30 Day Squat Challenge
Throughout December 2017, I took part in the 30 day plank challenge. This month, I’m taking on the #30daysquatchallenge!
Once again I’m following a schedule set out by Barefoot Terry, if you want to do the challenge yourself, or you’re just interested in seeing how many squats I’m doing, here is Terry’s Instagram post…
I’m doing medium speed, regular count, regular squats but with arms extended forward as shown here…
Let me know if you’re taking part and we can encourage each other as we get to the tough end of the challenge!
Happy squatting!
Day 10 Update
100 squats yesterday, 105 today… it’s certainly getting tough! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to manage the higher numbers all in one hit but im going to try… I may break them down into sets of 50 but we’ll see!
Day 20 Update
Phew, rest day today… we’re approaching the big numbers: 180 squats tomorrow won’t be easy!
I did a fair bit of leg work last year whilst preparing for the Saunders Mountain Marathon so I knew I had reasonably good leg strength, particularly in the quads…
Interestingly, my aerobic fitness has been the main challenge. This is no surprise to me as I recently realised the slower paced barefoot runs I’ve been doing haven’t been aerobically demanding. So all in all, the 30 day squat challenge is feeding perfectly into my goal of regaining my cardiovascular capability.
Here’s the video from yesterday, 160 squats (or squatbops as I prefer to call them)…
After I posted the video, I received some really helpful advice from my wonderful friend Vic… she spotted my 10 to 2 stance and suggested I should get my feet pointed straight ahead so that the lower back and calf muscles get more of a workout… I tried a further 10 squats with parallel feet, she’s right… 180 squatbops tomorrow is certainly going to burn!
Day 30 Update
Phew, 250 squats, done on the final day of the 30 day squat challenge!
How many squats in total?
3,295!
Am I tempted to keep going?
No. I have another challenge brewing for February and besides, I couldn’t help thinking that the sheer volume of squats in this challenge was a bit silly…if I ever do undertake this challenge again, I will change it a bit:
- reduce the overall number of squats
- add a hold whilst squatted
- increase the squat hold duration each day
If the numbers were right, this could result in the same workout but with significantly fewer reps… and that would be good for my knees!
Stay tuned for a new challenge tomorrow, I’ll post some details about it later, the 30 day supine plank challenge is coming!
