30 Day Challenge program

Week 1 | Day 1

Test Day

Time: 45-60 min.
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
— Walt Disney

Today is day 1 of your 30-day journey towards feeling great, running strong, and staying healthy. You made your first step and often times that’s the hardest part. So, congratulations!

We have a lot of work today so let’s make sure we have a good way to measure all the progress you are bound to make. This consists of running, pushups, and a core exercise.

The pushup is a good test of posture, it strengthens our core and stabilizes our arm-swing. All of this is important as a runner and as an athlete.

The core exercise helps measure your core strength, which translates to your ability to run longer and faster.

Keep track of how you did. We will compare this to a run at the end of the 30-day challenge

Possible Locations
  • A local running track
  • A familiar stretch of road or trail
  • A treadmill
Warm Up
  • 8 minute follow along video with Coach Holly
  • Arm Circles and Arm Swings to warm up the shoulders and chest
  • Leg Swings, Hip Circles and Dynamic Pigeons to warm up the hips and ankles
  • Bootstraps to warm up the hamstrings
  • Burpees to elevate the heart rate and work the whole body
  • Air Squats to start firing the glutes
  • Squat Walks to further open up the hips
Main Set
  • 30 minute run
  • 60 seconds of quality push ups
  • Maximum length of time in hollow body hold position
  • Approximately 35 – 40 minutes total
What to Measure
  • Run: Distance covered, how long you walked, and the number and duration of any breaks taken
  • Push Ups: How many push ups were you able to complete for each push up form used
  • Hollow Body Hold: How long were you able to maintain the pose with good form
Cool Down
  • 5 minute follow along vido with Coach Holly
  • Squat hold to relax the hips, back and glutes
  • Downward Dog to Upward Dog flow to stretch the shoulders, calves and abs
  • Pigeon Pose to relax the hips and groin
  • Childs Pose to quiet the mind and stretch the lats

Workout

  • Follow Along Warm Up

    Duration
    • 8 minutes
    Instructions
    • Arm Circles: 20 forward, 20 backward
    • Arm Swings: 15 – 20
    • Left Leg: 20 Leg Swings, ending in a lunge. 10 Hip Circles (each direction) and 10 Dynamic Pigeons
    • Right Leg: 20 Leg Swings, ending in a lunge. 10 Hip Circles (each direction) and 10 Dynamic Pigeons
    • Bootstraps: 10
    • Burpees: 10
    • Air Squats: 10
    • Squat Walks: 3 sets of step forward, step backward, step left, step right
  • Test 1: 30 Minute Run
    Duration:
    • 30 minutes
    Instructions
    • Run as far as you can in 30 minutes
    • For new runners, run at a comfortable pace for the duration
    • For experienced runners, this should be a challenging effort! Focus on the maximum distance you can cover in 30 minutes
    • Note the distance traveled, how you felt, and heart rate (if you track that)
    • You can walk, for a break, but note how many you breaks you take and how long they are
  • Test 2: Maximum Number of Push Ups in 60 seconds

    Duration:
    • 60 seconds
    Instructions
    • Perform as many quality push ups as you can
    • Maintain good form even if you have to modify how you perform the exercise
  • Test 3: Hollow Body Hold - Maximum Duration

    Duration:
    • No time limit
    Instructions
    • Pull legs, arms, and shoulder off the ground for as long as you can without collapsing.
    • Keep track of which form modification you use
  • Follow Along Cool Down

    Duration
    • 5 minutes
    Instructions
    • Squat Hold: 1 minute
    • Downward Dog to Upward Dog: 1 minute
    • Pigeon Pose: 1 minute each leg
    • Child’s Pose with Lat Stretch: 1 minute