COVID has been a part of our lives now for almost 12 months, affecting every single person in one way or another. I made the mistake of selling my home gym with the plans to upgrade after I’d been on holiday… but the holiday was cancelled and I couldn’t get gym equipment anywhere! (To make matter worse, the gyms closed).
I noticed just how much lifting weights gave me the positive headspace, alongside giving me room for manouvre with my diet. If you take exercise out of your routine, things can change pretty quick! I wasn’t prepared as much during the March 2020 lockdown, but now I’ve created a challenge for you to participate in, to keep things positive… mind, body & soul!
I’ve just heard the news and we are going to be locked down until February 15th at the very least. This gives us more than enough time to prepare, start & even crush this 28 day challenge.
Spoiler; I will be mixing things up quite often, to keep things fun. You don’t need a home gym to participate, we can do this with home equipment.
Week 1: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Circuits
There’s no better time to start a HIIT program, than the new year. Any excess calories from your over-sized Christmas Dinner, or a few too many mulled-wines will be stripped away, fast.
Perform the Following Circuit Three times, with 15 seconds of rest period in-between each exercise movement. Remember to consult the Exercise Database, if you need any assistance with movements!
- Skipping Rope: 45 Seconds. (If you don’t have a skipping rope, imagine you have one as this is still super effective).
- 15 seconds rest
- Burpees: 30 seconds.
- 15 seconds rest
- Mountain Climbers: 30 seconds
- 15 seconds rest
- Jumping Squats: 30 seconds
- 10 seconds rest
- Press Ups: 30 Seconds
- 10 seconds rest
- Running High Knees: 30 seconds
- 15 seconds rest
- Side to Side Shuffle Floor Taps: 30 seconds
- Set finished.
Ideally, we will be looking at completing the above between 3-5 times, depending on your fitness levels. However, it also depends on time. If you can only fit in one set of this, whilst you’re making a coffee inbetween jobs… that’s a start! Each time that you complete the whole list is classed as a set. So we are looking for 3-5 sets of this.
Remember, it’s ok to add a little variation in, so if you can’t do a full press-up, put your knees on the floor and press from that position.
Week 2: So you want to be a Boxer?
At HGR, I understand how workouts can fast become boring. That’s why no week will be the same, offering a complete variation of exercises. You should be at the stage now where you’ve completed week one, but now it’s time for a little bit of boxing.
This is going to be a good week! All of your pent-up anger over the last 12 months of lockdown will now be extinguished with a few hooks, a jab followed by a leading uppercut. If you need a reminder of why you should be letting off some steam; we’ve had no football at the pub, fancy meals with our closest ones or cocktails with the girls for almost 12 months. I’m ready to go, are you?
- High Knees: 30 seconds
- Crunches: 30 seconds
- Shoulder Taps: 20 seconds
That’s the warm-up completed, now it’s time to get swinging. If you have gloves, you can put them on for some added immersion & resistance. It’s a 5 Round Drill. Each round will last for 3 minutes.
- Round 1: The basics. Jab, Straight, Hook. Keeping it simple, you’ll master the art of this 3-punch combo.
- 10 Seconds rest
- Round 2: Constant Jabs. As Tyson Fury once said, you’ve gotta jab his head off.
- 10 seconds rest
- Round 3: On the Ropes. Simulating damage you’ve taken, you need to work on your footwork to evade an imaginary fighter who’s trying to take you down. Work on your footwork here, guarding your head and body simultaneously.
- 10 seconds rest
- Round 4: The Comeback. You managed to stay standing in Round 3, now you’ve got a second wind. It’s time to attack once more, adding hooks & body blows into your arsenal.
- 10 seconds rest
- Round 5: Go for Broke. Your coach has told you that you are behind on points. You have no option to use whatever’s left in the tank to aim for that knockout. Use all of the skills you’ve learnt during the last 4 rounds and put your opponent away.
That’s the end of a gruelling 15 minute workout session. Boxing is super effective for weight loss, helping you get in the zone quickly. The mental effects are also impressive, as although you have fought your imagination, you get endorphins! This signifies that we are also at the half-way mark in our challenge.
Week 3: The Centurions
We are closing in on the end of this challenge, but Week 3 will bring about the hardest challenge yet. We are going to become centurions. I call this one the centurion because every workout contains one hundred repetitions. 100. It’s not easy, but you’ve built up a certain fitness level now over the last 14 days. You can complete these in any order that you like, but we’ve set them out to give specific muscles a rest period. If you need a rest period, have a rest. However, you have to finish all 100!
- 100 Burpees.
- 15 seconds rest
- 100 Calf Raises. Stand up straight and push through your calves until you’re tip-toes. You’ll feel the burn.
- 15 seconds rest
- 100 Bicep Curls. Grab a bottle of milk, or 2 jugs of water!
- 15 Seconds rest
- 100 sit-ups.
- 15 seconds rest
- 100 squat jumps.
I’ve been really mean there, adding 100 squat jumps at the very end which will complete your workout & probably leave you gasping for breath! If you’ve made it this far, let me tell you that you’re definitely over the peak of the hill. Week four will be a cooling down phase, which will provide effective cardio for maintenance.
Week 4: We Made it
If you’ve completed the three previous weeks, you’ll breeze this one. It’s easy. It’s supposed to be. The rest levels will be increased now, to allow you time to recharge the batteries. Perform the following exercises, at a slower pace to normal.
- Mountain Climbers: 30 seconds
- 60 seconds rest.
- Shadow Boxing: 90 seconds
- 60 seconds rest.
- Air Bike: 45 seconds
- 60 seconds rest.
- Crunches: 45 seconds
- 60 seconds rest
- Shadow Evasion: 90 seconds. (This is my term for when you’re on the ropes, trying not to be hit. The shadow boxer will be attacking you & you need to utilise fast footwork, blocking the punches.
- Cool Down. 2-3 minutes. This will contain all of your stretches, Hamstring Stretch, Calf Stretch & Abdominal Stretch.
The End of the Challenge
The challenge is now officially completed. You should notice in the last 28 days that your body is starting to feel a little bit different. The main aim of this challenge was to keep your mental health in check, which is highly important at all times… but especially during this second full lockdown.
My favourite was probably week 2, but I enjoy boxing as an entertaining form of exercise. It never seems to get boring. If you have found an exercise which you enjoy, that’s half of the battle completed. If you keep it fun, you’re much more likely to continue doing it.
If you struggled to perform any exercies during the last 28 days, remember that our exercise database will contain an easy-handbook guide for every workout.
Did you enjoy this? I’m always looking for new things to try, so if you want another exercise challenge let me know below!
