Last Updated on September 2, 2019 by Michael Brockbank
It’s that time of year again. The last two months of 2018 has just flown by. It’s March, and you know what that means. It’s time for a new monthly challenge! Well, that and March Madness. But when you’re not focused on basketball, here’s what you can do to focus on this March fitness challenge.
Personally, I didn’t do all that well last month…and time is ticking down before I head off to my son’s graduation. I didn’t lose a damn thing in February, and I have no one to blame but myself.
That’s OK, though. This month, I can feel the power! I can feel the positivity! And I can still feel my stomach overlapping my pants!
What are we doing this month?
Calorie Burn, Burn and More Burn
Last month, I was focusing on 3,200 calories burned according to Fitbit data. I finished with an average of 3,238. So, I was successful at meeting this goal. However, I am almost positive I can do far more for this March fitness challenge.
This was mostly done using the Xbox Kinect and playing a few new games.
How about we keep it easy, but progressive. Let’s go with 3400 calories burned on a daily average throughout this month. In reality, that’s not an exceeding amount and should be the equivalent of a 15 minute walk every day.
If you want to follow along but don’t have a Fitbit, this goal is more about increasing your average activity. If you already walk once a day, increase your distance or your time. Do what you can to get that extra boost for yourself.
Reaching for the Top in Exercise.com
So, I’ve been seriously slacking when it comes to recording my exercise data in Exercise.com. I’m not going to make it to the top 100 if I don’t record my stats. As part of my March fitness challenge, I am going to put more effort into recording as much as possible.
Exercise.com is a free tool that is loaded with all kinds of exercises and workout plans. I use it as a kind of record keeper as well as compete against the bulk of the website’s users. I’m still in the top 900, but I want to be lower than that.
Breaking my personal bests is one of the ways I gamify fitness. It’s fun for me to keep track of my limits and try to surpass them. Instead of using a spreadsheet, as I do for just about everything else, I use Exercise.com to monitor things like push-ups, sit-ups or planks.
Sticking to a Net 600 Calorie Diet
This is the element I have the hardest problem with, and why I didn’t lose weight last month. I need to stick to my Net 600 Calorie diet every day…even on birthdays and holidays.
My problem? Midnight snacking, mostly. I do excellent until after dinner and then I fall apart. I realize that I snack an exceptional amount of junk in the night when I am just sitting at my desk watching Netflix or YouTube.
The obvious course of action is to find something to do with my evenings for this March fitness challenge.
You don’t have to follow my Net 600 Calorie diet. It is pretty grueling if you’re new. However, you should try to get into a good habit of eating better. That means proper portion sizes, include healthier alternatives and making sure you get some physical activity.
Getting Deep Into Social Media
I’ve been talking a big game lately about getting deeper into social media. It’s not that I want to be an influencer or some popular “health expert.” It’s more to create an audience whom I don’t want to disappoint. Essentially, I am using you to keep motivated to get healthy.
Now that I have a new computer that will handle many of the things I want to incorporate, I really have no excuse other than laziness. I am setting up my streaming software this weekend and getting ready to do some Twitch and YouTube content centering around games, fun and health. Because they can all be integrated, especially video games and fitness.
You don’t have to put effort into these kinds of platforms if you want to participate in this March fitness challenge. This part is completely optional, and I am doing it to keep myself focused on what I’m trying to do.
If you do start something like this, let me know in the comments below or on Twitter. I’d love to check out your channel.
Getting More Sleep
According to my Fitbit, I had about 6.18 hours of sleep every night on average. This is below the recommended limit of seven to nine. In the long run, I can definitely feel the toll sleep deprivation is having on me.
If I can get to bed sooner, that may also curb some of my midnight snacking as well. I often force myself to stay awake to watch something or, as in last night’s Diablo III gaming session, play a game.
This isn’t to mention how much more alert and functional you can be when you actually get enough sleep for the body to do its thing.
This month, I am going to aim for surpassing the 6.18 hr average and see what kind of impact it has by the end.
Adding a bit More Weight Work
I want to develop my muscle mass just a bit more than where I am now. I don’t want to bulk up, but I do want to have something nice to look at when I visit my ex in May. Yeah…it’s a revenge body.
That, and I don’t want to wear tank tops when I go to the pool this summer because I’m embarrassed by what I look like underneath. And I like the idea of being able to handle heavier objects as well as improved stamina for other physical activities such as golf.
I don’t really have a goal set for this one. After all, I didn’t really do much in terms of weights in February aside from using Fila weighted gloves while playing the Xbox Kinect. I’ve been invited as a guest to Planet Fitness and I do have my resistance cables on hand.
Maybe I’ll try to focus on a certain number of points in weight training for Exercise.com.
Surpassing My Own Abilities
So there we have it. My March fitness challenge is all planned out. Now, I just need to follow it and see where it leads me. Remember, it’s not all about losing weight or having a revenge body. Focus on being better than you are, whether it’s in your personal life or in your career.
Improving yourself can open a plethora of doors you probably didn’t even know where there.