Simple Fitness: Take the 100 Rep Daily Challenge
Are you bored with your workouts? Burned out on doing the same stuff? Making excuses not to workout because you are “too busy” or traveling and don’t have access to a gym? Well try this out then, make every day a 100 rep challenge day. 100 reps of what? Anything you want. Pick a new exercise everyday. It can be with bodyweight only….or use weights if you have access to them. It could be a quick 15 min workout in the morning to just start your day or you could spread it out all day long. The fun and the challenge is up to you! Here’s how you do it:
- First pick the exercise of the day. A good idea is to alternate days of “pulls” and “pushes”. You can also alternate days of bodyweight and using weights. Examples of “pushes” could be: pushups, bench press, overhead press with weights, handstand pushups (more advanced), squats with weights, 1 legged squats with only bodyweight, lunges, step-ups with weights, explosive movements (squat jumps, lunge jumps, clapping pushups), and bodyweight dips. Examples of “pulls” could be pullups/chinups, cleans/snatches with weights, upright rows (although cleans are more fun), bent over rows with weights, body rows (would need rings/straps or hang upside down from monkey bars for this), and deadlifts (sumo, regular, RDLs).
- Now pick your resistance level to use: If you are more interested in strength and size then you probably want a resistance level (or way to modify the exercise) so that it is done so that you most likely be only able to do about 10-15 repetitions of it before muscle failure. If you are looking for a very quick workout then you can modify it as needed. How do you modify it? Well you can use heavier weights, or in the case of bodyweight exercises, make your body heavier (see the picture above….got some kids laying around to use?). Ok well maybe not kids, but you can find yourself a backpack and fill it with books, a rock, weights, sand, or whatever you like and you have a heavier bodyweight now.
- Now just do 100 reps by the end of the day. If you want to do it all in one shot….then go for it. (good luck as your muscles will fail and you will need rest between sets) If you want to make the weights/resistance heavier and do sets of 5-10 reps all day long….do that as well. Have people in the office wondering why you are doing pushups every couple of hours. Pick a target number for the amount of reps you want to do…like 10 sets of 10…or 20 sets of 5….or 5 sets of 20. Make the challenge daily, just do something, make it happen, get to 100…..no excuses!
Again this is a fun challenge but one you should take seriously. If you commit to it, make it happen no matter what. Don’t start falling off little by little….there’s no excuses as you can make it quick and easy if you need to, but the goal is not quick and easy. Another fun idea may be to “roll the dice” daily. Get 6 exercises (number them 1-6) and then roll 1 dice. Whatever that number is, you do the corresponding exercise to it (Ex. a 1 could be pushups, 2 pullups, etc..). Now roll a second time with 2-3 dice (or roll 1 dice 3 times and add up the numbers). This is the resistance level you are going to use (or the Rep Max). Note that using less dice/rolls is going to be pretty heavy reps so that is for more advanced people only. So if you roll say a 15 combined, then you use the resistance level (that you think) you can only do 15 times. If you roll a 10….well then things just got harder didn’t they? Challenge yourself. Go after the weak spots you have. Do something different daily. Have fun with it in the park or with friends. Challenge each other for time on bodyweight….how long does it take you to do 100 good form pushups. You may be surprised with the results and the new found fun you are having!
Life is fun….so should be your workouts!
photo by salomon886
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14 Reader Comments
I used to do something similar to this to train for a job I wanted. This was a military job, and during the “indoc” period, anytime you entered or left a room you would do 26 pushups. I do something similar in my house yet, every time I walk into the room I workout in, I do 3 pullups (on elite rings). It’s pretty fun to do, but I never thought about doing it at work. I might give this a try.
They are all similiar concepts….if you do lighter reps it is more what they call GPP or Greasing the Groove (I think Pavel coined that term)…if you do more resistance to the movement…then it can be small strength workouts over a day. Goal is to just motivate everyone to do something everyday….GPP or more strength….no excuses. I did my 100 reps of pushups on the trail run today….stopped 5 times and did sets of 20. Was fun!
I’m liking the concept so much….I may have a surprise next week if people like the 100 rep challenge idea.
Well, I do 100 continuous reps of push-ups morning & night everyday, no matter if it is a workout day or not. So, I got this covered!
Mike I’d be down for a 100 rep challenge. Sounds fun, although I’m sure I’d get plenty of weird looks at work.
Love this Idea and I regularly incorporate it on random days. After reading this post I may well start doing it everyday it takes so little but potentially can have a good pay-off.
100 burpees today (managed to-do 50 during a little WOD i did this morning)
Hi Mike,
Great article. Just wondering, what one should do re: knee pain…? A couple months ago, I was doing body weight squats (a-la-crossfit), 4 sets of 25 reps…. shortly after that I developed pain in my right knee. Occasionally, I feel it when walking. More often, I feel it after sitting still for a period of time.
Example – I did a short road trip to visit some friends yesterday. It was a 2 hour drive there. When I got out of the car, I walked around kind of “gimpy” for a few minutes (right knee and hips were stiff, but mostly the knee felt swollen inside).
Beginning in April, I’ve been t-mill walking 5 days a week (3.6 mph for 2 miles), lifting weights 2-3x/week, and IF-ing Mon – Fri (some days using a 5 hour feeding window, once in a while beginning at lunch). Did I damage something doing the squats, or do you suppose this is just… *gasp*… age related ???
sk
female, 38 years old
5’7″ – 156 lbs. (guessing 22 – 25% body fat)
** have lost 15 lbs since April 1, ’08
Sk – could be tendonitis, ACL issues or something else. My guess, you tore something and now need time off to repair. Take fish oil and Vit C for the inflammation. I’m not a fan of the high rep bodyweight squats…as that can lead to improper form after a while and then the damage starts. When in doubt, slow and controlled is the safest route…that and it forces you to use your muscles to “pull” yourself down…not just drop and slam on the breaks. Ice it, rest it, and stretch your hamstrings as well…..a hamstring/quad imbalance in flexibility can cause problems (and is usually the source of many).
[...] Looking for a new fitness challenge? The IF Life has his own version of the 100 rep push-up challenge. [...]
Thanks for your response Mike,
I’ve stopped doing crossfit style squats. I went back to using the leg press machine at the gym with a moderate amount of weight. And I focus on exercises for large muscle groups. No more isolation exercises like leg curls and extensions… a few years ago, that led to a hamstring/quad strength imbalance.
Re: stretching, I’m a big fan of yoga. Been doing yoga stretches for about a year (always bending at the hips, not the back). Started with barely being able to touch my toes and progressed to (after a brief warm up) being able to place my palms on the floor.
Sk – add in walking lunges (slow and controlled), those are great since they stress the hamstrings and also using the body the way it is used most of the time, one leg at a time. Leg Press machines can still lead to an imbalance and overdeveloped quads.
Great ideas! I love the dice idea! What a great way to change things up!
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[...] we all love a good challenge, right? Here’s a good one from the MizFit! 100 reps of any bodyweight exercise of your choice every day. Or on a random day [...]
[...] – 100 Rep Challenge [...]