by Vic Magary – Former ARMY Soldier & Author of The 31 Day Fat Loss Cure
Nearly five years ago I came up with the bright idea to do 100 consecutive rounds of sparring.
I wanted to do something special to commemorate having studied the martial arts for 25 years and I thought that 100 rounds of light-contact sparring with my karate students would be a fine way to remember the occasion. We even turned it into a charity event and raised over $3,000.00 for the American Cancer Society (two of my students were cancer survivors including my top student and the 10 year old kid I sparred with in round 99).
But my “bright idea” took over five and a half hours to complete. Even though we were only using light contact, I was heavily bruised from elbow to wrist on both arms from blocking. I dehydrated at about the half way point and could barely stand, let alone kick, for most of the middle rounds. But towards the end, I caught my second wind and was back to lovingly tapping my students in the head with my feet. 
Fitness challenges come in all sorts of varieties. There is some challenge, something inspirational, for each of us that will not only test our physical mettle but take us to the next level where we must incorporate mental toughness and even spiritual clarity.
These challenges depend on our own personal tastes and predilections. I personally would NEVER run a marathon. It has zero appeal to me to pound the pavement for over 26 miles. But most of you probably wouldn’t want to spar for 100 rounds, no matter how light the contact. And therein lies part of the beauty of the physical challenges – picking something that truly speaks to YOU.
Maybe that’s hiking the Appalachian trail. Or completing the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii. Or maybe for you a serious challenge that takes an extreme exercise of physical, mental, and emotional energy is walking to the end of your drive way unassisted to pick up the newspaper. We all have our particular circumstances and current fitness levels to consider. But we are all also capable of much more than we do on a day to day basis.
So I encourage you find a fitness challenge that inspires you. Something that you feel is maybe just barely out of your reach, but deep down inside you know you could make it happen if your life depended on it. And then practice. Train. Take little steps that get you closer to your challenge each day. And before you know it, you’ll be looking for the next mountain to climb.
Below are a few fitness challenges to consider as you contemplate what might inspire you to take your training to the next level:
1 full push up. That’s balls of the feet and palms on the floor, back straight, elbows locked at the top. And chest touching the floor at the bottom. This is an excellent challenge for many of you reading this. Keep training and you CAN get there. You can already knock out push ups with no problem? Shoot for 50 strict push ups. I said strict push ups. Not nearly as easy as it sounds.
1 full pull up. The pull up is another great milestone of upper body strength for many people. Feel like your pull ups are already pretty good? Shoot for 20. My personal best? Fourteen pull ups.
Run a marathon/10k/5k/around the block. I don’t hide the fact that I hate running. Maybe it’s because the Army rammed it down my throat. But many people feel like distance running is a challenge that speaks to them. And if it speaks to you, pick a distance that is currently outside of your comfort zone and go for it! Just don’t confuse long distance running with an effective fat loss method.
Ball room dancing/Karate/Figure Skating/Olympic Weightlifting. What I mean here is to tackle a new skill set. And pick a skill set that will take years to master. You probably want to pick something that you think is fun too.
The land mark challenge. Climb Mt. Everest, surf in Waikiki, or run with the bulls in Spain. Many people harbor these long standing dreams about traveling to world renowned locales that never come to fruition. Life’s too short to keep your travel dreams on the back burner – make a plan, set the date, and make your dreams happen.
What are some fitness challenges that inspire you? Let me know in the comments below. And if you want to watch me moan in pain from dehydration as I spar 100 rounds, check out the old YouTube video here.
What are some of your goals & challenges that you want to reach? Leave me a comment below and let me know…
- Vic Magary
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