It looks like 2023 is shaping up to be my year of challenges. After two months of push-up challenges and another month of the 10/10/10 challenge, I took the leap and signed up for the Mt. Everest Climbing Challenge. The goal is to conquer 29,032 feet of elevation on my bike by April 29th, the height of Mt. Everest.
I’ve pondered this challenge before, but never felt quite ready or confident that I could squeeze in the time to do it. Also, that’s a heck of a lot of climbing. This year, for whatever reason, I’ve decided to test my mettle.
So if you’ve heard some giddy woman’s voice wafting through the sky, belting out Aretha’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” that’s me–gobbling up hills, one day, one ride at a time, enjoying the views and the journey along the way.
My first goal is to reach Base Camp at 17,700 ft.
Then it will be on to the Ice Fall at 22,000 ft.
Followed by
• Lhotse Wall at 22,300 ft.
• Death Zone at 26,000 ft. (that’s not scary at all–haha)
• The Summit at 29,032 ft.
Send me your good vibes, as this is a bit of an ass-kicker, and life is especially full these days. Even though it’s a stretch to squeeze it all in, I’m taking my own advice, which is not to wait until the “perfect time,” because there is no perfect time except NOW.
Ride on! xo Becky
PS: There’s still time to join if you want to be part of the fun! The more the merrier! Click HERE for all the details.
Last Friday I completed a 31-day fitness challenge called the 10/10/10 Challenge (10 push-ups, 10 squats, and either 10 minutes of plank rotations or 10 minutes of core exercises). I intentionally created this challenge to be “short & sweet” so that with some effort, it was completely doable. The goal was simply to be disciplined and work hard every single day of March to get stronger, no excuses.
I’m happy to say “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!” In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I was inspired to extend most workouts to more in the range of an hour with multiple sets of push-ups, squats, and other assorted core exercises. In 31 days I ended up doing over 900 push-ups, 1000+ squats and lunges, dozens of plank rotations as well as a variety of core exercises with body weight, bands, and dumbbells.
Besides the fitness gains and the mental toughness gains, I learned a few things during this challenge, which I thought I’d share with you. Here are my thoughts . . .
• Action begets motivation. Don’t wait until you are motivated to get started. Just get started, even if you don’t feel 100% ready or your life isn’t 100% lined up. Starting is the first, and most important step. Once you take the plunge, you will be surprised how motivated you will become, especially when your consistency starts paying dividends in terms of energy, strength, and confidence. The more you do, the more motivated you’ll become.
• Focusing on progress over perfection makes it all the more enjoyable. Instead of getting discouraged by how far you feel like you still have to go, just show up and do your best each session and give yourself grace, followed by big kudos for your effort. The results will come. The joy is in the journey.
• If you are trying to improve your strength and do it without straining or injuring yourself, I highly recommend getting a selfie tripod for your phone so you can film yourself–especially if you work out where you don’t have a mirror. It may sound narcissistic, but filming yourself makes it easier to see your form as well as your imbalances and weaknesses. You may feel like your hip is at a certain angle, your leg is at an optimal height or knees are aligned, but until you actually see yourself doing each exercise, it’s hard to know, especially when you are trying new moves. It’s like having an impartial review at your fingertips, which is invaluable.
• Making yourself and your workout environment “happy” will make your session all the more motivating. Put on your favorite pump up music, open the blinds or turn up the lights, wear your favorite workout gear (if you’re like me, bright colors make you feel cheerier and more energized). Make sure your body is properly fueled and hydrated so you feel good instead of trying to complete your workout while running on low. It’s often the little things that make the biggest differences.
• Have your gear organized and laid out the night before so you don’t waste your precious time looking for items. When you have even the smallest elements of friction in your routine (ie–having to search for your shorts or find your watch, keys, or dumbbells), it sets a frustrating tone, and it also leans into procrastination. If everything is ready for you to hit it without thinking or working too hard, you are likely to get it done and not be pulled toward other things.
• Mixing up your routine and your workout locale can keep things fresh and interesting. Even if your goal is simply to do squats and push-ups, there are many variations of these exercises, which are equally beneficial. Why not mix up sumo, goblet, regular, and one-legged squats? Change it up to avoid getting bored. Google, Instagram and YouTube are excellent sources for new ideas. In terms of location, even if you are a creature of habit, always going to the gym, or always going to the track, or always working out at home, changing your routine every once in awhile will add a spark to your workout. I highly recommend getting outside. Fresh air and blue sky are intoxicating.
Below I’m sharing a few snaps from our recent 10/10/10 Challenge, representing 12 of 31 days of fitness. I hope your fitness journey is filled with untold joy and your strength grows day by day. Power on, my friends! I’m rooting for you all the way!
Back in December 2021 I challenged myself to cycle every single day of the month to get my legs back under me and begin building my mental and physical base to kick off Ironman Training. I chose the difficult month of December because I knew how hard it was to be consistent during the holidays, special events, and less-than-spectacular weather.
Riding 31 days in a row seemed epic at first, and there were definitely days I did not want to get on my bike, especially in the pouring rain. But because I committed to this personal challenge, and shared my goal with my friends and family, and Instagram connections, I dragged myself out the door and onto the road every single day (or on a spin bike at the gym, or my bike trainer in the garage). I didn’t miss one ride, and by the end of the month I had logged 809 miles and over 14,000 ft. of elevation. More importantly though, I reminded myself that I could do hard things and indeed loved doing hard things. Mission accomplished.
• • •
Fast forward to the beginning of 2023. After successfully completing Ironman California in late fall 2022, and letting my body recover for a couple of months, I launched a push-up challenge to work on my much-needed upper body strength. Push-ups have always been my nemesis, even though I strength train and swim. If you want to read the full details of this challenge, you can pop back to my previous blog post HERE. In a nutshell, it was a simple concept: starting with one full push-up on the 1st of January and working up to thirty-one full push-ups on the 31st. To build strength along the way I also added knee push-ups and inchworms and Pilates push-ups in addition to other usual fitness exercises.
I won’t lie. It was hard. Really hard.
What made it less difficult though, was inviting my friend Emma to do it along with me. We cheered each other on and held each other accountable, and when we completed our challenge, we hooted, hollered, high-five’d and celebrated over a tasty meal at a wonderful restaurant.
When our January push-up challenge wrapped up, Emma and I both knew we still had a lot of work to do to improve our strength and form–especially getting ourselves all the way down to the ground, so we decided to repeat the same thing in February. This time I invited my friends Janet and Robert, my brothers Tim and Scott, and my sister-in-law Jess, who were quick to join the fun. Our little group plugged away each day, doing our daily push-ups on top of our other personal fitness training, sending each other photos or videos, cheering each other on, and checking in when someone got quiet. Once again, we got it done. Having a larger group made it all the more fun, especially celebrating each person with a virtual mini trophy and Rocky music.
When I signed up to participate in Oiselle’s Chase the Bird Challenge, I never imagined it would be a big deal to get my workouts done each day. After all, the bar was set to a ridiculously doable level…15 minutes of exercise every day. But there’s a reason it’s called a CHALLENGE. The challenge is making your workout a bigger priority than the heaping mound of other responsibilities you have staring at your for 26 days straight. Let me tell you, that’s no easy task.
Yesterday, I had planned to go to a full-body strength mat class at The Lab, but we had the final walk through for our house sale and multiple things to tackle in the morning. That nixed that idea. Fortunately, later in the day I had a small window to zip to the gym where I knocked out a few miles on the elliptical, followed by a 500y swim. Short and sweet. Day 10 done. The best part is that it felt great–especially the swim, which is usually one of my least favorite forms of exercise. Working on my weaknesses! Now if I could just conquer my weakness for cookies and chai lattes.
Day 11: This morning I started my day on the mat with another fabulous yoga class led by Erin DiAngelis. The difference this class makes in my body and spirit is phenomenal. I’m never disappointed by this 1-hour investment of my time. What’s especially exciting is that after months and months of my hamstring yelling at me, it’s finally starting to quiet down. Hopefully it will eventually begin to sing again as it carries me along on pain free runs.
Today is a day off from school and ballet for my daughter so I’m sure a Mother-Daughter Chase the Bird adventure await us…will it be tennis, a bike ride, hike, or run? Can’t wait to see what inspires my little bird!
I’m not usually one to participate in group challenges, online or otherwise, but when Oiselle’s “Chase the Bird Challenge” popped up on my Twitter feed, it hit me at just the right time. We’re in the middle of selling our house and I’ve also taken on a boatload of new responsibilities this fall, so getting my workouts in has been a challenge. Throw in the “sugarfest” that starts at Halloween, I knew I needed to grab onto something so my fitness didn’t come completely off the rails.
Oiselle’s Chase the Bird Challenge is simple enough: it’s a 26-day fitness streak to help prevent us from rolling into Thanksgiving feeling like a stuffed turkey, and to reinforce the habit of making health and fitness a priority even in the midst of all our holiday madness fun. All you have to do is some type of exercise for at least 15 minutes every day until Thanksgiving.
In order to hold us accountable and share our fitness mojo with others, Oiselle is asking us to post our workouts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I thought I’d post the first 5 days here too. It would be fun if you’d join the challenge with me. It’s never too late as far as I’m concerned.
DAY ONE: Squeeeeeezed in a quick little 3-mile run through the neighborhood on a beautiful autumn day. This was between 5 loads of laundry, dishes, homework help, house hunting and grocery shopping. Sometimes we have to take what we can get, right? The best part of my day was a sunset stroll on the beach with my sweet girl. I have to admit, I was highly unmotivated to make this happen after a busy day, but thankfully my daughter was persistent. It was gorgeous and relaxing and a wonderful time to enjoy each other’s company without distractions. Aaaahh.
I also loved watching my carefree little dancer take flight.
Love this girl!
DAY TWO: 40 Minute trail run, push-ups and core. Nothing complicated about this workout. Just a nice cruise and time to chill out in my own little world, forgetting everything on my To Do List. It was also fun to bump into a flock of friends on the trail today!
Run Be Run 