2009 Big Rock Goal #1 Boxing Cardio Challenge

January 1, 2009 at 12:30 pm (Exercise, Fitness, Goals)

This is the first in a series of 5 posts describing my Big Rock Goals (major milestones) for 2009.  Every year I try to set up some reasonable specific goals that I can devote my time and energy to.  Every year when I finish them, I feel proud and happy that I’ve really managed to accomplish something special.  Here is what I’m going to be working towards this year . . .

My first challenge is a health related one.  I feel that when I’m healthy and exercising, it makes all the other challenges so much easier.  That being said, I really need to have some specific goals to work towards as ‘exercise more’ or ‘eat healthy’ just doesn’t light my motivational fire. 

Last year, I challenged myself to work up to being able to do 50 push ups (please note that even though I’m a girl, I did actual full push ups).  I wasn’t able to do them all in one set, but it was still something I felt very proud of, especially since I hated push ups before that.

When I went searching for this year’s challenge I tried to reflect on what I liked about last year’s challenge and what made it so successful. 

No equipment necessary.  One of the biggest factors was that I could do it anywhere, anytime.  I even did them one day on a rooftop in Japan when I realized I had forgotten to do them in our hotel that morning.  I didn’t need special equipment and I didn’t even need a particular space because any floor would do.  I literally would roll out of bed and start doing push ups.

A small commitment.  The other nice thing about last year’s challenge was that it was just part of a workout and not an entire plan that I had to follow.  Which meant that if I wanted to try out another workout, I could.  I just slipped my push ups into my warm up and then did whatever else I wanted.  It was good because it allowed me to still have variety and not feel locked into a specific program.

Simple to master.  Let’s face it . . . most of us know the theory behind a proper push up.  It isn’t something where you have to worry about your particular posture or technique to know whether or not you’re doing it ok.

This year, I decided to focus on cardio and endurance.  My goal this year will be to skip the equivalent of a professional boxing title match.  I’ll be working my way up to skipping for 12 consecutive 3 minute rounds (each round will have a 1 minute break in between, which will be used for a variety of floor exercises: push ups, sit ups, squats, etc.).  I can already do 3 rounds fairly well and I’ll be aiming to add another round every 5 weeks of training, which will have this challenge wrapped up in November if everything goes on schedule (if it doesn’t, I’ll have a bit of a buffer so that I can still get it done this year).

Unfortunately, anything that involves cardio will require a bit more equipment as I’ll at least need to have decent runners, and I’ll also need a skipping rope.  There are also a few more restraints as to where I can do this activity as I’ll need a bit more floor space and ceiling clearance to swing the rope.  I also need to be working on an appropriate surface as neither carpet nor concrete work well for skipping.

I do have runners that I can use, but they are in need of a replacement pair, which I plan to get as soon as I can afford to in January.  I also already have a skipping rope that I’ll be using.  I anticipate that I’ll go through three pairs of runners and probably one or two speed ropes as well.  I’m also thinking about saving up for a boxing timer like this one so I can pay more attention to my skipping instead of watching the clock.

While there are more requirements as to equipment, I won’t be holding myself to a daily schedule for the skipping.  I’ll probably try for at least 3 sessions per week.  At the end of the challenge, I’ll be spending 36 minutes skipping and the total skipping workout will be about 3/4 of an hour by itself.  So, I will have to be a bit more conscious about setting aside workout time, but I think that’s generally a good thing.

Here are some of the things that inspired my skipping challenge decision:

• Link to YouTube music video featuring some awesome skipping!
• Here’s a YouTube video featuring some skipping from a skipping tournament.
• A good article about Jump Rope Training

How do you plan on incorporating fitness into 2009?  Do you make New Year’s resolutions too? 

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about my travel goal for the year.

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