We have prepared a 30-day challenge for you consisting of strength training, walking, running, and stretching.
The workouts won’t be overwhelming for most people, but you can lower the intensity if you notice it’s too hard for you.
You can obviously start at a higher intensity if you’re already in good shape. The challenge template can be used as an inspiration in structuring your more advanced activities.
We will gradually increase the intensity during the duration of the challenge, with a few deload days in the middle. The deload is important in order not to burn out since an entire month of being physically active is both physically and mentally taxing.
To keep the strength session accessible to the most number of people, you will only need water bottles for equipment. However, you can obviously use dumbbells, kettlebells, or any other types of resistance if you have access to it.
Most of the workouts will be pretty quick, but if you don’t have enough time to complete everything that’s prescribed during this challenge, we encourage you to do as much as your schedule allows you.
Low amounts of activity are much better than no activity at all.
Strength Workout Guidelines
The strength sessions will be full-body, upper body, and lower body variants during the challenge.
You should try getting pretty close to failure on most exercises because you’ll maximize muscle growth that way.
Complete all sets of a given exercise, and then move on to the next one. The pauses in between sets and exercises should be 60 to 90 seconds long.
You can do the pushups on your knees if the regular ones are too hard.
Exercises you should do with water bottles/resistance:
- Overhead Press
- Reverse Flyes
- Lateral Raise
- Biceps Curl
Exercises you can make harder with water bottles/resistance:
- Squats/Sumo Squats
- Reverse Lunge
- Russian Twist
- Calf Raises
Walking and Jogging Guidelines
When it comes to the days designated for long walks, you have two options. You can either take one long walk that totals the given number of steps or accumulate the higher goal throughout the day.
Even though not every day is a “walk day” in the program, we encourage you to walk as much as you can on a daily basis. This will improve your health in the long run and increase your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or calories burned while not working out, sleeping, or eating.)
Make sure you take it easy on the jogging days if you aren’t used to running.
The tempo should be comfortable for you, although you can increase the intensity or duration if you have experience running.
You can also break down the jogging sessions into smaller sets. For example, splitting the 12-minute run into 3 sets of 4 minutes, 4 sets of 3 minutes, 6 sets of 2 minutes, or even 12 sets of 1 minute if needed.
The rest times between sets should be approximately equal to the time you’re running. For example, you can do a 3-minute set, followed by a 3-minute rest before starting the next set. If you’re fit enough, you can lower the rest intervals.
Mobility and Stretching Guidelines
This portion is straightforward, as you just need to execute the stretches one at a time for the given time.
You can do the stretches at any part of the day, with stretching before bed probably being the best option.
Days 1-7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Full-Body Strength | Walking | Full-Body Strength | Walking | Full-Body Strength | Walking | Mobility |
| Squats 2 sets of 10 reps | Go on a walk and take at least 1500 steps. You can skip the walk if you total at least 8000 steps today. | Squats 2 sets of 10 reps | Go on a walk and take at least 1700 steps. You can skip the walk if you total at least 8000 steps today. | Sumo Squat 2 sets of 12 reps | Go on a walk and take at least 2000 steps. You can skip the walk if you total at least 8000 steps today. | Couch Stretch 30 second hold Standing Hamstring Stretch 30 second hold Door Stretch 30 second hold Open Book Stretch 30 second hold Calf Stretch 30 second hold |
| Hip Thrust 2 sets of 10 reps | Hip Thrust 2 sets of 10 reps | Hip Thrust 2 sets of 12 reps | ||||
| Overhead Press 2 sets of 10 reps | Pushup 2 sets of 10 reps | Overhead Press 2 sets of 12 reps | ||||
| Reverse Flyes 2 sets of 10 reps | Reverse Flyes 2 sets of 10 reps | Lateral Raises 2 sets of 12 reps | ||||
| Plank 2 sets of 30 seconds | Mountain Climbers 2 sets of 20 seconds | Plank 2 sets of 30 seconds |
Days 8-14
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Full-Body Strength | Walking | Full-Body Strength | Jogging | Full Body Deload | Walking | Mobility |
| Reverse Lunge 3 sets of 10 reps | Go on a walk and take at least 2200 steps. You can skip the walk if you total at least 10k steps today. | Side Lunge 3 sets of 12 reps | Jog for 12 minutes at a comfortable pace. | Reverse Lunge 1 sets of 10 reps | Go on a walk and take at least 2500 steps. You can skip the walk if you total at least 10k steps today. | Couch Stretch 30 second hold Standing Hamstring Stretch 30 second hold Door Stretch 30 second hold Open Book Stretch 30 second hold Calf Stretch 30 second hold |
| Hip Thrust 3 sets of 10 reps | Hip Thrust 3 sets of 12 reps | Hip Thrust 2 sets of 10 reps | ||||
| Overhead Press 3 sets of 10 reps | Pushup 3 sets of 12 reps | Pushup 1 sets of 10 reps | ||||
| Reverse Flyes 3 sets of 10 reps | Lateral Raise 3 sets of 12 reps | Plank 2 sets of 30 seconds | ||||
| Russian Twist 3 sets of 30 seconds | Mountain Climbers 3 sets of 20 seconds |
Days 15-21
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Lower Body | Upper Body | Jogging | Lower Body | Upper Body | Jogging | Mobility & Walking |
| Reverse Lunge 2 sets of 10 reps | Pushup 2 sets of 10 reps | Jog for 12 minutes at a comfortable pace. | Squats 2 sets of 12 reps | Pushup 2 sets of 12 reps | Jog for 10 minutes at a comfortable pace. | Couch Stretch 40 second hold Standing Hamstring Stretch 40 second hold Door Stretch 40 second hold Open Book Stretch 40 second hold Calf Stretch 40 second hold Walk at least 10k total steps today or go on a 2500 step walk. |
| Single Leg Hip Thrust 2 sets of 10 reps | Reverse Flyes 2 sets of 10 reps | Hip Thrust 2 sets of 12 reps | Lateral Raise 2 sets of 12 reps | |||
| Calf Raise 2 sets of 10 reps | Superman 2 sets of 10 reps | Tibialis Wall Raise 2 sets of 12 reps | Superman 2 sets of 12 reps | |||
| Donkey Kick 2 sets of 10 reps | Overhead Press 2 sets of 10 reps | Donkey Kick 2 sets of 12 reps | Overhead Press 2 sets of 12 reps | |||
| Plank 2 sets of 35 seconds | Biceps Curl 2 sets of 30 seconds | Plank 2 sets of 30 seconds | Biceps Curl 2 sets of 35 seconds |
Days 22-28
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Lower Body | Upper Body | Jogging | Lower Body | Upper Body | Mobility & Walking | Upper Body |
| Reverse Lunge 3 sets of 10 reps | Pushup 3 sets of 10 reps | Jog for 12 minutes at a comfortable pace. | Squats 3 sets of 12 reps | Pushup 3 sets of 12 reps | Couch Stretch 40 second hold Standing Hamstring Stretch 40 second hold Door Stretch 40 second hold Open Book Stretch 40 second hold Calf Stretch 40 second hold Walk at least 10k total steps today or go on a 2500 step walk. | Pushup 3 sets of 12 reps |
| Single Leg Hip Thrust 3 sets of 10 reps | Reverse Flyes 3 sets of 10 reps | Single Leg Hip Thrust 3 sets of 12 reps | Lateral Raise 3 sets of 12 reps | Reverse Flyes 3 sets of 12 reps | ||
| Calf Raise 3 sets of 10 reps | Superman 3 sets of 10 reps | Tibialis Wall Raise 3 sets of 12 reps | Superman 3 sets of 12 reps | Superman 3 sets of 12 reps | ||
| Donkey Kick 3 sets of 10 reps | Overhead Press 3 sets of 10 reps | Donkey Kick 3 sets of 12 reps | Overhead Press 3 sets of 12 reps | Biceps Curl 3 sets of 12 reps | ||
| Mountain Climbers 3 sets of 35 seconds | Biceps Curl 3 sets of 10 reps | Russian Twist 3 sets of 35 seconds | Biceps Curl 3 sets of 12 reps | Mountain Climbers 3 sets of 35 seconds |
Days 29-30
| 29 | 30 |
| Jogging | Full Body |
| Jog for 12 minutes at a comfortable pace. | Reverse Lunge 3 sets of 12 reps |
| Hip Thrust 3 sets of 12 reps | |
| Overhead Press 3 sets of 12 reps | |
| Reverse Flyes 3 sets of 12 reps | |
| Plank 1 set of 1 minute |