Many times after you hit your fitness goals, you begin to become complacent. The purpose of yesterday’s strength challenge was to avoid that–to push those athletes even further that are already really strong.

Today I wanted to add to that challenge and make it all encompassing. In other words, the 5-4-3-2-1 Challenge is all about strength; but what about your cardiovascular endurance and stamina? What about your balance and coordination? Or what about your ability to practice and learn new skills?

Below is the addition of those assessments:

The Tens
100 Push-Ups (70 for females)
90 Sit-Ups
80-Mile Bike
7:00 Row; 2000-meters (8:00 for females)
6:00 Run; 1-mile (7:00 for females)
50 Pull-Ups
40-Yard Handstand Walk
30 Muscle-Ups in Under 3-Minutes
20 Consecutive Free Throws
10 Freestanding Strict Handstand Push-Ups

The Standards

100 Push-Ups: These are a continuation of the strength challenge. Can you do 100 push-ups in one set with less than a 2-second rest at the top of every push-up? This test alone will stop most athletes from even trying.

90 Sit-Ups: The only fault I ever see with sit-ups is that of the athlete not sitting-up all of the way. The shoulders must pass the hips. If you touch your toes each time, this usually solves any issues of meeting the standard.

80-Mile Bike: This is going to take you a couple hours. Stretch out your hip flexors, then sit down and get comfortable. No time component to this one except that it needs to be done without stopping. Stationary bikes are allowed.

7:00 Row (2k): Unlike the cardiovascular endurance test in the 80-mile bike, the 2k row is nicknamed “The Devil’s Race.” Finishing under 7-minutes for males (8:00 for females) is going to be challenging. We only have a handful of athletes at RxFIT that can do this.

6:00 Run (1-mile): Running a 6-minute mile (7-minute for females) is impressive, which if achieved deserves to be celebrated. We have some phenomenal runners right now at RxFIT that will pass this one off with little stress.

50 Pull-Ups: Without the feet touching the ground, can you get your chin above the pull-up bar 50 times? Kipping or butterfly techniques are allowed and encouraged. If you do these strict, you’re on a totally different level.

40-Yard Handstand Walk: Not 40-feet… 40-yards. That’s roughly 120-feet. When I attempt this, I’ll probably do it on a football field so I don’t have to turn around.

30 Ring Muscle-Ups in Under 3-Minutes: Why not bar muscle-ups? Just because we already used the bar for the pull-ups. And because we already have giant sets of movements (push-ups, sit-ups, and strict handstand push-ups), this has a time component to it. The best way to break this up is probably to perform six sets of five muscle-ups, every 30-seconds.

20 Consecutive Free-Throws: This is the only test that is interchangeable for another. The two requirements are that is is sport-specific and requires a level of accuracy. Fitness is the ability to learn and play new sports, so I had to put something in this challenge outside of the normal fitness routine. Feel free to substitute in something like rifle shooting, throwing a baseball to a certain target, or serving a volleyball over the net–just something that is challenging to complete 20 times in-a-row.

10 Freestanding Strict Handstand Push-Ups: Strict handstand push-ups alone are a challenge… but then freestanding? This is no joke. This will take athletes well over 5-years to master. If you can do just 1 of these, you’re automatically the coolest person at any party or favorite aunt/uncle at every family reunion.

Are you up for The Tens Challenge?

Tyler