Tag Archives: Muscle

PushUps, Planks, and Crossfit!

Posted in Quest For Fitness by

While I didn’t necessarily set a specific New Year’s Resolution this year, fitness is still a major focus for me. I’m in the gym 4-5 days per week, and usually focus on high-rep lifting. That won’t change, as I really love my lifting routine. However, I’m also going to be aiming to strengthen two of my problem areas/exercises: pushups and core strength.

No “Girl” Pushups

 

This time last year, I was physically incapable of doing a single proper-form pushup. Not one. I can now do 5, which is a pretty big deal for me. My chest strength has always been weak though, and that needs to change. I’m addressing that problem with a little January challenge that I’ve set for myself using this Workout Calendar. It’ll have me doing a gradually increasing number of Pushups and Squats every morning, throughout the month. The Squats obviously won’t do much for my chest, but I needed something to break up Pushup sets, and figured you can never do too many squats! I start at two sets of 12 Squats and 5 Pushups, and work my way to (hopefully) three sets of 50 Squats and 30 Pushups. Looking at that last day from where I currently stand, it seems overly ambitious. Nevertheless, I’m curious to see how far I can get!

The photos claiming to exhibit the benefits of drinking 3 litres of water a day.

I’ve included little water reminders on that calendar, as I’ve always been awful about allowing myself to dehydrate. I’m aiming to drink about 3 litres of water a day. I read an interesting article on a woman who experimented with increasing her water intake to 3 litres a day, and while the findings aren’t exactly scientific, and the photos may very well be shopped, I figure it can’t hurt.

A friend of mine has also just shared a 30-day Plank Challenge post on Facebook, which I may add to my routine. It starts with a 20 second Plank on Day 1, and ends the month with a 4.5 minute plank. Again, seems pretty ambitious when you’re looking at it from Day 1, but any mountain looks steep when you’re staring at it from the valley.

Finally, to round out my January fitness plan, I purchased myself a Groupon for a few semi-private session of Crossfit at my local Hybrid Athletics gym. It’s something I’ve wanted to try for ages, but just couldn’t afford it. I have a very competitive personality, and I think that environment could be good for me. I’m curious to see how it goes!

Feel free to print off and use that calendar I put together, and leave me a comment with your fitness goals for January!