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90 Day Health & Fitness Challenge – Who Is With Me? |
For the next 90 days, starting from today, I am doing a challenge for myself to get in great shape and eat healthy food.
The reasons for this challenge are threefold:
1. I have always wanted to do something like this
2. I spent 2 months in Europe without going to the gym once – I feel guilty.
3. It can only benefit my body and mind.
I want to invite you to join me on this challenge.
I honestly think that everyone would like to have a healthy, strong and good-looking body if they could. Most people just don’t have the discipline or courage to start the journey to get in shape. That is why I wrote this post, I want to encourage you to get in shape. Let me motivate and inspire you to do this challenge with me. I can tell you that it is much more fun when you know other people are doing a challenge like this at the same time as you. It makes it competitive and fun for everyone.
If you can’t be swayed to do the challenge with me just yet, maybe you will be convinced after I explain what I’m going to do and what is involved in this 90 day challenge.
Where I Am
Right now I feel that I am lean but I don’t feel super healthy (I eat quite a bit of junk food). I wouldn’t say I’m super skinny but I’m definitely not in the overweight category.
Currently I weigh 73kg (161 pounds) and I’m 1.87m (6’1” ).
Where I Want To Be
I want to get more endurance and want to get a bit stronger and more defined. I have no desire for being a serious body builder with bulging muscles, that is reserved for other people. I think that an ideal weight I want to achieve is 80kg (176 pounds), but low body fat (very lean). Like I mentioned, I want to have good fitness and endurance which means that I want to be able to run distances of 4 miles at a fast pace but at the same time I want to have some decent strength too.
At some point in the future I want to do some intense martial arts training but that is something I’m not adding into the challenge right now.
If It’s Possible
I have never really pushed myself seriously for 3 months so I don’t know what to expect. I have read plenty of fitness and bodybuilding resources so I have an idea of what’s possible but I am doing this challenge with my goal in mind and whatever happens, happens. It will be interesting for both myself and you (the readers) to see what kind of growth and results are possible in such a reasonably short period of time.
My Routine
It is possible that my routine may change as I get further into the challenge but for now this is what I am going to start with:
The plan is to go to the gym 3 times a week so that there is a day of rest in between every session.
Session 1 will be ‘chest’, ‘biceps’, abs and 5 min sprint on the treadmill.
Session 2 will be ‘back’, ‘triceps’, abs and 5 min sprint on the treadmill.
Session 3 will be ‘shoulders’ and ‘legs’
Running will be once a week 3-5 miles
When it comes to meals and nutrition I’m not going to take any protein shakes or other bodybuilding supplements (I don’t like the idea of them, too artificial).
My diet is going to consist of lots of fruit, vegetables and protein like tuna, fish and lean chicken breasts. I’m not going to have a meal plan of eating 6 times a day, I’m just going to eat when I am hungry (which is pretty much all day anyway). After a gym session I usually eat some form of protein like chicken or tuna.
I am taking a very unscientific approach to this whole thing in the sense that I’m not planning my meals or following a workout routine prescribed by a professional personal trainer. Feel welcome to critique me or give me some suggestions.
Updates And Progress
Of course I am going to keep progress of the entire challenge as it is pretty much a case study of what is possible. I am the guinea pig!
I have taken photos of what I look like right now and I have weighed myself. I am going to do a monthly progress report on Upgrade Reality with my experiences and results. So in 1 month from now you will get the first ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.
Is It Really That Simple?
Yes. It is really that simple and that is exactly why you can join me in this challenge and get into shape.
It doesn’t matter if you are overweight and unfit or lean and pretty fit. This challenge can only be a benefit for your body and mind and it does not matter if you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger by the end of it or not.
It takes some discipline in the sense that you need to get a gym membership if you don’t already have one and drag your butt to the gym three times a week. You will also need to resist buying and eating junk food, and instead eat as healthy as you can (veggies and lean proteins).
As long as you eat healthy and exercise your butt off for 90 days you pass the challenge. No more excuses, it is going to take you 2 hours a day for 4 days of the week. I’m pretty certain that you can make time for that.
Be Featured
Since I would really like as many of you as possible to join me in this challenge and get healthy and in shape I want to make the offer of featuring you if you so wish.
I will make a separate page on Upgrade Reality and anybody who joins this challenge can send me an email with :
• A short biography,
• How you are currently,
• How you want to be in 90 days,
• A ‘before’ picture ,
• And progress pictures after each month.
I will put you up on that page in a pretty design, so the harder you work and the more progress you make, the more people will notice you and may want to get in touch with you. Be an internet superstar!
Parting Words
I am really excited about this challenge and curious about the results that I am going to achieve. I really want to encourage you to join this 90 day challenge of getting in shape and getting healthy because like I said before, it will only benefit your body and mind. It is purely for YOUR gain.
If my routine sounds a little too much for you, come up with your own routine, but I recommend that you do some form of strenuous exercise at least 3 times a week. You need to push yourself, that is the whole idea of the challenge!
See you in one month from now with the first progress update.
Feel free to contact me.
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I’m in dude.
I’m 5’10 155lbs.
Trying to get a six pack by April 20th
Have you heard of Burbee’s? I also suggest trying planks. They work really well.
I’ve been quite out of shape since I stopped running two years ago. When I moved to Shanghai I just lost motivation. But now I’m trying to back into the swing of things.
Burpees are brutal. I love the 100 Burpees Challenge they do over at Ross Training.
I saw a 10 year old kid do 100 burpees in under 5 minutes. It was awesome!
Diggy, if you’re looking for a minimalist way to get in shape that will be high impact, check out my friend Rusty over at fitnessblackbook.com.
He has an awesome free ebook out that will get you beach ready in no time at all. He advocates lean and healthy – just the look you’re going for.
.-= Ian´s last blog ..What To Do When Ideas Strike You At Inopportune Times =-.
Hey Ian and Bud!
I have not heard about Burpees, going to Google it right now! I will definitely look at your friend’s method of getting in shape Ian! Cheers!
Cool to hear that you are joining Bud, take some before and after pictures!
Go for it. I’m very skinny but I was able to get six pack abs just with my martial arts training. I’ll start to complement with weights once the weather permit me to train outside.
If you want to do abs, my advice is go for quantity. It’s easy to procrastinate with weights. Push your limits!
.-= Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..The Day When Everything Changes =-.
Hey Oscar!
Yeah martial arts is a good form of workout, especially Muay Thai! I think it is good to do everything, weights, cardio and abs, train the whole body.
Wow I am very in, I have been needing to get in killer shape for a while now… I work too much on my business and always “forget” the gym, but I have to get my butt back to exercising because it is so good for mind, body & soul.
Hey Maren!
It will be great to hear about your progress after 3 months!
I like your enthusiasm! Take some before and after pics
Great timing for me! I do some running each week but realised yesterday I am just not pushing myself at all. I don’t think I need to lose weight, just tone and get fitter. I will run 2 x 3 miles runs and 1 x 4 mile run each week and start eating healthier too. Look forward to checking back in to see how we are all getting on.
Hey Jen!
Glad to hear you’re jumping on the ‘get in shape’ train too
Keep track of your progress so we can all hear about it after 3 months
Okay, so I just wrote this long ass comment and the page reloaded for some reason.
Oh well!
Hi Diggy!
I was actually going to start my own challenge on health and fitness today.
The training I will perform is very much like the HIT-training regime.
* Two workouts per week
* Sessions will probably be 10-30min ea.
* 6-8 exercises per workout
* Aiming for positive failure at 80-100 sec.
* 5/5 cadence on every repetition
* As intense and brutal as possible.
My nutrition plan looks like this:
* Stay away from white carbs. This includes fructose.
* If I eat carbs it has to be with a proper amount of fibers.
* Eat enormous amounts of protein.
* Drop calories by 50% one day and possibly have a cheat day on Saturdays. (To prevent protein uptake down regulation)
* Consume one serving of casein protein before bed to prevent catabolism during night.
* Consume a high carb/protein drink after workout.
My workout is laid out pretty similar to Tim Ferriss’ “Geek to freak” experiment. (Look it up if you haven’t)
I will not be taking any substances to increase insulin sensitivity or anything like that, only protein.
I would like to give you two tips which I’ve found to be pretty important according to research:
1) Be careful with the amount of fruit you are consuming. Even if it is “natural” food it is still very quick carbs which will prevent muscle gaining pretty much.
2) Remember that less is more. It’s not about the amount of time you put into training in the gym that makes the difference when trying to gain muscles. The most important factors are the intensity with which you are working out AND proper rest. If you work out really really hard, some of your muscles (motor units) will require up to a week of rest before totally recovered. You will of course build muscles during this whole time.
I see you are using a split work out so that will probably increase resting time a bit.
Best of luck m8
I’ll probably shoot you an email some day.
/Jonas
[1] http://www.thedreamlounge.net/2009/09/07/proper-exercise-and-nutrition/
http://www.thedreamlounge.net/2009/08/12/strength-training-superior-to-p90x-cardio-crossfit-functional-group-exercise-fitness-classes/
http://www.thedreamlounge.net/2009/05/29/exercising-10-minutes-a-week-vs-10-hours-a-week-results-profound-typical/
.-= Jonas Sandström´s last blog ..Is communication a choice? =-.
Jonas!
Ah man, you had to type this comment twice? Really appreciate it man, it’s really good. I agree with the fruit consumption, I only eat fruit in the mornings since it is light and gives good energy. For the rest of the day its protein and vegetables. It will be cool if you do some before and after pictures. If I can get enough people to do that we could even compile it into a youtube video and star all of you with a link to every persons blog or something
Yeah, I will be doing some before pictures tomorrow. I had my first work out this evening and then had a monster dinner.
Will be interesting to see if this method works. I will give it at least a month of getting used to the nutrition plan and the way I work out.
Today’s workout was for 23min total (Time under load was 7min 50seconds) which is far from the 2 hours people often put in.
I couldn’t walk after doing the leg press, that was f*cking intense!
Have a great evening
/Jonas
.-= Jonas Sandström´s last blog ..Is communication a choice? =-.
I agree, my workouts are usually 30 mins and then I pretty much can’t lift my own arms. i don’t understand how people go to the gym for 3 hours. They are either following a special training plan for endurance only or they are simply not pushing themselves hard enough?
I’m in! I’m committed to doing yoga twice a week. I don’t need to lose weight — just tone. I’ll add cardio — a 3 to 5 mile jog once a week and exercises w/ 3 pound weights a la Tracy Anderson http://bit.ly/I3luw
The diet part should be no problem… Well, I’ll cut out dairy products
It’s out there, now I’m accountable.
Hey Kim!
Glad to hear you are taking part . Dairy(cheese, yoghurt ,milk) should indeed be cut to as little as possible. Will be nice to hear about your progress after 3 months!
Don’t give up
P.S. consider getting a gravatar (picture for your comments) at http://www.gravatar.com
Hi Diggy,
I took upon me a similar challenge about a year ago to lose some belly fat, and since then I’ve become more and more fit.
To put it shortly, I did full-body resistance training workouts about 1.5 times a week and switched my diet to paleo/low-carb.
I did gain some strength and managed to change my body composition quite nicely, but didn’t really end up building that much muscle.
I’ve now started to use those protein drinks (making my own using coconut cream, whey protein powder and different berries) you want to avoid about a month ago, and I feel like they’re helping a lot and I’m becoming even more lean.
I feel like I’m more than half a year ahead of you to jump the challenge, but good luck to you!
What I would say is that don’t dismiss things (e.g. protein drinks) without first finding out more about them and how they work
Good luck!
//sami
.-= Sami Paju´s last blog ..Confessions of a WoW addict =-.
Hey Sami!
Thanks for stopping by Sir!
Glad to hear you are getting in shape too and have been doing it for a while already! It’s not that I am dismissing anything without knowing how it works, I’ve done my research:) I just have the point of view that the best nutrition would be a raw food diet and lean proteins and anything artificial is not good for the body. You may disagree with me but I would like to see what kind of results I can get without artificial supplements
It doesn’t matter at what stage you are for your fitness, now is as good a time as any to look after your body and get healthy.
I’m in!
I started running two weeks ago (-4 degrees Celsius and lot of snow) as I’m really out of shape; the complete update will be found on the site you will create
My best motivation is my girlfriend, long distance runner for over ten years.
My goal: fat loss, strengthen my body, be able to run a half marathon by the end of April in reasonable time (will find out what that is
)
Your challenge has perfect timing!!
Thank you!
Andrés
Hey Andres!
Awesome! Glad to have you taking part in the challenge to get in shape! Yeah the cold can be a big demotivator to get out and exercise, I know all about that.
I’m curious to hear about your progress at the end of the 90 days!
Hi Diggy!
My first goal: 10 km race on April 18th!
It’s a city run at my place here in Southern Germany!
Let’s win or die trying
Best regards,
Andrés
Good to hear that you are going to get this part of your life handled:)
I read that you want to train 2 hours per training, I can tell you that this is way to much if you want to gain muscles or even if you want to get leaner and keep your muscles. I recommend training 45-60min MAX per workout, everything beyond that will only burn your muscles beyond recoverability and will therefor give you negative progress.
The most important aspect of this is diet. It’s good to see that you are going to keep things healthy and this is certainly very beneficial. If you want to gain weight though, you will have to eat more than your body needs and therefor it’s not recommended to wait before you get hungry because then you are pretty much already too late. You don’t necessary need to eat 6 meals a day if you want to bulk up, but you do have to eat more calories then your body actually needs to sustain it’s current condition if you want to gain.
Unfortunately it’s not possible to gain muscles and get leaner at the same time. You will gain some fat (if you get you calorie intake right), but since your muscles will grow too, it’s not that noticeable when done right.
Furthermore, the split-training routine you described is not that beneficial for gaining strength. I started out using this routine and I can HIGHLY recommend it to anyone starting out. Please give it a read, it’s very educative:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224
This was the progress I made with this routine in one year:
Before: http://i32.tinypic.com/2d7795d.png
After: http://i27.tinypic.com/16liw7b.png
I wish you the best of luck and you can ofcourse always ask me any questions;)
Cheers,
Jorden
Hey Jorden!
Nice to hear from you man!
Yeah you made some great progress judging by those pictures. That may have been misleading, my workout sessions are only around 30 minutes and a bit longer if I add cardio to them. I agree with you that you cannot really push yourself for 2 hours straight, it’s too much.
I have not researched diet and nutrition as much as you have so I accept that what you say is correct. I remember my friend did something similar once and he ate 6 meals a day to try and get his required daily calorie level (which is hard if you only eat lean protein and vegetables)
Going to check out the link you sent me now!
Thanks a bunch for the info!
Was awesome partying with you in Amsterdam, if you ever come to South Africa you have a place to stay!
Cheers
Hey man, I’m in!
I was planning something similar to yours, but never put it in pratice. I’ll start today!
Right now, I’m 1,85m and 68kg. Let’s see what we can do!
Just after this 90 days, I’ll start pratice brazilian jiu-jitsu. It’s hard as muay thai but you don’t injury so much! It’s very good!
Andre!
Cool, nice to hear! Will be interesting to see your results, you should be able to bulk up pretty fast
Well, I’m already working to lose weight so I might as well say I’m in for this too… you know, since I like reading your blog already. A little extra motivation never hurt anyone.
.-= Mary Thompson´s last blog ..Auckland ZooMusic =-.
Hey Mary!
Glad to hear that you are joining in on this challenge!
Thanks for the compliment
Hey Diggy,
I’m glad to hear that you are going after this! As a personal trainer, I can see that you did your homework.
The only advice I would give is to keep eating often, a lot, and healthily, which seems to be your plan. As a fellow tall guy, eating enough to add muscle is often the biggest difficulty.
Oh and stick with one plan for at least a month! Every source out there is going to be telling you what is the BEST way. Honestly, as long as you provide enough stimulus to your muscles and eat lots of healthy foods, you’ll be fine.
Good luck and keep us updated!
Ben
Heya Ben!
I never knew you were a personal trainer, I will ask you for tips now and then!
Thanks for stopping by
The plan is indeed to stick to my routine for three months and see where it takes me. I will be able to see what I did wrong and will be able to share my experience with all the readers. Cheers!
Good luck on achieving your goals! I want to pack on 5 kg of muscle in the next 3 months! I read a book that I highly recommend: The Metabolic Typing Diet. With the book you can discover what kinds of foods are healthy for your body, based on a bunch of things that I can’t explain from memory. The point is that every person has a unique metabolism and generic nutrition advice is based on the “average” that will work well only for a limited group of people. This metabolic typing diet lets you find out how to eat for maximum well being, immune system power, concentration and physical and mental endurance!
.-= Peter | How to Seduce a Woman´s last blog ..How to Get a Girlfriend =-.
Hey Diggy, if you want to bulk up, 2500-3000 calories a day should be good. Go to fitday.com. It’s great for tracking your meals, calories, protein intake, carbs, and fats. Eat 5 times a day too. I think you’ll do great!
Hey Faizal!
It’s surprising how many calories disappear when I stop eating sugary foods!
Thanks for the recommendation, will check it out! Getting that amount of calories from protein and vegetables is an enormous amount of food
Diggy, I’m holding Bud to his sh*t. We’re actually doing the challenge together which is such funny timing! Will see if I can’t get those shots to you in the next 2 days!
CHEERS!
Hey Papa!
I’m happy that people still value their health and bodies!
Awesome! I’m impressed by the amount of people that want to take part in this challenge and get in shape
+1
Going to send you an email in a short time
SUre:) Good to hear you are in!
i am with you, will send my routine and data soon
Sweet Stefan! Will be good to see your progress!
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I’ve been looking to get involved in something like this for ages … but have been really frustrated with not being able to find a decent work out.
Can you go into more detail about the routine you followed?
Rather than “Session 1 will be ‘chest’, ‘biceps’, abs and 5 min sprint on the treadmill.”
Can you list the exact exercises you did along with set and rep info?
Thanks a lot