The "Double Dirty" Fitness Challenge

So, here it is!  The Dirt Vixen/Dirty Jane April Fitness Challenge.  I have teamed up with Dirty Jane to bring you a bike oriented fitness challenge to build your strength for a great summer on your bike.  Beware, side effects may include: having to purchase smaller clothes, more catcalls at the beach, and guns that could make you an invaluable addition to your friends' zombie apocalypse team. If you are willing to deal with the side effects please read on.

Jersey Shore Day in between back to back DH races.  These arms do a lot of push-ups!

Each day in April I will be posting up the daily exercise with a how to video or photo and the specific challenge.  I will also include some useful info if you want to explore the exercises and their benefits in more depth.  Each daily post will be short and simple and easy to follow.  Make the challenge your own and cater it to your own specific current fitness level.  Don't try to do 300 squats if you've never even done squats before!  Set your own goals so that you can master the challenge.

Here is the run down for the whole month:

This calendar is a JPEG and you should be able to open in a new window and print out your own copy as a reference.  It is also a good idea to keep notes on your print version as to how many reps of the exercises you did and what weights you used.  This will help you see your progression through the month and keep you motivated!

Each day has a specific focus.  Monday is Fun Day, Tuesday will always focus on arms, Wednesday on your core, Thursday on your legs, Friday you will be doing some good yoga stretches for cyclists which will serve as a rest day, Saturday focuses on an exercise that works two body parts simultaneously and Sunday focuses on whatever was left out on Saturday.  

The exercises in color are repeated more than once during the month.  I color coded them so you can more easily refer back to your previous go-round with these exercises.

There is a lot of variation to keep you from getting bored, but not too much because we don't want to overwhelm you!  You should be able to do this challenge on its own and see some decent results or in addition to your current training program for a fun side challenge.  And don't worry, if you want to ride too, by all means, RIDE!   Make it your own, change it up if you need to!

A few things you might need if you don't already have them or access to a gym:

• Dumbbells (hand weights) or kettlebells, your choice.  Quite a few of the exercises can be done with bodyweight only, but you will need weights for some of them.  In a pinch you can use canned goods or larger water bottles filled with sand.
• Exercise Ball (you can get these at Target and they are great for lots of exercises other than what we will be using it for, so definitely worth having one!)
• Hula hoop (only for one fun day--borrow one or get a cheap one at Walmart--the bigger the better, hula hooping is great for your core and super fun, you might want to keep doing it once you've tried it!)
• Jump rope

Okay, that's it for now.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  We would love to hear from you as the challenge progresses, so feel free to share your goals, accomplishments and photos on the daily posts or on the Dirty Jane Facebook page!  Also, please only take on the challenge if you are in good physical health, we don't want anyone getting hurt!

See you on April Fools Day!