Taking on the Challenge Challenge!

dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Now that Darebee has reviewed its challenges and is planning on adding badges for them all, I figure it's a great time to take on the Challenge Challenge! (And start my first check in thread.) I downloaded all 128 current challenges. I checked them against the challenges I have already completed. I have created a spreadsheet (see image below) so that I can keep track of completed challenges (in red), in progress challenges (in green), and remaining challenges (in black).

Challenges that I have already completed:
  • Meditation
  • Easy Core
  • Posture
  • 50 Push-Ups in One Go
  • Cardio
  • Cardio & Abs
  • Cardio & Core
  • Cardio Blast
  • Cardio HIIT
  • Daily Cardio
  • Daily Push Ups
  • Iron Glutes
  • Kicks & Punches
  • Upper Body
  • 100
  • 1,000 Push-Ups
  • 2-Minute Multiplank
  • Boxer
  • Core
  • Pull-Up
Since I plan on doing a tough program next (Military Fit Plus), I'm going to select (multiple) easy challenges to get a jump start. In four days, I'll start with:
  • First Thing Water
  • No Salt
  • Daily Hug
  • 1-Minute Meditation
  • Daily Gratitude
  • Power Grip
I definitely don't plan on always doing 6 challenges at once. I'll select future challenges to complement whatever programs I'm doing and to suit the seasons here in Ontario (e.g. since my pull-up bar is at the playground down the street, I'll do pull-up challenges when there isn't snow everywhere). I'll check in again once my first round of challenges are under way.

Is anyone else completing the Challenge Challenge?

challenge_spreadsheet.jpg
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
It begins today. I already have 20 of 128 challenges completed. As of this morning, I start:
  • First Thing Water
  • Daily Hug
  • 1-Minute Meditation
  • Daily Gratitude
  • No Salt
  • Power Grip
We'll see if I establish any new good habits from this. The Daily Hug challenge is 15-days, so I'll check in again when it's done. Hugging myself this morning was kinda nice!
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 21/129.

Today, I finished my first challenge since starting the Challenge Challenge: Daily Hug. :v: While most challenges are 30 days, a few, like Daily Hug, are 15. This early, easy victory is good for the morale.

A particular challenge of the Challenge Challenge is that a new challenge is added to the Darebee site each month. So, if I ever want to get them all done, I need to do more than one at a time. My plan when choosing multiple challenges is to find balance between upper body, lower body, and ab work, as well as a mix of challenge levels. Some challenges involve doing the same thing each day, while others increase the number of repetitions or amount of time each day. Because of this latter type of challenge, I eventually plan to stagger my new challenges, starting a new one each week, rather than starting multiple new challenges on the same day. For now, to get my jump start, I'm starting groups of doable challenges in batches.

So far, this is fun. I hope that feeling lasts. One down. 108 + future challenges to go.
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 26/129.

Today, I finished my first full wave of challenges:
  • First Thing Water :v:
  • 1-Minute Meditation :v:
  • Daily Gratitude :v:
  • No Salt :v: (as long as I don't drop a salt shaker in my plate tonight--if I do, I will start the challenge over)
  • Power Grip :v:
It went well. I might continue with water first thing. I had already started meditating, so I had just added an extra minute to my practice for the past 30 days. My family is already accustomed to expressing gratitudes at supper, so that was easy. I'll probably go back to using some amount of salt as of tomorrow, but I didn't miss it too much. I used citrus instead and it worked well. Power Grip was the one physical challenge I completed. I liked it.

My next wave of challenges will be a bit more physical:
  • 1-Minute Plank Challenge (for abs)
  • 50 Burpees a Day (for full body)
  • 50 Push-Ups a Day (for upper body)
  • 50 Squats a Day (for lower body)
  • Counting Victories (for well being)
To plan for future waves, I have split my remaining challenges into two groups: constant challenges, which are the same length or number of reps each day, and incremental challenges, which increase the length or reps each day. For now, I will complete the constant challenges in batches. After that, I will tackle the incremental challenges, probably starting a new one each week to stagger the increasing challenge. I also have to be strategic about challenges. I am not prepared to do the No Sugar challenge during the holidays! But maybe early in the New Year.

This is good. I have a plan. I can do this! 103 + future challenges left to go!
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 31/130.

Today, I finished a second wave of of challenges:
  • 1-Minute Plank Challenge :v:
  • 50 Burpees a Day :v:
  • 50 Push-Ups a Day :v:
  • 50 Squats a Day :v:
  • Counting Victories :v:
I was going to use my momentum to do 100 Burpees a Day next, but I think I need a break from burpees. I was not enjoying them much by the end of the challenge. Maybe in the spring, I'll be ready for the 100 a day.

So, my next wave of challenges is:
  • 1-minute cardio
  • 1-minute yoga
  • 2-minute abs
  • De-stress
  • Good Morning, World (i.e. 60 seconds of jumping jacks first thing in the morning)
This brings the number of remaining challenges to just under 100. It will bump back up to 100 when Darebee adds the January challenge, but by the time my next wave of challenges is done, I will be down to the double-digits. Continue to bring them on!

And, as an added bonus, today I did 5 consecutive minutes of elbow plank for the first time ever! I've been trying on and off since 2015. I can finally claim that badge too!
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 36/132.

Another wave of challenges done:
  • 1-minute cardio :v:
  • 1-minute yoga :v:
  • 2-minute abs :v:
  • De-stress :v:
  • Good Morning, World :v:
For my next wave of challenges:
  • Abs & Core
  • Ninja
  • Plank Hero
  • Squat Hero
  • Push-Up Master
Unlike most challenges, the last four challenges in this wave have 3 difficulty levels to choose from. For the purpose of my Challenge Challenge, I will say that I am doing each challenge on the easiest difficulty to minimize my risk of failure; however, when I actually do the challenges each day, I will aim to do the hardest difficulty if I can.

All right. Back to it.
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 41/133.

Another wave of challenges done. These ones weren't easy! In some cases, I needed to modify exercises. In some cases, I couldn't quite get the full expression of the exercise though I put in my full effort. I've included notes on where I struggled. I'm happy enough with my efforts to consider the challenges completed. (I'd say, for example, that I got a grade of B on this wave. You can challenge me on this if you disagree and believe that it has to be all or nothing. Then there will be a Challenge Challenge challenge!)
  • Abs & Core :v: (I had to modify some crunch or sit-up motions to protect my neck and shoulders and prevent 72-hour headaches.)
  • Ninja :v: (I modified up and down planks to regular push ups to avoid a 72-hour headache. Two non-stop minutes of push ups still isn't easy! I did one minute, meaning I completed this challenge on hard, not brutal.)
  • Plank Hero :v: (I modified up and down planks to regular push ups.)
  • Squat Hero :v: (My Day 28 Full pistol squats looked no different from my Day 23 Half pistol squats to be honest.)
  • Push-Up Master :v: (What are Day 20 Glider push ups?! I did something, but I don't know if it was right movement. Day 24 Cross tricep push ups are hard! Day 30 One-arm push-ups were like my "Full" pistol squats in that they weren't full.)
So, I think I've had enough of a break from burpees to try to 100 Burpees a Day challenge (even though I've still been doing some burpees with the Bootcamp program). 100 Burpees a Day is challenge enough, so my other challenges this month are just level 1 challenges to keep it all manageable:
  • 100 Burpees a Day
  • Easy Abs
  • Easy Arms
  • Easy Cardio
  • Re-focus (I'm going with the suggestion to do this challenge when I'm sitting at the computer, which is a lot these days.)
I took this challenge up partly because I had completed all Darebee programs to date. Now I have a backlog of 7 new Darebee programs waiting for me! Nice to know I have plenty of challenges and programs to keep me busy and fit for years to come.
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 46/134.

Thank you, everyone, for the words of encouragement. 5 more challenges completed. 100 Burpees a Day for 30 days was physically hard. Once again, I need a break from burpees. The Re-focus challenge (i.e. looking at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes) was logistically hard! I'm kinda really glad that one's done.
  • 100 Burpees a Day :v:
  • Easy Abs :v:
  • Easy Arms :v:
  • Easy Cardio :v:
  • Re-focus :v:
Next up are a couple more fixed-length challenges: At Home Marathon and Target 10. These challenges take 10 minutes each. That's about all the extra time I have during my morning workout once I've also done my warm-up, Darebee program workout, and cooldown, so I won't add more than that this month... Well, I'll throw in Knee Push-Ups too. So that's:
  • At Home Marathon (10 minutes per day; lower body)
  • Target 10 (10 minutes per day; full body)
  • Knee Push-Ups (nothing wrong with knee push-ups; upper body)
When the snow clears here in Ontario, Canada, I plan to start working on some of the running and pull-up bar challenges. (My pull-up bar is at the playground down the street.) Also, when my schedule clears a bit this spring, I may try some of the diet-based challenges, like No Junk Food and Plant-Based. I'll try to be strategic and do a few concurrently. I'll be back in a month.
 
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dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 49/135.

Just finished three more challenges. The At Home Marathon and Target 10 were not too hard. They just took time. Knee Push-Ups hurt my knees, so I did standard push ups:
  • At Home Marathon :v:
  • Target 10 :v:
  • Knee Push-Ups :v:
Aside from the lifestyle challenges, like No Sugar, I've got only a few constant challenges left; that is, challenges where you do the same amount each day. These are:
  • 30 Days of Running
  • Daily Walk
  • Push and Pull
All of these are outdoor challenges. The timing has worked out well as Spring has just about melted the last of the snow here in Eastern Ontario. For good measure, I'll also throw in:
  • Core Control
All right. Back at it for 30 days.
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 53/136.

Four more challenges completed:
  • 30 Days of Running :v:
  • Daily Walk :v:
  • Push and Pull :v:
  • Core Control :v:
For 30 days in a row, I went for a 20-minute run. Plus, I did at least an additional 15 minutes of walking. Now, I've got 5 more challenges lined up, with a good mix of upper body, lower body, and abs:
  • Dead Hang
  • Power Pull
  • Abs of Steel
  • Agility
  • Punches and Squats
I can do this.
 
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dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 58/138.

Five more challenges completed:
  • Dead Hang :v:
  • Power Pull :v:
  • Abs of Steel :v:
  • Agility :v:
  • Punches and Squats :v:
I was not certain that I would be able to do 2 full minutes of dead hang, but the desire to rise to the challenge helped me pull it off. Going to keep with the pull-up bar challenges, and I've been missing combat moves, so for the next 30 days, the line up is:
  • Flex Hang
  • Negative Pull Up
  • Punch Out
  • Daily Kicks
  • Better abs
After this, my only pull up bar challenge left is Pull Up Lv 2. I'm a bit wary of that one because I've never done 20 pull ups in one go before. Maybe I'll rise to the challenge again. We'll see.
 
dontmindlosing

dontmindlosing

Well-known member
Guardian from Ontario, Canada
Pronouns: he/him
Posts: 60
"Challenges completed: 117/156"
Challenge Challenge progress: 63/139.

Five more challenges completed:
  • Flex Hang :v:
  • Negative Pull Up :v:
  • Punch Out :v:
  • Daily Kicks :v:
  • Better abs :v:
Vacation season is starting, so I'm going to take a few lighter challenges for this round. I'm also selecting challenges that are all upright and don't require equipment, so that I can do them no matter where I find myself:
  • Power Punch
  • Stamina Upgrade
  • Walk & Run
  • Touch Your Toes
  • Iron Core
Even though Darebee adds a new challenge (or two) each month, I am getting close to the halfway mark and still feel motivated to continue. There are some hard Level 5 challenges I will eventually have to face though...

All right. Back at it.
 
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