How I Went From no Motivation to Workout to 4x21 Days Into Exercising
I made the 21-days to build a habit look like a piece of cake. How? Spoiler: Giving only 90%.
Quarantine season never ends, apparently. Been stuck in my home since the beginning of November, I have every time in the world to focus on myself. It’s time for personal growth, but I am a procrastinator. Motivation is a word found in the last pages of my vocabulary.
For the non-motivators or people that lack free time, this is for you.
The problem is you give up too soon. You‘re easily exhausted when pushing yourself to your limits. I used to play basketball and things weren't so easy back then. And after surgery, giving up was the easy option. You might start working out only to stop a couple of days later, just like me.
You need to shift your perspective of what’s great for your health. People saying that working out every day for a lot of minutes scare you. You are not alone.
What if I told you that I found how to workout every day? And there’s motivation to keep up the pace for many days to come?
The solution came in the energy I was using in my workouts. I always like to gain the most out of using the least energy. I want to work out my body but not spend many minutes to do so. And most importantly, not be exhausted either.
So I did exactly that.
I like to see improvement every month, that's my simple goal. Aiming to work most of my body with the least amount of time possible is always the case for me. You will drain something out of it and be amazingly inspired as well.
Let’s breakdown the plan, and the exercises backed up with some research.
The Plan
3:30 minutes per set. 3 sets. Every day before your core meals in the day.
Is that all?
Yes, that's all. In less than 10 minutes per day, you will see improvement in a big variety of muscles. Overall strength will be increased and your mood will be great.
Especially when you are starting your day by moving your body.
Ideally, Increasing reps of your exercises as you go is the best solution. I am aiming for 5 minutes at some point. But I started at 3.
The key is keeping your sets at your 90% capacity. Never push yourself to never lose motivation.
The Equipment
Oh, this part will be even shorter than the plan itself…You only need a bar to do chin-ups and pull-ups.
Yeah, that’s all. It’s you and your body mostly. It’s calisthenics after all.
The Exercises
I’ll put them in the order I am doing them. I am aiming for strength so cardio comes last for me. If you are aiming for cardio fitness, do the two cardio exercises I recommend, first.
#1. 2 Pull-ups and 2 Chin-ups
It’s not an easy exercise at least in the beginning. But when you get a grasp of it, you will feel the strength.
I started with negative pull-ups. I lacked the strength to do even 1. Now, I’m doing 4 with ease.
How to do a negative? You start by being in the top stance of the exercise, and then slowly lower your body. Repeat. I used to do a simple jump, then go down till I was comfortable to make 1 rep of normal pull-ups. Squeeze your abs to increase stability and work on your upper abs as well.
Targeted areas: Upper back, arms, lats, chest, upper abs, and shoulders.
P.S. If you lack a bar, I’ve found this article to be enlightening for you.
#2. 10 Hanging knee raises
Lower abs deserve some love as well, so 10 reps will give them a hug of love and affection. Or sore abs, I don't know…
Grab the bar, and raise your legs till they create a 90-degree angle with your body. As you advance, you can step it up by decreasing the angle you create.
Targeted area: Lower abs.
P.S. If you lack a bar, you can do knee raises on the floor as well.
#3. 10 push-ups
There are a bazillion variations for push-ups. While I would love to mention every single one of them, that would be pointless.
I would recommend you to think of the muscle target you want to exercise more and Google what push-up variations is better for you.
For instance, I want to emphasize my triceps. What will I search for?
You get the drill.
Targeted areas: Depends on you.
#4. 10 Dorsal raises
A very important exercise for writers on Medium as well! It helps decrease lower back pain, a common issue for people who spend many hours sitting.
That’s the peak motion you’ll reach in your dorsal raise. Push yourself and you will thank me later for that.
Targeted areas: Lower back, glutes, abdominals.
#5. 1-minute plank
Your newest favorite enemy. Favorite AND enemy you said? Hell yeah! My favorite exercise by far is the plank. If you have no time at all in your hands, you can solely to this one little beauty to keep you sane.
You all have seen a plank before. The key to this exercise is squeezing your core to get the most out of it. Keep your body straight. If you haven't done any planks at all, start with 30 seconds and move to 45 afterward. 1 minute is enough and the optimal for me is going for 2 minutes at some point.
Targeted areas: whole core, hips, and benefits in arms and legs
#6. 30 seconds of alternating jump lunges
Now, the two killer exercises that will give you the cardio and the work for your legs that you need. Ideally, you should do them last to get some warmup before by doing the 5 exercises aforementioned.
Starting with alternating jump lunges as seen above, you’re helping your joints to get the attention needed, in a quarantined world. You are not walking much lately probably, so an exercise like this is vital to keep your legs healthy.
Targeted areas: glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves. A huge plus, stability, and coordination.
P.S. It may be an exhausting exercise at the start, so do 5 reps of each leg.
#7. 30 seconds of skater hops
An exercise quite similar to alternating jump lunges, but it gives some extra hustle to your inner thighs. I have it there only to put some flavor to my cardio treatment. I wouldn't bear doing 1 minute of lunges so I had to break down to 2 exercises to add variety.
Targeted areas: glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves
Results
I’m 6'1(186cm) and I was 183 pounds (83kg) when I started. Now, I eat more than I used to, and I managed to even lose some along the way. I may not be where I wanted yet, but it requires such a minimum effort to see these results, so I can’t complain.
Final Thoughts
I know, it might not a perfect routine BUT…
It made me continue doing it for 84 Days! I never had a routine kept for this long.
And for all of you who fail to keep a routine as well, I challenge you to give a shot to this exercising routine.
It’s less than 10 minutes of your time! Don’t tell me that you don't have time…You would be lying only to check your social media inbox for more than that.
I wrote an article on the benefits of not using technology. You should combine those two, you’ll thank me later.
Now ask yourself this:
Am I ready to change just a little tiny bit of my life today, to see massive changes tomorrow?
P.S. Don’t forget to keep it at 90% or lower!
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