Every month here at Healthworks, we challenge our community with a monthly fitness challenge. Why?
– Because a little bit of healthy competition can be motivating.
– Because challenging yourself outside of your comfort zone can be physically (and mentally) transforming.
– Because trying a new movement can help you expand your repertoire of exercises available to you in the gym.
February Fitness Challenge:
Max Burpees in One Minute
If you’ve never joined in on one of our challenges so far, we strongly encourage you to give our February challenge a shot.
Your task, should you choose to accept: Perform as many burpees as you can in 1 minute.
Think it sounds easy? Here’s the thing:
Sure, burpees are easy to do anywhere (no equipment necessary) and 1 minute definitely isn’t a lot of time. But a burpee requires your entire body to perform correctly, and as an exercise it taps into several of your basic functional skills (flexibility, strength, and stamina to name a few).
Plus: they’re hard. Do them as fast as you can for one minute and you’ll feel like you just sprinted a mile. But don’t let the difficulty discourage you: one-minute max burpees is an ideal high-intensity interval that is great for promoting fat loss and improving your heart health.
How to Do a Burpee
– Start in a standing position.
– Squat down until your hands are touching the floor, then jump your legs back so that you end up in a plank position.
– Quickly lower yourself down to the floor until your chest, stomach, and thighs are resting on the ground.
– Lift your chest, extend your arms, and then jump or step your feet back up toward your hands.
– Jump up tall and clap once overhead. You’ll end up back in the start position…and ready for your next rep!
Remember: If it’s not challenging you, it’s probably not changing you. Assuming you’re not dealing with any limiting aches or pains anywhere, be sure to do this as fast as you possibly can. It’s just one minute: you can do it!
Be sure to record your results (you may want to have a friend or trainer count for you so you don’t lose track) and share it with our community.
