This month we will begin the Challenge Season. Two challenges, one being a 21-day fat-loss/performance intensive and the other being a 40-day lifestyle challenge to help you banish bad habits and adopt better ones.
If you’re struggling to get on track, losing the Holiday weight, drop fat, one of these these challenges may be right for you.
A lot of people have been asking what the “Detox” is. I admit, that term is misleading because it sounds like I’m going to make a bunch of you drink dark green liquid for 3 weeks. Not at all. It’s simply a detox in the sense that there will be no alcohol. Also any low quality foods such as highly processed food, or sweets will be off the menu. All food will be tracked and you will be given certain caloric/macronutrient guidelines that you will have to stick to for three weeks.
The goal for the 21 day challenge is to help you achieve one of 3 objectives:
-Reduce your body fat (the right way) as much as possible while preserving your muscle mass and fueling exercise.
-Help you wean yourself off of certain food and drink that are sabotaging your fitness results and long-term heatlh.
-Accelerate your performance and recovery through nutrition.
Unless your goal is to achieve one of these–and you’re quite serious about it–the 21-day challenge is not necessary. It will not be easy so don’t do it unless you really want to knuckle down and get some good results fast.
Why do this challenge?
Sometimes we forget–or never get to experience–how good we can feel when we eat really well. How much energy we can have, the mental clarity, the improved sleep, and change in body composition.
Most people have no idea how much food they eat. They don’t know how they respond to certain foods. They eat mindlessly without ever knowing how it affects their performance or body composition.
Moreover, we typically don’t really direct our eating towards our goals in the gym in any structured way. We usually just try to “eat a little better”. This will show you how eat with precision and gain much more momentum (the way high level athletes and physique competitors do) through nutrition.
If you began this year fully intending to make sweeping changes to your life but find yourself lacking direction. I highly encourage you to give this a try.
In the coming weeks I will explain more details about the 40-day challenge.
But for now, know that the 21-day intensive ends on March 4th aka “Mardi Gras” or “Fat Tuesday”. The very next day is the beginning of the 40-day challenge and also happens to be (if there happens to be any Catholics out there) the start of Lent.
For the 21 day intensive, here’s what you can expect:
On February 8th we will have the 21-day kick-off meeting at 8:30am. At this meeting, after choosing your goal (performance or fat loss), we will determine what your calories and macronutrients needs will be.
We will take measurements, pictures (privately), and do weigh-ins to set a baseline that will be done again 21 days later.
From there you will be given calorie/macro guidelines to follow for the next 21 days and a challenge booklet that will lay out your game plan and keep you on track.
You will have three days (Sunday-Tuesday) to prepare; empty your pantry, go grocery shopping, etc.
On Wednesday you will begin the challenge tracking all your food through MyFitnessPal to meet your daily nutrition guidelines.
At the end, you come back in to a wrap up meeting where we re-measure everything and see you did!
That’s it!
By the way here are a few of the results from past challenges.
The first one below is of Blake Kroo. His results are from 21 days of following the plan we will embark on February 12th:

 

If you are interested, there is a sign up form in the gym. The cost is $37 for members to participate. Email me if you have questions at: ricky@heydaytraining.com
P.S This challenge will not be Paleo.
Workout of The Day
A.
Back Squat
1×3@60%
2×3@70%
2×3@80%
1×3@90%
B.
Sled Work AMRAP 15 minutes
Partners alternate each set to cover as much distance as possible-
Relay
Sled Push 10m 225/175
Sled Pull 10m