Hey everybody! This is just  a short and sweet update to my 90 day fitness challenge. I mentioned that I would give an update every 30 days and this is the first one.

90 Day Challenge Objectives (Theory)

• Get healthy
• Get in shape
• Go to the gym 3 times a week
• Run once a week
• Eat healthy

The above points are the outlines of the 90 day health and fitness challenge that I set out for myself when I started 30 days ago. I thought it was a reasonable routine to follow and in theory it should yield good results.

The First 30 Days (Reality)

• Ate healthy 5 days a week, induldged (junk food) on the weekend
• Went to gym 2 times a week
• Did situps and pushups on the other days at home

Reality is awalys a little different to theory. The fact that I was rather unfit got in the way of the exercise plan and sometimes work kept me a little occupied. Here is a more detailed description of the first 30 days of the challenge.

Difficulties and Obstacles Encountered

The first time that I went to the gym after I announced that  would be starting my 90 day challenge was fun. However, since I hadn’t been to the gym for 2 months, that one gym session resulted in every muscle in my body being rather sore for an entire week. Lifting my arms and moving my legs to walk would be painful. Needless to say, that first week I only went to the gym once.

The second session was a little better but also resulted in sore muscles for a few days. It took me about 2 weeks before I was going to gym twice a week without feeling all worn out for the days following the gym session. I had not taken a day especially set out for running, instead I have been combining it with my gym session and adding 10 mins on the treadmill every time I go.

As far as eating went, I managed to eat rather well during the week. Tuna, chicken, veggies, salads and fruits with extremely minimal junk food during the week. On the weekend I like to relax and take time off to enjoy myself. Mostly once a week, sometimes twice a week on the weekends I would eat fast food, pizza, burgers and whatever else I was in the mood for. I feel this is justified for all my healthy eating during the week.

On the days that I do not go to gym I do a few basic exercises at home like pushups, situps and some boxing with my punching bag. This is just to make sure I don’t slack off and still do some form of exercise every day.

Progress

I don’t think there is much visible progress in these 30 days that I have been on the challenge as you can see from the picture above. (Please excuse the blank expression and unprofessional pictures).

However, I do feel stronger and I can do more repetitions with heavier weights than 30 days ago. There has definitely been a noticeable effect and I am happy with my progress so far.

Summary

Eating healthy and exercising the way I have been for the last 30 days has had a good effect on my energy level and my overall mood. I feel pretty relaxed and the fact that I’m working to keep my body strong and healthy makes me feel good.

I hope that those of you who I encouraged to join me in the 90 day fitness challenge are still doing it and making good progress. I have received a few emails from readers who sent a photo and a short bio as a ‘before’ picture and after the 90 days they will send me an ‘after’ picture. I am going to make a seperate post after this 90 day challenge and feature those readers (if they still want to be featured). I would like to invite anyone who has not done so to join us on this challenge to get healthy and get in shape, and if you want to be featured feel free to let me know. (You will need a ‘before’ picture and an ‘after picture’).