Welcome to the First Annual Guru Games!
Every day for the next three weeks, we will be offering you a challenge. These challenges will be geared toward improving your health and fitness, while at the same time, injecting a fourth grade element of “I dare you…..” Some of the challeneges will be easy for you, some will be difficult. Some, you will not want to even bother with. Each challenge will have points associated with its completion. So you don’t have to complete a particular day’s challenge, but then you don’t get the points. At the end of the three weeks, we will tally the points and see who will wear this year’s crown.
No cheating! We’re all working on the honor code here.
Scoring? Grab a blank piece of paper and tape it to your refrigerator. That’s you score card!
Here we go:
Day Fifteen: 5 Points. Find a piece of cardio equipment, warm up for five minutes, workout for thirty minutes, then cool-down for 5 minutes. During the workout portion, you are going to increase the difficulty every three minutes for the first half and then decrease the difficulty every three minutes for the second half. For example, if you are on the treadmill, you may increase the speed and/or the incline every three minutes for 5 intervals, then decrease every three minutes for 5 intervals so that you finish where you started. Go!
Day Fourteen: Take on any of the Guru’s Podcast workouts for 15 points!
Day Thirteen: Tonight, before bed, lower the lights, turn on some quiet music, and stretch and breathe……..FOR 30 MINUTES!!! AAAAAHHH!!! Do you have the patience?!? Set a timer, no cheating, 20 BIG POINTS! GO!!
Day Twelve: Back to the push ups! There really is no better full body workout than push ups– that’s why I love ‘em so much! Do as many as you can. You may break for 15 seconds at a time but as soon as the break is longer than 15 seconds, you’re cooked. Check your score from a while back. You point total is the number MORE that you do this time. If you do fewer this time– deduct points!! Ouch! GO!!!
Day Eleven: Today, we are working sprint intervals. Intervals are wonderful for super charging the metabolic rate. You can do this on any piece of cardio machinery you like. You are going to warm up for 5 minutes. Then you are going to do sprint intervals: 30 seconds as fast as you can (staying at 85% of your Maximum Heart Rate) followed by 60 seconds coming back down to a low level. The low level is still moving but should be a jog or race walk compared to an all-out run. Alternate these intervals. If you are not used to this type of workout, you may find that you become slightly overwhelmed, out of breath, and perhaps dizzy and nauseous. That is definitely a signal to slow down. Work within your abilities and, preferably, with a heart monitor. At the end of your intervals, take 5 minutes on the machine to cool down before you get off to stretch. 10 points for the activity and record how many intervals you complete before you cool down.
Day Ten: 5 points. Tonight before bed, you will stretch for 20 minutes. Not 17, not 18, but a full 20. So often we go to bed with the stresses of the day in our shoulders. Tonight, I want you to give your body and your mind a break and stretch and relax. No excuses. 20 minutes= 5 points.
Day Nine: Fifteen Points! For the next 24 hours, avoid all processed foods. Yes, I know that’s difficult to even judge because everything in this day and age seems processed. But use your common sense– if it comes in a wrapper, bag, tin, tube, carton or shell, it is probably processed. Bread? Well, if you can look the person who baked it in the eye and smile, we’ll let it pass. But if it is coming out of a bag marked “Wonder”, skip it! Good luck!!
Day Eight: It’s three miles again. This time you are going as fast as you can. Check your time from last week and compare it to today. Whatever the percentage difference in times, that’s your point total. Run/walk/skip faster, you earn points. But move slower, and you have to take points away (if you’re not sure of the percentages, just shoot me an email). Good luck!!
Day Seven: 10 POINTS! You have 24 hours to convince a friend to get active with you. Your friend has to be someone who just doesn’t exercise, doesn’t go to the gym, doesn’t like sweat….the whole nine yards. You must convince them to get moving with you: walking, jogging, biking, skating, whatever……half an hour for ten points. No partial credit, no partial scoring, all or nothing. Good luck!
Day Six: Five easy points– 20 minutes of rowing OR 20 minutes of jump rope. GO!
Day Five: Go to the Fitness Guru’s Workout page and take on the Diamond. Don’t worry about the time (yet). Simply try out the workout and get your body moving. There are videos that accompany certain movements so you can take a look if you don’t recognize an exercise. Five points for finishing.
Day Four: Chill out for five points. Take five minutes and just relax and breathe (some groups would call this meditation!) Find a timer, set it for five minutes and sit still with your eyes closed and breathe. That’s it! Five easy points– so much easier than push ups, right? (is it?) If you need a little help, check out the Guru’s Relaxation Podcast, five extremely tranquil minutes long.
Day Three: You are going to run/walk/skip/jump/hop/crawl for three miles. I don’t care how you travel, so long as it is by foot and you are moving as quickly as possible. You may use a treadmill if you like but three miles: that’s the goal. For completing the task you get 5 points. Keep track of you time. It will come in handy later in the Games!
Day Two: How many push ups can you do? These are push ups the old fashioned way– legs straight out, no knees. Hit the floor and just keep going until just can’t boogie no more. You may have as many 15 second breaks as you like, but as soon as the break goes longer than 15 seconds, you’re done. Record the number (it’s going to come back later in the Games). You get 5 points for engaging in this experiment.
(Head’s up– tomorrow you are going to have to get up and move. The task may take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to complete. Book some Guru Game time accordingly!)
Day One: Oh so simple. Drink half you body weight in ounces of water (eg you weight 150 lb. drink 75 ounces of water today). Add an extra 8 ounces for every 15 minutes of exercise you complete. Complete the task: 5 points. Don’t complete the task: 0 points. This one is all or nothing. Good luck!
