12/31/2022
On Dec 28th, 2022 I completed 1,500 days of consecutive, non-stop back-to-back workout days. That means no rest days in between. That's over 4 years of working out every day without taking a single day off.
Why?? you must be wondering.
Because of all the travel that I've done and all the different people that I've met around the world and through serious observation and frank conversations. I came up to the conclusion that "rest days" as we know them are a construct of modern times.
I wanted to test this theory of mine. The opportunity arose when a friend of mine came to visit and I notice in how much of a bad shape he was.
I asked him why had he allowed himself to
go that way. His answer was simple: “I have a job with an irregular schedule and it includes traveling. So, I have no time left to go to a gym or access specialized equipment.”
I told him, "You are right. Every single one of those is a valid excuse for not working out." Then I added, "But what I also hear is that if you could find something you could do anywhere, any time, for a short period of time, and without the use of specialized equipment you'd do it, right?"
He had no other option but to say yes.
So, out of concern for my friend, I developed what the “365 Daily Fitness Challenge” or . The idea is for you to be active focusing on your body for at least 15 minutes every day. In that time you are to do 50-50-50. Fifty bodyweight squats, 50 pushups and 50 core or abdominal exercises.
At first, I came up with a few of bodyweight-only exercises to
do but as time went by I kept adding to that repertoire. Now I have over 100 types of pushups, another 100 or so bodyweight squat/ leg moves variations, and about 150 different types of core/ abdominal moves. Think of these as a menu where you get to pick every time what to every time you workout.
You don't even have to do all 50 squats, 50 pushups, and 50 abs/ core moves back to back or all at once. You can break these down into whatever amount of reps you can do at the time you get started. But the goal is to achieve the 50/50/50 count.
As it turns out the human body will adapt surprisingly fast to the demands we place upon it. Soon, you’ll realize these few moves the entry exercises to whole world of possibilities. Soon you will be hungry for more.
By the way, my friend, he did the with me for a couple of months and then he went on to continue with a workout routine that included running. Eventually he started running marathons.
When he decided to branch out on his own, I did a physical assessment of how I felt and what I found surprised myself. I felt more functionally fit after those two months of doing a variety of body-weight-only exercises than all the years I'd been going to the gym, or doing yoga, or rowing, or doing martial arts, or rock climbing.
That’s when it hit me! The operative word in all the things I’ve done was "or."
Each one of those activities on their requires a specific type of repetitions and structured patterns.
Doing bodyweight-only routines has allowed me to explore and maximize my functionality, flexibility and has helped me develop muscles and functional strength.
Plus, I’ve listened to my body and modify what info based upon how a body part my feel. That’s how I’ve avoided serious injury throughout this journey.
Anyway, the point is anyone can do the $365dfc workouts.
All you need is to develop the atomic habit of making time to take care of your body a daily routine. Nowadays, I think of working out as brushing my teeth or taking a shower. A day doesn't go by that I don't do these things. The same goes for my workouts.
A regular is usually about 15 minutes. On this special 1,500th day, I added a lot more moves just because it felt good and because at my 56-years old I could.
A while back, I developed a theory. As long as you are not doing weights, you could do some sort of workout every day of your life and your body would be okay with it.
I have about fifty 15-min workouts that I have recorded. Do you think there would be any value to you if I were to put those on Youtube?
