A Minimalist Approach to Exercise

It is no secret that exercing is good for the health. But a lot of people have problems to exercise consistently. And yours truly is no exception to that too.

So now I know I need to take a different approach. This time around, I am going to approach exercising as a form of habit building.

I am now participating in the hundred push ups challenge. It is a series of exercise regime to be completed in 6 weeks time. And if one follows the program as outlined, at the end of the 6 week period, he or she should be able to complete one hundred push ups at one go.

Sounds challenging? It is!

The exercise starts with an intial test of how many push ups a person is able to do at one go. I did the test and I managed to execute 20 push ups. And today I am on Day 2 of Week 1.

What makes me attempt this hundred push ups challenge?

First, it is a very simple and minimal exercise. I don’t need any special equipment to do push up. The most I need is a floor, which can be found anywhere. Put aside less than 30 minutes to do it and it is done. A simple and minimal exercise for a minimalist.

Second, I consider it to be an attempt in forming exercising habit. I put the word ‘exercise’ and ‘habit’ together because if I want the exercise to show a result that I want, I should make it a habit.

Hundred push up challenge takes up six weeks to be completed. A habit is formed when we do it consecutively without fail for 21 days.  And doing a series of push ups for a period of 42 days is more than enough to form the habit.

Once this becomes a daily habit which is practised effortlessly, I will proceed to another exercise habit, running. Running is also another form of exercise preferred by minimalist. If you have a proper running shoes, you can surely hit the road and blaze a trail.

Other than those two benefits, push ups also helps me to feel and look better. I am now at Day 2 of the program and I already feel that my chest is looking much more fuller (in a manly way of course). Once I start to work on my waistline, the chest is going to appear much more visible. 🙂

All in all, I think everyone – including a Canadian – should try this hundred push ups challenge!