day 21 - Winter Wonderland

It’s the last day of our Winter Shutdown Challenge, congrats for making it this far!

For our final day, we’re going to get outside and appreciate what winter can bring to our fitness activities. Your challenge for today is to pick an active outdoor winter activity, and do it. Examples could be: skating, skiing, winter hiking, tobogganing (if you pull your own sled up the hill!), walking on the creek, etc. Try to pick something that you couldn't do when it’s not winter, or is made different by winter.

Great job to everyone who got some stars during this challenge, they haven’t been easy! You’re always welcome to go back and get some more stars over the coming days and weeks.

day 20 - 12.1

What does “12.1” mean, you ask? It’s a workout from the CrossFit Open—week 1 from the 2012 Open, thus 12(year).1(week). So… what is it?

7’ AMRAP: burpees

That means you’ll be doing burpees for 7 minutes, and counting how many you can do (“As Many Reps As Possible”—AMRAP). Your burpee style and standard is up to you and sharing scores is entirely optional, but if you want to compare your score against others (there are thousands of scores out there to look up), you’ll need to use the standard from this specific workout.

The official 12.1 movement standard is: “This workout begins from a standing position. The Athlete will move from flat on the ground to touching an object with both hands that is 6 inches above their max reach.” It’s a good idea to check with a coach about how to set up your touch-target, if you’re doing the official version.

Modifications: you have leeway to adjust your burpees as needed; if burpees are going to be a problem, they can be modified by: cutting out the push up; cutting out the jump; raising hand level (but be careful for safety!); doing back lunge + squat jump to avoid the ground.

day 19 - 30 Minute Stretch

Set aside 30 minutes for stretching today, preferably in one session but you can split it up if you need to. You can do whatever stretches you want, but there are several paddling-focused stretch routines on the Member Resources page you can check out if you want ideas. Make sure you’re working with healthy stretch ranges for you, it’s not a competition! And make sure your body is warmed up and ready for stretching before you get started.

day 18 - Dominique's Mobility Worksheet

Dominique Yedon put together a mobility routine specifically to address and improve movements that paddlers should focus on. You can find it on the Member Resources page: “Dominique Mobility”.

Your challenge for today is to go through the entire worksheet. There are video links and exercises to get done, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it before starting so you know what you’ll be doing.

day 17 - 5-10-15

Today’s challenge is a mini-workout (or not so mini, if you prefer!). There are several variations you can try, so check out the options below and pick the one you like. As long as you give it a shot, you get a star.

The workout is three exercises: push ups, RUTS (sit ups), and body-weight squats.

The first set you’ll do is: 5 push ups, 10 sit ups, 15 squats.

After you’ve done those, your second set will be: 10 push ups, 20 sit ups, 30 squats. Followed by 15 push ups, 30 sit ups, 45 squats; then 20, 40, 60, etc. (notice the pattern?)

So how many sets? There are two ways to do the workout: 1) choose a time for the workout, and get as many sets done as you can in that time (building reps each set); or 2) choose a number of sets to get done.

If you’re going to go on time, you can pick whatever you like. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. Your bigger sets will get harder and you’ll probably need to take short breaks, but that’s ok. When the time is up, you’re done.

If you’re going to choose a number of sets, pick your number and go for it. 4 sets, 6 sets, or 10 sets are good options. You can also choose to do a pyramid—increase for a chosen number of sets, then decrease the same way until you’re back to the starting number (for example, you could start with 5-10-15, work up to 30-60-90, then back down to 5-10-15). The longest version we’ve ever done is a pyramid up to 50-100-150 and back, but you can tackle any size workout you feel.

Modifications: you can modify the exercises however you need; push ups can be done on a raised surface (a stable one!), RUTS can be changed to any kind or sit up or crunch, body-weight squats can have modified range if needed for comfort or health.

day 16 - Flower Challenge

Have you heard of the Flower Push Up Challenge? Have you tried it, maybe at practice?

Here’s the challenge: play the song “Flower” by Moby, starting at the bottom of a push up position; every time the lyrics say “Sally up”, do a push up to the top position; every time the lyrics say “Sally down”, lower back to the bottom of the push up position, without resting your body on the ground. If you make it to the end of the song without dropping, missing a push up, or breaking form, congrats! You completed the Flower Challenge.

Tough? Oh yes. But you don’t have to finish it successfully for today’s daily shutdown challenge, you just have to try it!

Modifications: if you reach push up failure but want to complete the song, try resting on the ground at the bottom instead of holding yourself in a hover. You can also modify the push ups in any of the ways we might normally—raise hands on a bench, chair, or table; or use your knees if you need to (but keep good form!). We’ve also tried other exercises with the Flower Challenge, too; squats or RUTS work well.

day 15 - Off-Hand

Try using the opposite hand for various daily activities today. Usually that will mean your non-dominant hand (if you’re right-handed, use your left hand), but there may be some tasks that you’re used to doing with your non-dominant hand already, so you can switch those up too.

To get your star, try to pick at least three things to attempt with the wrong hand (more is even better!). Here are some suggestions, or come up with your own:

• brush your hair
• brush your teeth
• eat, with cutlery
• use your computer mouse
• play an instrument
• write (!)

Choose some things that will be a bit of a challenge—if you find it easy, or you’re used to it already, look for another activity.

day 14 - Surf's Up

Time for some water-sport cross training. Find the “5 Surf Paddling Exercises” video from the Member Resources page, watch it, and try all the exercises. There are some variations and suggestions in the video, make sure you watch it all before you get started (it’s only a few minutes long). You have the whole day to try the exercises, so you can get them done all at once or spread them out as you like.

day 13 - 1500m Timed Run

Get your running shoes out! Find a 1500m course you can run without interruption, and time yourself for the distance. A track is great if you can get to one, but anywhere will work. You can share your time with someone or not, your choice—to complete this challenge, you just have to time it. Go as fast or as slow as you want, just as long as you have a timer running!

Make sure you’re being safe with ground and road conditions, and try to avoid potential traffic.

day 12 - "Cindy"

It’s time for something tough! “Cindy” is a benchmark CrossFit workout, a hard challenge for any athlete. The workout is written below, with full explanation after.

20' AMRAP:
• 5 pull ups
• 10 push ups
• 15 air squats

What that means: you have 20 minutes to do “As Many Rounds As Possible” (AMRAP); each round is 5 pull ups, then 10 push ups, then 15 body weight squats. If you want to compare your score to others (and there are thousands of scores you can find online) you’ll need to use a CrossFit standard for every single rep. You can look that up or ask a coach, but basically it means absolutely full range at the top and bottom of all exercises.

You don’t need to share your scores (but feel free if you want to), but to complete the challenge you do need to know how many rounds & reps you completed in the 20 minutes. It is very difficult to keep moving for 20 minutes without stopping in this workout, so don’t worry about taking breaks! The timer keeps counting, but feel free to rest for as much of it as necessary—breaking up your work can be a good strategy.

Modifications: if you need to take the pull ups out, you can try this version—change the reps to 10 body rows, 10 push ups, 10 air squats. You can adjust push ups by raising your hand level on a bench or table, if needed. Squat range can be adjusted if needed to accommodate injury or mobility limitations. Try to stick with the listed rep numbers—it’s ok if that means you go slowly, as long as you get a number at the end of 20 minutes!

day 11 - Be Seen

Your challenge for today is to participate in the online yoga session with Hunter, and keep your video on! You can pick just a part of it if you want, but consider leaving it on for the whole session.

day 10 - 2 Minute Push Ups

A short but tough challenge: how many push ups can you do in 2 minutes? Use good push up form for all of your reps, no matter what! You don’t need to share your score (although you can if you like), but you do need to count how many you did in order to complete this challenge.

No one (… almost no one) will be able to do 2 minutes of push ups without stopping, and that’s fine. You can take breaks in your 2 minutes, but the timer keeps going. Rest as much as you need to, just get a total count at the end.

Modifications: do not modify by reducing range; instead, raise the surface that your hands are on so they’re higher than your feet. A bench, chair, or table is good for this, just make sure it won’t break or slip. Raising the hand surface is preferred for modification instead of doing push ups from knees.

day 9 - 10 Minute Skip

Find a skipping rope and get 10 minutes of skipping done today. Any style, any speed, broken however you like. You can keep the timer running no matter how many times you miss, just spend a total of 10 minutes working on it. Don’t have a rope? You can always improvise! Any kind of rope or cord that you can skip over will work. Or see modifcations, below.

Modifications: to do this challenge without a rope, you can substitute something else—side-hops over a (small) object; step hops (one foot up, one foot down, switch each hop); or step ups would all work, or something that works for you and your set up.

day 8 - Diagonal Stretch

Today we’ll pick another video link from the Member Resources—The Diagonal Stretch. Your daily challenge is to pick a 15 minute block to review the video and try out the movement. Try to set aside the time all at once. There are a series of progressions and modifications in the video, so make sure you watch the whole thing (don’t worry, it’s short).

day 7 - Animal Walk

Animal walks are a variety of exercises for developing good mobility. Find the “Animal Walks” video linked on the Member Resources page, and try all of the different animal walk exercises in it. Some of them are a lot easier than others (wait until you get to “chameleon”!), but just give each one your best shot.

day 6 - 10 Minute Low Squat

Get 10 minutes done today holding a low squat position. No weight, no reps, this is about form and position control—mobility. Use excellent form and alignment of all joints, and squat as low as you can properly control, then hold it! Break the work up however you need, but listen to your body and don’t hurt yourself. If you want to get other stuff done while you’re doing it, go for it! Just monitor your form. But if you’re up for it, consider just keeping your focus on yourself with no distractions, it can be a nice opportunity to practice that skill as well.

day 5 - 5 km Run/Walk

It’s time to head outside! For this challenge you just need to complete 5 km of walking, jogging, or running. Mix and match during the 5 km if you like.

How you approach this challenge will depend on your training: if you’re high performance or a good runner, you might push the pace and time yourself; if it’s been a while since you did something that long, just get it done however you like, or even take the dog with you.

Modifications: if needed, you can break up the distance through the day.

day 4 - 100 Pull Ups

Find a bar and get to it! You have the whole day to complete 100 pull ups, spread out however you like. The standards you use are entirely up to you.

Modifications: if needed, you can substitute body rows for pull ups; you might get body rows done under a (sturdy!) table, or whatever set up you can arrange.

day 3 - 10 Minute Plank

Complete 10 minutes of plank today—but you don’t have to do it all in one go. Break the work up however you like or need to. You can use whatever plank variation suits you, but focus should be on good form through the whole body, fingers to toes.

day 2 - 15 Minutes Cross-Legged

Spend 15 minutes total today sitting cross-legged. You can do other things while you sit, but make sure your position and form don’t slip! Break up the time as needed for good form and comfort, and spread it out through the day if that works better for you.

Modifications: adjust your “cross-legged” seated position as needed; maybe your knees don’t go very low; maybe you want to sit on something to raise you up a bit (a block or pillow work well).