The Fitness Kickstart Challenge

Are you tired of feeling unmotivated and uninspired when it comes to your fitness routine?

Do you struggle with sticking to a workout plan and making healthy eating choices?

If so, this challenge is perfect for you! This e-book is designed to help you jumpstart your fitness journey, no matter what level of fitness you are currently at.

This comprehensive guide includes a workout schedule, nutrition tips, and advice for staying motivated.

With the help of this challenge, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your fitness goals and feeling confident and empowered in your body.

So grab a water bottle, put on your workout clothes, and let’s get started!

Purpose Of The Challenge

The purpose of the Fitness Kickstart Challenge is to help you establish a foundation of consistent healthy habits that can lead to meaningful results in a short amount of time.

By focusing on just a few key areas for a couple of weeks, you can develop a strong base of healthy habits that will make fitness activities second nature.

Studies have shown that it takes roughly 21 days to form a new habit, and by the end of the challenge, you will have formed the habit of making fitness and healthy eating a priority in your life.

Consistency is key when it comes to making changes to your health and wellness, and this challenge is designed to provide you with the structure and support you need to get started and maintain momentum.

With each passing day, you will begin to see the positive results of your efforts, and the feeling of accomplishment will drive you to continue making healthy choices.

So, let’s get started and see what you can achieve in just a couple of weeks!

What Benefits Are You In For?

One of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself is to double down on healthy habits.

A focus on exercise, healthy food, quality sleep, and reducing stress can create meaningful results that can last a lifetime.

By adopting these habits, you’ll improve not only your physical health but also your mental and emotional well-being.

Regular exercise can help boost your energy, reduce stress, and improve your overall mood.

Eating a balanced diet filled with nutrient-rich foods will provide your body with the fuel it needs to perform at its best.

Getting enough sleep each night is crucial for repairing and rejuvenating your body, as well as for maintaining cognitive function.

Last but not least, by reducing stress, you’ll also reduce your risk of developing stress-related health issues and improve your overall quality of life.

With the right mindset and a commitment to healthy habits, you can experience meaningful, lasting results that will impact every aspect of your life.

And this is exactly what you’re in for with the kickstart challenge – this is a way to give your starting phase the extra boost that it needs so that it can stick in the long term.

The Importance Of Setting Goals

One of the most important aspects of any fitness journey is to set realistic goals. Often times, unrealistic expectations create a barrier between the person and the action that needs to be taken because the results don’t match the expectation.

When goals are too lofty, it can lead to feelings of discouragement, frustration, and even defeat, which can make it difficult to stay motivated and on track.

That’s why it’s essential to set realistic, achievable goals that align with your current fitness level and lifestyle.

This will help you stay motivated and focused on your progress, and as you meet each goal, you’ll gain confidence and feel empowered to continue reaching higher.

Remember, progress is more important than perfection, and small steps toward your goals will eventually lead to big results.

So, take the time to reflect on what you want to achieve, set realistic goals, and get ready to embark on your fitness journey with confidence!

And don’t forget – setting and achieving goals related to the actions you need to take, rather than the end result, is always a safe bet!

Nutrition Planning

Before we get into the sauce of the challenge, it is worth noting that fitness isn’t just about training.

Nutrition planning is an equally important aspect to consider. 

Your body needs the right fuel to perform at its best, and that’s where meal prepping comes into play.

Meal prepping is the process of planning and preparing your meals in advance so that you have healthy options readily available throughout the day.

This can help you stay on track with your nutrition goals, even when you’re short on time or facing temptations.

Meal prepping also gives you greater control over what you eat, which can help you avoid unhealthy snacks, junk food, and other high-calorie temptations.

By taking the time to plan and prepare your meals in advance, you can ensure that you’re eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet that supports your fitness goals.

Throughout the challenge, we’ll have a section where actionable meal prep tips are presented in a way anyone can do this seemingly difficult task.

But first, let’s discuss the training aspect of things.

Equipment & Space Required

One of the best things about the Fitness Kickstart Challenge is that you won’t need much space or equipment to get started.

All you need is your body weight and some time at home. Bodyweight exercises are a fantastic way to get in shape, as they target multiple muscle groups and can be done anywhere, at any time.

With this challenge, you’ll be doing a variety of bodyweight exercises that will help you build strength, increase flexibility, and boost your overall fitness.

You won’t need any fancy gym equipment or weights. All you need is your own body and a little bit of space.

This makes it easy to fit your workouts into your schedule, even if you have a busy lifestyle.

So, if you’re looking for an effective and convenient way to get in shape, this challenge is perfect for you!

Now let’s get to it, shall we?

Workout Overview

The workout in this challenge is quite simple and only involves bodyweight exercises. There are two consecutive training days, followed by a rest day.

All exercises are relatively simple and can be modified as per individual capabilities and levels of fitness.

In the tables below, you can see the exercises, as well as the numbers of sets, repetitions and rest times between sets.

Day 1
Exercise	Sets	Reps/Duration	Rest Times
Bodyweight Squats	5	15	90 seconds
Push-Ups	5	10	90 seconds
Plank Hold	5	20 seconds	90 seconds
Standing Calf Raises	5	15	60 seconds

Day 2
Exercise	Sets	Reps/Duration	Rest Times
Bodyweight Lunges	3	12 per leg	90 seconds
Static Push-Up Holds	4	15 seconds	90 seconds
Lying Crunches	5	12	90 seconds
Full Squat Calf Raises	5	15	60 seconds

Note that some people may not be able to complete both days in a row, in which case, it is a good idea to do these workouts every other day.

Eventually, as the workouts get easy, the training frequency can be increased up to 2 days of training, followed by one day of rest.

Exercise Explanation

Now that we have the training days in place, along with the exercises, sets, and repetitions, let’s have a look at the exercise execution.

Remember, beginners should aim to perfect their technique of each exercise, rather than exert as much as possible.

Later on, when these movements are translated into weight training, you will be able to lift more and progress faster, simply because you’ve mastered these simple motor patterns of movement.

Below is a step-by-step explanation for each of the exercises presented in the tables above.

Bodyweight Squat

1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width
2. Point the toes out slightly
3. Place your hands crossed on your shoulders, and look forward
4. Dip the butt down, until your hamstrings are parallel to the ground
5. Hold that position very briefly, then come back up, squeezing the butt at the top

NOTE: If your heels lift off the floor during the movement, elevate your heels slightly, either on a book or another flat surface that is up to 1.5 inches off of the floor. Make sure to drive the tension through the heels and mid-foot when going up!

Push-Ups

1. Kneel down and place your hands on the ground, wider than shoulder width
2. Keep your feet together and stay on your toes, with your torso perfectly straight
3. Lift your hips up slightly so that they’re not hanging
4. Keep your head neutral
5. Slowly go down until your chest is a couple of inches off the ground
6. Push back up, contracting the chest
7. Hold the position up top briefly, then repeat!

NOTE: If the regular push-up is challenging for you, do a kneeling push-up, where your knees are on the ground – this will take a great amount of resistance off of the working muscles and allow you to complete the movement with ease.

Plank Hold

1. Kneel down on the ground
2. Place your elbows on the ground at a slightly diagonal position, and at shoulder width
3. Keep your feet together and stand on your toes, just like with a push-up
4. Lift your hips up to engage the core, and keep your head neutral, looking down
5. Hold that position!

NOTE: If you can’t hold the position for the specified duration, start with a shorter hold and work your way up.

Standing Calf Raises

1. Stand up straight with your toes on the edge of a step/ledge
2. Dip your heels down slowly, feeling the stretch in your calves
3. Hold the position briefly at the bottom
4. Push up through your toes, contracting the calves
5. Hold the contraction up top briefly, then repeat the movement

NOTE: If calf raising on a stair is too challenging for you, simply do calf raises on flat surface, without dipping the heels down!

Bodyweight Lunge

1. Stand up straight and place your feet at shoulder width
2. Take a big step forward
3. Lunge down, keeping your torso straight, with your arms by your sides
4. Push back up to the initial position, driving the tension through the thighs and butt
5. Repeat on the opposite leg, then alternate between the two legs – one rep right, one rep left

NOTE: If you want to add difficulty to the movement, try walking lunges, where you alternate between each leg while walking.

Static Push-Up Hold

1. Kneel down and place your hands on the ground, wider than shoulder width
2. Keep your feet together and stay on your toes
3. Keep your torso perfectly straight
4. Lift your hips up slightly so that they’re not hanging
5. Keep your head neutral
6. Hold the position!

NOTE: To add difficulty to the push-up hold, try placing your hands differently – either wider or closer.

Lying Crunches

1. Lie down flat on the ground with your arms by your sides
2. Bring the heels closer to your butt, keeping the feet at shoulder width
3. Crunch by lifting your shoulders off of the floor and contracting the abs
4. While doing the crunch, lift your arms off the ground, and keep them straight, as if you’re trying to touch your heels

NOTE: You don’t have to lift your entire torso off of the ground – all you have to do is contract the abs.

Full Squat Calf Raise

1. Get into the squat position with your feet at shoulder width and toes out slightly
2. Hold on to something for balance, then squat down – ass to the grass!
3. In the bottom position of the squat, get on your toes and push through them as if you would with a normal calf raise
4. Contract the calves, then come back down, without touching your heels to the floor

NOTE: In most cases, this movement will require extra balance, so fear not hanging on to something!

Progressive Overload

As you progress through the Fitness Kickstart Challenge, you may want to consider applying progressive overload to your exercises.

Progressive overload is a training principle that involves gradually increasing the tension placed upon your muscles.

This can be done by doing more reps, more sets, or even adding extra resistance with added weights.

The idea behind progressive overload is to continually challenge your muscles and push yourself to new limits so that you can see continued improvement and progress in your fitness.

This is important because as your muscles get stronger and more adapted to the exercises you’re doing, they will require more stimulation in order to continue making progress.

By gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts, you’ll keep your muscles challenged and prevent them from reaching a plateau.

And so, as you progress through the Fitness Kickstart Challenge, consider applying progressive overload to your exercises by increasing the number of sets and reps, or even adding weights!

Healthy Nutrition Recommendations

Nutrition is an important part of the Fitness Kickstart Challenge, but it doesn’t have to be overcomplicated.

A simple approach to meal planning can go a long way in helping you achieve your fitness goals.

For protein, you can choose a couple of animal-based sources, such as chicken or fish, and prepare them in bulk.

This will give you a ready-to-go protein source that you can easily incorporate into your meals throughout the week.

For carbohydrates, choose a couple of plant-based sources, such as rice or potatoes, and prepare these in bulk as well.

This will give you a ready-to-go source of energy to fuel your workouts and help you recover from your training.

Finally, make sure to have a fresh food shelf in your kitchen, stocked with fresh foods that can be consumed with little to no preparation.

Avocados, fruits, vegetables, or even dried fruits and some chocolate – you name it!

These can be added as sides to your meals, giving you a variety of flavors and nutrients to enjoy.

By taking these simple steps, you can make sure that you’re fueling your body with the right foods and giving yourself the best possible chance of success with the Fitness Kickstart Challenge.

Motivation, Discipline & Maintaining Progress

Discipline is a key factor in the success of the Fitness Kickstart Challenge. It’s one thing to know what you need to do, but it’s another thing to actually do it.

That’s where discipline comes in. In order to see progress and reach your goals, you need to take action consistently, even when you’re not feeling motivated.

Motivation comes and goes, but discipline is what will keep you moving forward.

This is how you maintain progress and make sure that your efforts are paying off.

It’s important to remember that discipline is not about being perfect – it’s about making a commitment to yourself and following through on it, even when it’s not easy.

So, as you begin the Fitness Kickstart Challenge, make a commitment to yourself to be disciplined and take the necessary actions to reach your goals.

With discipline and consistency, you’ll be well on your way to a healthier, fitter you.

And so… Are you ready to take all of this and put it into action for the next 3 weeks?

Just do it.

* The information presented in this blog article is intended to provide general information only and should not be considered as professional or expert advice. While we have made efforts to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information, we cannot guarantee its correctness. We accept no liability for any loss or damage that may arise from your reliance on the information contained in this article. We encourage you to seek professional advice or conduct your own research before making any decisions based on the information presented here.