How I Survived Three 30 Day Challenges
By Emma Taylor
17 December 2014
I COULD NOT DO 10 PUSH UPS BEFORE THIS SUMMER.
It was my personal goal to be able to whip a couple out and not die after five, take a break and do five more.
For most of us, summer is a time to relax, get rid of the stress of finals, late night studying and basically school. Almost every year, I relax 100%, that means both mentally and physically. That is, I don’t workout… Now this may be because where I go every summer, my grandparents’ house. They don’t have a gym facility that I could use, and I’m too lazy to run, like most of my friends. Tanning on the beach counts as exercise right? Or how about, walking to get fro-yo? Well, you might think that that’s enough exercise until pre-season rolls around: you’d be wrong. The coaches expect you to be as fit as you were last season, and suddenly you realize all your muscle is gone!? I decided I didn’t want to be panting during Varsity Soccer Practice the first day back from summer so started my workout.
I took things into my own hands (ok, I’ll admit, once mid July rolled around) and started three 30 days challenges. Yes, three, because I didn’t feel like I worked hard enough after the 30 day Squat Challenge last year. The Squat Challenge was a nice way to ease into things because, everyone, really everyone can do squats. If you are new to the concept, a 30-Day Challenge is exactly what it sounds like. You work on a specific part of your body, intensely, for 30 days.
So what challenges did I chose to stay fit? I worked on The 30-Day Squat Challenge, The 30 Day Arm Challenge and The 30 Day Abs Challenge. I didn’t want to lose all the muscle I had gained during all of my sports’ seasons, but I also wanted to challenge myself.
Working out, especially when it’s as repetitive as these challenges, can become quite boring. I made myself seven upbeat playlists (one for each day of the week). I’d put them on shuffle and cruise through the workouts. I’m not a quitter which I think helped a lot. I hate giving up and am extremely stubborn. I kept picturing in my mind other fit people I really look up to and trying to be like them. I also have a Pinterst board of fitspiriation (fitness inspiration), which was a fun way to get motivated.
I found out that sit-ups are my worst enemy and that 1:30 minute planks are harder than you’d think. Singing along to Macklemore is most certainly what got me through the last couple of days, which were the hardest. The last days were tests to see if you had really built up your stamina and muscle. I had to do 3 sets or 20 push ups, planks and chair dips for the Arm challenge. After that, I did 250 squats and finally, for the ab challenge, I finished with 125 sit ups (hell), 200 crunches, 60 leg raises and last but not least, a 2 minute plank to feel a slow burn throughout your entire body.
Collegiettes, with a little determination, you will be able to complete the 30 Days and feel ah-mazing!