Challenges.

There is much appeal to new workouts. New equipment. New diets. New stimulus.

Do you need it? That’s up to you and what you desire out of your training and life.

Every so often an idea for a challenge catches my attention and I follow it.

Yesterday it was a spontaneous workout of loaded carries/calisthenics and crawling. Set the timer for a specific amount of time and get to it. This sort of challenge is more about pushing yourself mentally than trying to do a certain number of reps or weight.

Minimal rest periods with difficult training stimulates the body & mind in a new way. It’s not something I do every day but I find value in it from time to time.

If you want to know how often to implement challenges, I have no answer for you. I’m sure there are plenty of other people on the internet that will oblige you. That is not my way. What is my way? To dive into the topic to find the essence of it.

Challenges. What do they provide you? Elements of excitement, discovery, change.

Most hard-training people enjoy the rush of taking on a new challenge. There’s anticipation. The unknown of what it will feel like. Will you be able to complete it? How hard will it be?

You could approach challenges in a few different ways. One is to implement small challenges in each training day. Maybe you do one set to failure or you reduce your rest periods significantly.

The other idea is to go after big challenges once in awhile. Maybe each month or two you decide to ramp up the intensity and do an entirely different style of training than you are accustomed to. If you always train with weights indoors, you go outside and do a session of all bodyweight exercises with no rest periods.

Loaded carries/calisthenics and crawling is one option. To sum it up simply: carry weight around the yard, do some calisthenics exercises and crawl variations. Set the clock for a time that you think would be difficult. See what you’re made of.

If you’re sick of following cut and paste programs and want a more intuitive approach to training you may be interested in RUGGED FITNESS. A framework to keep you on track but not limited to what is written on paper.

If you are tired of the gym and want to simplify your training to use no equipment for awhile, you may be interested in BODYWEIGHT BASICS. A simple program that guides you to enjoy the basics of bodyweight training.