28 Day End of Covid-19 Challenge
As we enter the final stretch of this quarantine drama… Let’s come out of this ready to go for 2021! I’ve seen a few challenges out there and thought about the things I like and don’t like about them and decided to make my own. As a physical therapist and strength/conditioning specialist I offer you this challenge to have the healthiest bodies possible and fly into 2021 ready to go!
I’ve offered breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas and daily snacking ideas along with foods to limit and others to avoid all together!
I’ve also put together a very doable exercise challenge for beginner/intermediate or those coming off injury and another more advanced challenge for those that feel up to it.
I’m also emploring you to be very weary of posture and form with each exercise. I will be including videos to give examples of good posture and form with each exercise discussed.
There are a few items that will be beneficial to have if you can obtain them:
Physioball- 65cm preferred for the avg size person
Medicine ball- 8-10#
Therabands- 5 foot band green, blue then black preferred resistance
Ankle weights not a bad idea either.
Diet:
It is important to know what you are putting in your body and why during any type of diet or challenge. In order to burn calories it’s important to keep metabolism high. There are two basic ways we can control that… diet and exercise. We will discuss how exercise can affect metabolism later but there is one simple way to keep metabolism high, I call it keeping the engine running. That involves eating as constantly as possible! The worst thing you can do is eat ONE big meal a day! The body will store it as fat if it knows that’s the only meal it will receive all day! Instead…. if we can constantly keep the motor running and fuel burning we will have a higher metabolism and less likely to store fat. There is a simple scientific formula for weight loss, muscle mass production, and for other fitness training goals.
Water is essential for tissue hydration and ultimately for efficiency of our tissues and organs, Typically we don’t drink nearly enough water…. I’m encouraging you to drink 8oz glass of water with every meal and ultimately 50-60oz of water per day.
Exercise:
To burn fat you simply need to use your glycolic system which has EVERYTHING to do with heart rate: 220-age x .80= target heart rate (THR)
You want to try and exercise everyday for at least 20 min just above your THR. For example…. a person that is 50… 220-50= 170 x .80= 136 bpm is THR, getting heart rate higher than about 156 bpm would be considered too high and dangerous for this person. Stay within 20 points of THR.
Posture and form are the most important key element when it comes to exercising safely and correctly.
https://youtu.be/orSs0rcDiW4
It is important to limit resistance until posture and form is perfect. I have attached videos and describe what perfect posture and form looks like for basic movements during exercise.
When exercising there is a simple formula to achieving desired goals. If you want to tone…. lift light with lots of reps. If you want to put on muscle mass… lift heavy with less reps. If you want to lose weight (fat) then you need to get heart rate to target as described above and maintain for at least 30 minutes at least once per day, progressing to twice per day for a specific period of time. Typical programs take 6-8 weeks to show significant results and should be gradually progressive, starting fairly easy and getting gradually more difficult/intense as tolerated.
*Caution: If you have an injury, illness or being treated for any condition consult your physician before beginning any physical training program. Do not work through pain! Soreness is to be expected but there should be no sharp pain and stop any exercise if you feel dizzy or light headed.
Foods to limit: (less than 200 calories per day)
Dairy (milk, cheese, butter, fats); Simple Carbs (pasta, potatoes, white rice, breads/pastries, corn, grain); Natural sugars (fruit, yellow and orange vegetables)
Foods to avoid:
Refined sugars (candy, cookies, syrups, soft drinks)
Deep fried foods
White breads
Alcohol
Ice cream
Peanuts
Snack Ideas and foods to focus on:
Nuts, seeds and berries (Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, pecans, dried fruit, trail mix)
Celery/apples with peanut, or preferably, almond butter
Hard boiled eggs, edamame, chickpeas, cottage cheese, kale chips, rice cakes.
Meals:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal- almond milk, chia seeds, almond/peanut butter, fruit
Smoothie- Protein of choice, almond milk, frozen banana, frozen blue berries, Greek yogurt, flax seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract (few drops)
Eggs, yogurt, avocado toast with sweet potato bread, bananas, grapefruit
Some good ideas in this link.
https://greatist.com/health/healthy-fast-breakfast-recipes#smoothies
Lunch:
Lean chicken, salmon, shrimp, turkey bowls– brown rice/quinoa, avocado, vegetables, hummus or egg plant and red pepper dip (roasted baby egg plant, roasted red bell peppers, Greek yogurt, fresh herbs), feta
Lean chicken or turkey wraps- spinach, hummus, grilled zucchini,tomato, flat bread or spinach tortilla
Tuna Wrap– albacore or lean tuna, light or vegan mayo or Greek yogurt, dried cranberries, spinach or green leafy lettuce, chopped walnuts or pecans, salt and pepper.
Salads- chicken, spinach, kale, arugula, hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, black beans, cucumber, bell peppers, olive oil or vinaigrette dressing.
Some good lunch ideas.
https://www.brit.co/high-protein-lunch-wraps-recipes/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/healthy/g960/healthy-lunch-ideas/
Dinner– Eat no later than 7:00 pm too many ideas to share but here are a few.
Grilled Salmon, shrimp, fish, steak, chicken (lean), brown rice, broccoli, asparagus, Brussel sprouts (steam for 20 min, cut in half, cover lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper and broil face up for 3-5 min😲), carrots, cauliflower, baby red potatoes
Schedule
Day 1:
Wake up at 8:00 or earlier and go for short walk/run (30 min) *make shake before run.
8:30-9:30 (60 min) Exercise routine: (30 seconds break between each exercise trying to keep heart rate up from warm up walk/run
5 min stretch: Hamstrings, quads, glutei, calves, shoulders and back
25 jumping jacks
10 push-ups
30 seconds running in place, high knees
30 second hops (10 seconds in place, 10 seconds side to side, 10 seconds fwd and back)
30 second plank
10 sit ups
10 3-count flutter kicks
10 3-way prone arms and legs
10 sit to stands
*Do this routine once today.
*Drink 50-60oz water today.
Day 2:
Wake up by 8:00 am go for longer walk/run (60 min)
Follow meal plan, shake prior to walk/run
Work on stretching and posture and form squats (30 min)
*Do this routine once today.
*Drink 50-60oz water today.
Day 3: repeat day 1 but do 2 sets of everything
Day 4: repeat day 2
Day 5: Day off exercise, continue meal plan
Day 6
Cont meal plan, walk/run (30 min) try to go 5% further each week in the same amount of time
5 min stretching routine
50 jumping jacks (2 sets).
20 push ups (knees ok if needed to finish 20) (2 sets)
30 second plank (2 sets)
20 sit-ups (2 sets)
15 up and outs (2 sets)
15 3-count flutter kicks (2 sets)
15 3-way prone arms and legs (2 sets)
20 sit to stands (2 sets)
10 high knee step ups (2 sets) *can use 6-8-10# medicine ball for extra upper body work)
Side step with band (30 seconds)
*Do this routine once today.
*Drink 50-60oz water today.
Day 7-10
Progress am walk/run routine as tolerated, go a little further a little faster. (60-90 minutes) (1-3 miles)
*Drink 50-60oz water today
Day 12: Day off, continue meal plan
Day 13, 15, 17
Continue meal plan and walk/run program trying to go a little further each time (May choose to have a certain distance you’d like to go and do it faster each time)
5 min stretching routine
50 jumping jacks (3 sets)
20 push ups (knees ok if needed to finish 20) (3 sets)
30 second plank (3 sets)
20 sit-ups (3 sets)
15 up and outs (3 sets)
15 3-count flutter kicks (3 sets)
15 3-way prone arms and legs (3 sets)
20 sit to stands (3 sets)
10 high knee step ups (3 sets) *can use 6-8-10# medicine ball for extra upper body work)
5-10 assisted pull ups
Side step with bands (30 seconds)
*Drink 50-60oz water today
Day 14, 16, 18
Progress am walk/run routine as tolerated, go a little further a little faster. (60-90 minutes) (2-4 miles)
*Drink 50-60oz water today
Day 19 = Day off, continue meal plan
Day 20, 22, 24
Continue meal plan and walk/run program trying to go a little further each time (May choose to have a certain distance you’d like to go and do it faster each time)
5 min stretching routine
50 jumping jacks (3 sets)
20 push ups (knees ok if needed to finish 20) (3 sets)
30 second plank (3 sets)
20 sit-ups (3 sets)
15 up and outs (3 sets)
15 3-count flutter kicks (3 sets)
15 3-way prone arms and legs (3 sets)
20 sit to stands (3 sets)
Can try 5-10 single leg sit to stand
10 high knee step ups (3 sets) *can use 6-8-10# medicine ball for extra upper body work)
25 Alternating lunge steps
5-10 assisted pull-ups
Side step with bands (30 seconds
*Drink 50-60oz water today
Day 21, 23, 25
Progress am walk/run routine as tolerated, go a little further a little faster. (60-90 minutes) (3-5 miles)
*Drink 50-60oz water today
Day 26: Day off exercise, continue meal plan
Day 27/28:
Continue meal plan
Continue last week routine
*Drink 50-60oz water today
*Recommend before and after pictures, take measurements before and after if you want… weight, body fat, waist size are good options.
Hope you enjoy this challenge and find some useful information for a long, healthy and fit life.
Let’s be ready for summer and be fit and healthy coming off this quarantine period.
Sincerely,
John L. Fox MPT, CSCS