4 ‘Can you do THIS?’ fitness challenges

So here's the story. I normally run a few times a week, strength train and figure skate as often as I possibly can. (What can I say? I love knife shoes.) I've since gone through several quarantine phases. It started with, "I'm going to use this time to be in the best shape of my life!"...aka denial. It was then followed by stress baking, boredom snacking and finally my current stage: Trying my best to find balance.

Instead of stressing myself out with rigid fitness goals, I'm listening to my body and choosing workouts I actually feel like doing. For motivation, I'm trying a new fitness challenge each day to appreciate everything my body can do. (Even when I've eaten more onion and garlic pretzel chips than medically recommended.) These are a few of the exercises I've tried so far...can you do them all?

Stand Up From the Floor...No Hands Allowed!

Okay, this one sounds deceptively easy. Lay down on your stomach and try to get up without using your hands for help. Roll over, sit up, bend your knees, lean forward and try to rise to your feet. It doesn't require exceptional strength, but you do need to have decent flexibility throughout your hips and hamstrings.

Balance on One Leg for 60 Seconds

Another exercise that sounds crazy easy, except that you have to do this balanced on the *ball* of your foot. You don't have to raise all the way up to your toes, but your heel must be lifted off the ground for it to count. Start out with one hand on a chair or countertop for balance. First, lift your free leg up, keeping your foot pressed lightly against your standing leg for stability. Then, lift up onto the ball of your foot and start the timer.

This is a test not only of balance but of the strength of all the stabilizing muscles from your calves to your core. Thirty seconds and up is considered good, and 60 seconds is excellent. Pro-tip: Try focusing on keeping a tight core and flexing your glutes to hold the position longer!

Hold a Plank for 2 Minutes

The humble plank is a great, full-body exercise, and it's pretty tough. Just hold the "up" part of a pushup as long as you can, making sure your back isn't arched and your butt isn't sticking up in the air -- save that for yoga class! While you only need to hold planks for around 30 seconds to benefit from them, it's fun to see how long you can hold them! (Not to brag, but I did it for 3.)

Pistol Squats

This is the toughest one on the list, hands down. To do a pistol squat, you extend one leg straight out in front of you and squat down to a minimum of 90 degrees- some people can go all the way to the floor! It's super tough, and you need more than just strength. You need a ton of flexibility to keep your free leg from hitting the floor. A cheat as you work your way up to a full pistol squat is to hold onto a railing to lessen the resistance. I managed 5 before I couldn't make it back up and fell on my butt.

Which exercise was the toughest for you? Hopefully, you surprised yourself!