Preparing for the Long Haul

In order to prepare for the upcoming 52 week all-out Burpee blitz, there are a few things I've deemed necessary to reflect on beforehand. These are things I believe are crucial to ensuring this experiment is a success.

Footwear

First, I've been thinking a lot about what kind of footwear I'd like to use in the experiment. I'm sure most of you immediately read this and said "how about plain ole running/cross-training shoes?"... but I've been doing a little research on Vibram FiveFingers and am quite interested in how they would perform in this kind of workout.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-Komodo-Sport-Mens.htm

Apparently, these "shoes" are supposed to add an extra element to your workout by doing a little more to help build your calf and foot muscles. If anyone out there has tried out Vibrams or currently has them, please let me know what you think.

Supplements

I've also been debating for a while now about whether or not to use any kind of supplements throughout the next year or go all natural. If I were to use them, my supplements of choice would be the following:

- Pre-Workout: Assault by Muscle Pharm (Nitric-Oxide Endurance Booster)

(http://www.tfsupplements.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1395)

- Post-Workout: Combat by Muscle Pharm (Whey Protein)

(http://www.tfsupplements.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1398)

In my past workouts I've found these particular supplements to be very effective, however this will probably be a game-time decision for me, as I do not want them to potentially alter the results of the experiment. The reason being that if I were use them I'd have to do so every day, and the Nitric Oxide supplement (in my opinion) would not be healthy to take every day of the week for a full year. With that being said, I'll post an update on this before the experiment begins.

Calendar/Work-Out Chart

Some kind of calendar/work-out chart will be crucial for me to keep track of my workouts. My plan is to try and do something different every day in order to stay fresh and motivated.

Do Absolutely Nothing In The Meantime

That's right. For the next few months before the experiment begins I don't plan on working out much at all. Now, I'm not going to get flat out fat like the crazy guy doing the FitToFatToFit thing, but I also don't plan on being in exceptional shape before I go into my doctor's physical. I feel that if I were already in incredible shape, there wouldn't be much to show in the way of results by this time next year. So, in a way, I want to start from scratch in January.

Mental Toughness

In order to continue a workout routine consisting of the same move 5 days a week for an entire year, it's obviously going to take a considerable amount of mental toughness on my part. So to keep me motivated, I will be enlisting the help of my friends and family in order to give me a swift kick in the butt if I ever doubt my progress or want to hang up the towel.

As I will continue to do, I'll leave you with a quote from the great Muhammad Ali:

"It's the lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself."

L&R,

Drew

You can keep your fancy gym membership...I'll take my Burpee.

For as long as I can remember...well more like since junior high football...I've been working out in some sort of capacity. Throughout that time-span, I along with so many others, have been searching for the perfect workout. The one that's going to get me ripped like Brad Pitt, but not require me to throw up my guts or take up 3 hours of my day to do so.

So, with the help of this blog as motivation, the loving support of my wife, and at least 15 minutes every day, I am going to set out on a year long quest to prove the "Burpee" is the greatest full-body workout ever created.

What is a Burpee, you ask?

Pick any of your DVD’s involving the military, and you can bet during the training scenes, the soldiers will be doing Burpees at some point. A Burpee, in simple terms, is a squat thrust. It’s when you go from normal standing position, jump with your hands in the air, come down to a squat position with your hands on the floor, and then kick your legs out behind you.

Now that we’ve got that important bit of information out of the way, the details of this experiment are as follows:

- Receive a full physical in December 2011 to document my current health

- Take a physical fitness test in December 2011 and document my results

- Required to take at least 15 minutes every day to do a Burpee routine (Can and will increase time and reps as we go along)

- Free to choose the specific workout so long as the Burpee is the focal point (i.e. Burpee lunges, Burpee jumps, Burpee pushups, etc...)

- Saturday and Sunday will be designated as rest days / "make-up" days

- No other workouts will be performed throughout the year (running, weightlifting, biking, etc...)

- I will be posting my workouts on a weekly basis as well as anything cool I've read about revolving around health and fitness.

- At the end of 2012, I will again receive a phsyical as well as take a physical fitness test. The results will be documented and compared to the results from the tests taken in Dec. 2011.

With absolutely no cost of a gym membership or weights and less than half the time of normal weightlifting workouts, I hope to show that the Burpee in and of itself, is THE ultimate full body workout. Now obviously I'm not going to bulk up and look like Arnold Schwarzenegger after this, but that's not we're looking for here. I'm looking to help improve the quality of life for people by teaching them a time-tested workout that's both cost-free and easy to do while getting the fitness results they're after.

I look forward to the challenge and hope that this experiment motivates at least a few of you readers.

I'll leave you with the immortal words of Jack LaLanne: "If you want to change somebody, don't preach to them. Set an example and shut up."

Love and Respect,

Drew