyweight workouts into their routines for the next month.

Don't know what I'm babbling about?

You can find the entire free workout calendar online and the first day is now!

For me, it's a way to explore the world of "two a day workouts" if only for a little while. I'll be using SELF's WOD suggestion in the morning and then either cycle or jog later in the day.

I'd love to hear whether anyone else is doing it and how they're applying the suggested WOD progressions to the next 28 days.

P.S. There's no real need to "sign up" unless you want daily email reminders.

MaltedTea

Alright then, I will now bore everyone with my daily progress...

Day 1: 3 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work/ 20 seconds of rest) in the evening along with my 65-minute morning bike ride.

MaltedTea

Day 2: 5 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest) in the evening along with a 20-minute morning upper body dumbbell routine.

Only slept 6 hours though and since the printable calendar makes you track sleep I'll work on that too. Tomorrow is a "rest day"

MaltedTea

A-ha-haha-aha. Y'all thought you were rid of these posts. 24 days to go!

Day 4: 4 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest) in the evening along with two bike rides totaling 97 min.

Yesterday was a rest day.

MaltedTea

Day 5: 4 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening along with a short upper body yoga stretch during an afternoon Zoom meeting. I've yet to like any kind of yoga experience and this was no different but it did get the job done, I suppose.

https://youtu.be/XzWctoBI-6g

MaltedTea

Day 6: 4 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening with a 30-min AM bike ride.

I've been adding dumbbells to some of the moves since Day 4. For example, today's squats needed 12 lb DBs to be interesting. Tomorrow is a "rest day"

MaltedTea

This is the start of WEEK #2...

Day 8: 4 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening, along with the bonus moves. My left knee is being achy so I modified the plyometrics since I'm not about to injure myself. Did a 100-min AM bike ride. Essentially, that's just over 2 hours of exercise today.

Yesterday's rest day included 12k steps.

MaltedTea

Ok so boom...

Day 9: 4 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) at night, along with the "bonus moves." I also did a 20-minute essentrics workout four hours prior because gym bros say that's what's supposed to happen to make a true "two a day" real. 🤷🏿‍♀️

Tomorrow is a rest day where my brain will be excercising instead...for a final exam.

MaltedTea

Day 11: 3 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest) at night. I don't do the bonus because I like plyo as much as I like yoga. The morning included a 30-minute combo of stair climbing (jog on the way up, squats between flights on the way down), and a short walk.

I also did a short ride but that was for running errands.

Yesterday's rest day included a vigorous day nap.

MaltedTea

Day 12: 4 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest) with the bonus. The morning training was more walking than anything else. I'm still counting it because it included lifting heavy things. I'll categorize it as a "functional workout."

MaltedTea

Day 13: 3 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest). No bonus. My right calf hurts. The morning was reserved for my 2nd attempt at the Rockport Walking Test.

I was "Poor" in February but "Excellent" today. I'm pretty sure the lack of snow and ice had something to do with shaving more than a third off my time. Other metrics improved too through (lower heart rate, for one) so I'm pleased.

Tomorrow, rest.

MaltedTea

WEEK #3! Let's get it...

Day 15: 4 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest). No bonus. Morning bike ride 45 min along the water and the city's abandoned tourist attractions.



Yesterday was a rest day. I barely walked 2.5 km because I wanted to rest my calf. It worked. All better now.

MaltedTea

Day 16: 5 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening with an aqua bag workout based on this sandbag workout from Men's Journal (which I did during my lunch break).

Between the two sets of exercises, this was my favorite day BY FAR. The water bag is set at about 30% of my body weight and always a fun challenge. This particular SELF circuit is a keeper! It was actually, for the first time, fun (not that they were complete torture before). I was dancing between sets and nobody can tell me I didn't look as hype as this...



Edit: tomorrow is a rest day.

MaltedTea

Day 18: 4 circuits of Option 2 (40 seconds of work / 20 seconds of rest) in the evening (along with the 4-minute) with a stair workout over my lunch break.



Today, I also started MFP's "11,000 Steps a Day" plan (which is apparently part of the Premium subscription). I will do that for the next 28 days. No worries, you will not be overly bored with my progress on that one as well. I just think this layered approach will get my metabolism going as my scale metrics (weight, body fat percentage or even water composition) haven't shifted in several days. It could be all the buttered popcorn but never you mind.

MaltedTea

Day 19: 5 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening (along with the 4-minute bonus). The caveat? I did the low-impact version but added 8-lb dumbbells for the first exercise of each tabata.

Also, I'm not sure if this technically counts as an "official" two-a-day today (mind you, did most of the other days either?). I did a 5k brisk walk about an hour before the circuit.

As of now, I'm still ~1,500 steps shy of the measly 8k steps needed for the day. My bad: I shouldn't have started the day with meditation and then YouTube comedy skits. It's just that the way my quarantine coping skills are set up... 🤷🏿‍♀️

Edit: Ended up with 9.2k steps after walking around my place in a series of connected figure 8s for 20+ min. It's raining outside. Utterly ridiculous, but done.

Steph_135

Way to stay committed!! Looks like a fun challenge!
Way ta give 'er! How's it going?

MaltedTea

Day 20: 3 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening (along with the 4-minute bonus). I added 8-lb dumbbells for the last exercise of each tabata as well as for the bonus moves.

Walked over 8km for 12k+ steps and ran stairs during my lunch break.

Tomorrow? Rest. This likely means a bit of stretching and a short bike ride 🚴🏿‍♀️

MaltedTea

Steph_135 wrote: »

Way to stay committed!! Looks like a fun challenge!
Way ta give 'er! How's it going?

So sweet! Thanks @Steph_135! So far so good. Only a week left for the SELF challenge but a lifetime worth of more fun fitness for us all!

Steph_135

That's awesome to hear!! 😊 Maybe I'll give it a whirl! I'm always looking for ways to change up my (sometimes) boring routine.

MaltedTea

WEEK #4!

I'm starting the last week of this challenge like Icarus. I flew too close to the sun today...

Day 22: 4 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) along with the bonus. The problematic issue was a spontaneous 7.5km ruck with a 12lb dumbbell because I thought the MFP prescribed walking plan for 8,600 steps was boring. So, by my logic, a dumbbell digging into my back for 90 min was less boring.

Day's total? Just over 10,000 steps.

MaltedTea

Day 23: 3 circuits of Option 3 (50 seconds of work / 10 seconds of rest) in the evening (along with the 4-minute bonus). I added 12-lb dumbbells for two of the main exercises.

I was disoriented with the circuit/tabata process today - for the first time - and got a touch frustrated with myself. Meditation is apparently in order lol [Edit: after reviewing my food intake today I noticed unusually few veggies and no fruit so that could also be a reason for the brain fogging 🤷🏿‍♀️]

Steps? Yup, got 'em all in. Ended the day with 9.7k steps. Tomorrow is a rest day.