December Fitness Challenge
Daily fitness challenge for the month of December. Choice between two different core-based workout routines.
I have been a functional fitness coach for several years now and recently started up a fitness group outside of the gym. We discuss fitness goals, meet weekly to do an outdoor workout, and have a daily challenge each month.
The intent of the daily challenge is to create productive habits and begin to induce adaptations mentally and physically. The at-home exercise is never more than ten minutes, often less.
Anyone can find a few minutes in the day to do something beneficial for themselves.
That’s all you need to begin seeing changes assuming you’re doing the same task. The Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID) Principle is one I write about often.
The more you do anything, the better you get at that specific thing.
Plasticity or our body’s ability to physiologically adapt to optimize performance based on what we consistently put it through is amazing.
Machine learning for humans.
I’m going to begin sharing the fitness group’s daily challenge at the top of each month.
P.S. Participation in this group is completely free and anyone is welcome. We have a few members who live out of state but joined for the daily challenge and connection with like-minded people. Message me if interested.
I’m out of town this week with family.
Keeping a routine away from home is challenging.
Keeping one over the holidays is especially difficult.
just had a fantastic post demonstrating evidence that many people put on an average of one to five pounds over their respective holidays and then don’t lose it.Whether traveling or not, sticking to a system during festive seasons is a heavy lift and that’s assuming you already have the productive habits in place.
As a father of three younger kids, my opportunities for self-care through fitness are either early in the morning or during lunch at work/nap time at home. These often-uninterrupted windows allow for me to plan my workouts, writing time, or daily challenges of any kind. Every part of me wants to rest when the kids are down or just sit back and enjoy my lunch but time and experience have taught me that rest doesn’t equate to recovery during waking hours. The delayed gratification I receive from completely a planned challenge gives me energy, confidence and genuine satisfaction before taking on the remainder of the day.
Let’s be honest though, many mornings my youngest gets up early and disrupts any solo opportunities. Work spills over into lunch and nap time regularly becomes a shit show.
Most days don’t go as scheduled.
This is why I love the idea of a brief daily challenge. Less than ten minutes of a specific task that you can progressively make a habit. Consistent effort, especially through fitness, over 30 days can cause plasticity mentally, physically, and spiritually. Adaptations can happen within a week and then be built upon. It doesn’t take much time per day to cause beneficial improvements assuming discipline is maintained.
This wisdom is a product of experience.
Deliberate challenges cause benefit.
Action leads to growth.
Lessons are drawn from trials.
Avoiding desirable pleasures now to appreciate them more later.
Instant, manageable hardship leading to delayed gratification rather than instant pleasure leading to delayed suffering.
Habits, particularly ones that challenge our comfort, need conscious effort.
It’s never easy but it’s always worth it.
December Daily Challenge: Ab Stacker and/or McGill Big 3
This month we are focusing on the core and/or lower back. It’s dealer’s choice. You can do either challenge or both for extra credit.
The Ab Stacker is my favorite core workout when I’m pressed for time. It involves 25 reps of four complimentary exercises that all target an adjacent area of the abdominal region from high to low. 100 total reps. Focus on keeping your neck aligned with your back while lifting your chin and shoulders toward the sky for each of the sit-ups. Put your hands under your butt (palm down) to relieve tension in your lower back for the leg raises. One set the Ab Stacker every day for a month is guaranteed to make your core significantly stronger. You can do all 25 reps straight for each of the four movements or break them up into sets as it starts to get spicy toward the end regardless of how you go about it.
Unmodified Ab Stacker: 25 supine sit-ups, 25 legs bent sit-ups, 25 crunches, and 25 leg raises.
Modify any way you see fit and honestly pick any four core exercises and do 25 reps each. The main goal is to get 100 reps/day for the month.
One contraindication to the Ab Stacker is if you have a preexisting back issue and feel pain while doing these movements.
That’s where the McGill Big 3 comes in.
The McGill Big 3 is a set of three exercises developed by Dr. Stuart McGill, a world-renowned expert in spinal health. The routine was designed to promote core and posterior chain stability for the prevention or rehabilitation of lower back pain and injury.
I’ve witnessed in many and personally felt the power of this brief routine when it is consistently implemented. Post injury or surgery, long-standing pain, or simple performance issues and fatigue in the lower back region can be improved with this fantastic group of movements.
Unmodified McGill Big 3: Curl Ups, Side Plank, and Bird Dogs. Each exercise asymmetrically challenges the core so there are two sides/positions for all three movements. Hold each position for ten seconds for six rounds with brief breaks in between.
There is no better video on the McGill Big 3 than this one done by Squat University on YouTube.
Two sides for each of the three exercises making for a total of six positions.
Ten second holds for six rounds per position with brief breaks making for a total of just over one minute per position.
Feel free to alternate between sides for each position as a way to modify and give yourself mini breaks.
Brief summary video I made of the McGill Big 3 movements:
Even if you do both challenges at a slow, comfortable pace, you’ll still be done in less than ten minutes.
Why wait until January and risk becoming one of the up to 92% of people who fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions.
Create a productive habit now.
Do it during the holidays where most people allow themselves to slip.
Don’t be most people.
A ten-minute fitness routine isn’t going to stave off all the extra calories by itself. It will, however, provide a sense of ownership and mindfulness to each day regarding choices you control regarding your health. Make a habit of at least one positive choice for your physical health and it can lead to subsequent decisions that are related. Conscious consideration of one aspect of your wellbeing encourages consciousness elsewhere.
The act of earning the day leads to downstream beneficial effects whether it be thoughtful eating, management of urges, avoidance of vices, or systematically building upon developing beneficial habits.
Anyone can find ten minutes for self-improvement. If you can’t, please message me and we will come up with ideas together.
Use a brief fitness routine to insert control and success into every day.
Self-care through self-challenge.
Ten minutes a day can change your life.
Disclaimer:
The content provided is intended for general knowledge and informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional prior to making any decisions or changes relating to your health. Kyle Shepard is not responsible for any adverse effects resulting from the use of information in this publication.
Another great challenge! Will be joining this one too. And I couldn’t agree more, that having a daily habit is so critical. Haha another mantra of mine is: Something is better than nothing. I exercise every day, then I don’t have to decide whether to or not, I keep promises to myself, and I always keep a toe into my fitness practice. Another great post!
I love it! I just watched your unmodified ab stacker, and I will throw this into my routine tomorrow morning.
Your point about weight gain over the holidays is on the money. It's what I'm writing about this week. I will throw in a link to your post because I think what you have here is super valuable.