wakeup call challenge: may 2010.

WAKEUP CALL CHALLENGE!

i would love for everyone to join me in this challenge! it will only take a few extra minutes out of your day~ i think everyone can sacrifice an extra 20-30 minutes PER WEEK to get their heart pumping every morning :)

some of you may know that i have been trying to become a morning person. not even a morning WORKOUT person.. just a morning person in general.  but it is safe to say that i don’t do mornings. i am always running late because i can’t pull myself out of bed. granted, penelope jane laying on my face may play a role in keeping me under the covers, but for the most part it is my own fault.

SO.. i decided to challenge myself.  every morning in the month of may, i am going to participate in a plyometric wakeup call.  i have been doing a lot of reading, and word on the street is that it’s a good idea to give your heart rate a jumpstart in the morning so you can keep your metabolism revving all day.  i know that i feel more alert and awake after a cardio workout, so i figure even if i just do a few minutes of some type of cardio in the morning it will help me wake up and hopefully jumpstart my body for the day!  i don’t have any cardio equipment at home and i really just wanted something quick and easy that i know i can commit to every day, so i decided to challenge myself to start each and every morning in may with a short-but-sweet plyometric mini workout. we are talking super-mini, people. 3 to 5 minutes.

i initially was just going to make this a goal for myself, but i realized that it was something EVERYONE can do. AND.. there will be two awesome prizes given away to the winners! the best part is you can tailor this challenge to suit your ability and stamina.

here are the details:

things you will need:

  • a stopwatch/timer or even just a clock you can see clearly in order to switch exercises when the minute changes
  • gym shoes (and probably a sports bra.. i just realized after day 1 of jumpin around)
  • a nice open area (about 5’ x 5’ will do)

that’s it! that is all you will need for this challenge.

what you will do:

  • every morning, before doing ANYTHING else (well, you can put your contacts in and brush your teeth if you want), hop out of bed (easier said than done), throw on your gym shoes (you can stay in your PJ’s for this!) and grab your stop watch.  i am talking before you do ANYTHING ELSE.. don’t check your email, don’t start the coffee, don’t brush your hair. the things that are allowed prior to these few minutes:
    • tooth brushing
    • put in your contacts if you need to
    • changing into sports bra/shoes
    • you can go pee
  • mosey over to your designated floor space and start the timer. do how ever many minutes you desire (but the final minutes will determine one of the prize winners!) of the following plyo moves. try to do each move for a solid minute and then move to another exercise for a minute, and so on. to make it a bit simpler, you can opt to do the moves for 30 seconds each.  you do not have to do ALL these moves, pick and choose the ones you want and alternate through the ones you select:
    • high knees
    • butt kicks
    • mummy kicks
    • log jumps
    • jumping jacks
    • jumprope (with a pretend jumprope)
    • run in place
    • heisman
    • 1-2-3 heisman
    • squat jumps
    • burpees
    • box jumps
    • switch kicks
    • split squat jumps
    • tuck jumps
    • downhill skier jumps
    • any other plyometric moves you can think of. JUST JUMP AROUND LIKE A CRAZY PERSON.
    • here is a video of some plyo moves i like:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ePDK5fSZaA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
  • at the end of your morning wakeup call routine, document the number of minutes you completed. keep a running log, you will turn this into me at the end of the month.

how the prizes will be given out:

  • one prize will go to the person who racks up the most minutes completed
  • one prize will be selected at random out of all participants (through random.org)
  • i don’t know what the prizes will be yet, but i PROMISE that they will be epic! no lame stuff here.. only fantastic prizes :)

(cheesy alert) but remember, EVERYONE participating will be a winner because you will have made leaps and bounds toward your physical fitness!

more info:

  • i plan to do photos/videos of all the above plyometric moves because i realize a lot of them may be foreign to you. in the mean time, do the ones you know or google the ones you don’t know. you can also watch the video of mine above to see some plyometric moves.
  • anyone and everyone can join in the challenge! if you want to join in, please email me at mealsandmoves@gmail.com to let me know you are in.
  • i will periodically send emails out to all participants with more information regarding the challenge and updates on how everyone is doing.
  • if you have a blog, let other’s know about the challenge by linking back to this post!
  • i will create a wakeup call challenge page to track my own progress. just click on the “challenges” page at the top of this page and then select “wakeup call challenge”

i hope that this helps me become a morning person and i also hope that you guys join the challenge with me!  even if you do workout every morning, you can still participate in the challenge because this is something you do immediately when you wake up. do your plyo minutes and then go do you workout.. consider this challenge a warmup!

EMAIL ME NOW IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE CHALLENGE!!

PARTICIPANTS:

if you don’t see your name on this list and you have signed up, please email me. i have linked back to those with blogs, if you don’t have a link back and would like one, please send your URL. i will add to this list as people join in!

good luck everyone!

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

homecookedem May 1, 2010 at 10:58 am

Woot woot! So excited for this challenge!! I didn’t start today b/c I had an early 5K that I wanted to save my energy for, but I will be starting tomorrow. Good luck to everyone!! :)

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acountablelife May 1, 2010 at 10:49 pm

Today I woke up at 7am for some unknown reason: excitement? I threw on some comfy clothes and shoes, grabbed my heart rate monitor for a timer, cleared a space in my room (shoved clothes baskets out of the way) and opened the curtains for inspiration and did 10 minutes of plyometrics.

1 min – slow high knees
1 min – fast high knees
1 min – jumping jacks
1 min – squat jumps
1 min – running in place
1 min – jumping jacks
1 min – tuck jumps (all the while dreading that I was waking up N with my heavy landings)
1 min – jump roping
1 min – split jumps
1 min – running in place

And I worked up a sweat! I did have plenty of energy throughout the day and for my tennis doubles match (that we won!) as well.

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Katrina J May 2, 2010 at 10:25 am

And here I am thinking that I’m beginning to be in better shape! LOL These Plyo’s are kickin my butt!!! Yesterday I did:

1 min. high knees
1 min. jumping jacks
1 min. butt kicks
30 seconds mummy kicks

A WHOPPING total of 3.5 minutes!

Today 5/2 I did:

1 min. running in place
1 min. jumping jack squats
1 min. butt kicks
1 min. high knees

Another WHOPPING toal of 4 minutes!

I know as the days go on I’ll be able to go further and further with time! It was great too, did my plyo’s and immediately changed and headed to the gym!! Definitely helped get my butt out the door!!

Hope everyone’s doing great with this! Janetha B…you rock ;) love love

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Therese May 3, 2010 at 6:08 am

I am totally in!!! Last week the hubbie forced me to do our workouts in the evening and I hated it! This morning I hammered out Insanity’s Plyometric Cardio Circuit :) That qualifies right ;) I think it’s 40 minutes?

What a fun challenge! Love you Janetha B!

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Christine May 3, 2010 at 6:30 pm

I started the challenge this morning :) Completed 10 minutes and worked up a sweat! I love working out in the morning because it makes me feel totally refreshed, energized and ready for the day ahead! Working out at the end of the day is tough because I am so exhausted after work. Loving this challenge, Janetha! :)

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Jocelyn @ Peace.Love.Nutrition May 4, 2010 at 9:37 pm

Such a great idea! I need something like this every morning. I’m joining!!

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