December Fitness Challenge 2018: It’s All in the Points

December Fitness Challenge
03 Dec

Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

It’s time to push myself to become better than I am…again. Perhaps maybe this time I’ll actually do some “pushing.” I don’t always focus well when doing challenges. But for this December fitness challenge, I might have better luck.

This time, I am focusing more on points in Exercise.com.

You see, I lost my top 1000 position a couple of months ago and I want to reclaim it. Which means I really have to put in the effort if I want to beat out those who are passing me.

Why Points for the December Fitness Challenge?

When it comes to exercise, it’s all about making it more engaging for me. Gamification works well to keep my mind focused on physical activity, which is why I still play the Xbox Kinect on a daily basis.

Exercise.com uses a point system to show your progress compared to other people who use the website. This creates a friendly layer of competition.

Even though it centers purely around the “honor system,” it’s still effective at keeping my attention when it comes to working out.

For the longest time, I was pretty proud of being in the top 1000 on the website for points. And I don’t want to get too far behind.

Getting More Points

One problem with Exercise.com is how it gravitates more towards lifting weights. Which is great if you’re trying to build bulk or lean muscle mass.

But what about those who just want to lose weight? Unfortunately, things like aerobics, cardio activity, yoga and body-weight exercises don’t have as many points as something like dumbbell repetitions.

This means I will need to find some kind of weighted workout or at least grind out an insane amount of cardio activity.

Luckily, I have resistance bands here at the house. And I’m a fan of glove, ankle and wrist weights during various exercises. As long as I can maintain a regular routine, I should retake the top 1000 for this December fitness challenge.

Breaking Personal Records

Another aspect of Exercise.com is being able to track my personal progress. Each time I log in a workout, the system will save my records in each activity.

For instance, my record for the Air Bicycle, or bicycle kick, is 10 reps. If I surpass that during any logged workout, Exercise.com will time stamp the date and save the new record for that exercise.

I set a lot of my records back in 2014 and really haven’t tried to break them since. I’m sure I can probably shatter some of them this month. Plus, I plan on going through the thousands of available exercises and set new personal bests.

For me, there is a layer of fun when competing against myself. It’s a true testament to how I’ve developed over the years and what I can do now compared to back then.

Comparing Against Others

Exercise.com also has the ability to compare your abilities against others on the site. As long as most people are being honest with their workouts, you can get a feel for how you stack up.

There’s a couple of ways you can see your stats versus others.

Average Monthly Users

Sitewide Performance

In each exercise type, you will see your average as well as your personal best. Then, the website will also share how others perform the same activity over the last 30 days.

You can change these number to show all, male or female users. Unfortunately, my own contribution to these averages kind of bring everyone down a peg.

It’s one of my goals for the December fitness challenge to not be a hindrance on sitewide performance.

Sitewide Rank for Exercises

Exercise Rank

When looking at personal records, you’ll see your rank on the site for each exercise. As you can see, I am all over the map depending on the workout.

A lot of the records I have inside the top 100 are usually those which don’t have a lot of users. But, it still gives me bragging rights and a smile to my face when I see some of them.

I just wish I had more competition in certain workouts to give more of a challenge.

My Diet for the December Fitness Challenge

This month, I’m going to stick with my Net 600 calorie diet. Which means I’ll need to do more cardio activities if I want to eat more.

Since I’m focusing on making points through weights, I’ll need to be mindful of my carb intake. My Net 600 calorie diet might not be the best idea as I’ll push myself pretty hard in some instances.

And because I am hypoglycemic, I tend to put myself into shock while lifting weights and pushing too hard. However, I found that snacking on a fruit bar or drinking juice in the middle of the routine prevents problems like this.

On the upside, I’ll stagger my workout throughout the day. This should also prevent going into shock from trying to do too much.

Why Stagger My Workout Routine?

This month I am also doing a personal case study on whether staggered workouts are as beneficial as solid routines.

For example, how much of an impact will it make on me if I do one set of each exercise at 7:30 am, 10:00 am and 3:30 pm every day? This is opposed to just doing 45 minutes of the entire workout.

For this, I’ll monitor body and biological measurements such as bicep and waist sizes as well as body water levels and other data.

I’ll publish the results after this December fitness challenge. It might even be the first thing I post on this website in 2019.

This Challenge is Crucial

After hitting 1000 days in MyFitnessPal, I started to feel a bit bummed out. It’s been more than two and a half years and I’ve only lost 70 pounds so far. This is because I truly lacked effort.

I am often too lazy to bother.

This time, I would love to finish out the year weighing 210 pounds. This means I need to lose at least 14 pounds this month. And to be honest, I know I can lose this much. I just need to stop being so lazy and really put in the effort.

I also want to demonstrate that it’s possible to enjoy some of the goodies of the holiday season and still lose weight.

True, I’ve only lost 70 pounds so far. But the real story is that I’ve kept it off even while being bad with snacks and pizza.

I’ll never be 290 pounds ever again!

Let’s Get it On!

If you want to join me in this challenge, feel free to message me on social media or leave a comment down below. Also, download and try the Exercise.com fitness app for yourself if you feel like competing against me.

Exercise.com
Exercise.com
Developer: exercise.com
Price: Free

It’s free and works well for what I use it for.

So, let’s make this December fitness challenge memorable and finish 2018 in the best shape ever. If I meet my goals, I’ll be at a weight I haven’t seen for close to 20 years.[template id=”3591″]

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