Stay Physically Fit

• TASK: Get and stay physically fit in order to be healthy and able to meet the demands of daily life.
• CONDITIONS: Given 30 minutes a day, and a place to run and move.
• STANDARD: You must be able to complete your set of exercises.

With the abundance of conveniences and instant gratification, getting and staying physically fit has become quite difficult in modern Western society. This is not a good thing, however, as being physically fit has a number of benefits beyond being able to survive in an austere environment. Being in good physical condition improves your health and helps you feel better.

Being physically fit does not require a personal trainer or a gym membership any any sort of equipment. While all those things will certainly help and enable you to excel at being physically fit, they’re not requirements for getting started. All you really need is motivation and discipline.

Motivation and Discipline
Motivation and discipline play very different roles for me in exercise. My motivation is what got me committed to the task, but my discipline is what keeps me on it. I don’t rely on motivation to decide whether or not I’m going to get up and go work out. If I did, I’d quickly get worn down by the inner struggle of having to give myself a pep talk every day.

​Instead, I depend on my discipline to handle that. Discipline is the voice in my head that, though exhausted, says, “Hey, it’s time. Get up.” That voice doesn’t have time or patience for debate or complaining, it’s just time to go do the thing, so let’s go. Motivation signs the checks, discipline cashes them.

Ready, Go!
The exercise routine outlined here is a basic set of body-weight exercises that will help you maintain a minimum level of physical fitness. This routine won’t make you Mr. Olympia or beef you up, it will improve your health and mental well-being. Once you’ve mastered this routine, add more reps and time or start looking for more challenging options to make yourself better.

Routine

• 15:00 Run
• 20 Jumping jacks
• 20 Lunges
• 20 Push-ups

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• 20 Squats
• 1:00 Plank
• 20 Flutter kicks
• 2:00 Rest, repeat 3x from jumping jacks

15:00 Run
Jogging for 15 minutes is intended to warm you up, get your heart beating and your lungs breathing. Running will improve your cardiovascular and circulatory health which are two of the quickest, easiest, and most helpful wins that you can get.

20 Jumping Jacks
Start by standing straight with your hands at your sides. Jump up and while you’re in the air, spread your legs to the side so that they’re wider apart than your shoulders. At the same time, bring your hands up so that they touch over your head. Then jump again and return to the starting position standing straight with your hands at your sides. You have completed 1 jumping jack.

20 Squats
Start standing with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms extended out in front of you. Bend your legs slowly until your thighs are parallel with the ground and you are in a sitting position. Stand back up and return to the starting position. You have completed 1 squat.

20 Lunges
Start standing straight with your hands on your hips. Step forward with your right foot and lean forward and down so that your left knee touches the ground. Stand up and step backwards with your right foot so that you are standing back in the starting position again. Then step forward with your left foot so that your right knee touches the ground. Step back again with your left foot so that you return to the starting position. You have completed 1 lunge.

20 Push-ups
Start with your palms flat on the ground slightly more than shoulder width apart and your legs extended out with your toes together or up to six inches apart. Only your hands and your toes should touch the ground. Your body should remain straight during each push-up. Bend your arms to lower your body towards the ground so that your elbows form a right angle like the corner of a square. Then extend your arms to push your body back up until your elbows lock straight again in the starting position. You have completed 1 push-up.

1:00 Plank
Start with your elbows on the ground directly below your shoulders and your toes up to six inches apart. Only your elbows and toes should touch the ground. Time begins counting when only your toes and elbows are touching the ground. Keep your body straight and off the ground for one minute.

20 Flutter Kicks
To perform one flutter kick, start on the ground and place your hands palm down under your butt. Keep your feet together and lift them 6 inches off the ground. Your feet should not touch the ground for the duration of the exercise. Keeping your left leg out straight and off the ground, raise your right leg up to a 45-degree angle and count “one”. Lower your right leg and raise your left leg to a 45-degree angle and count “two”. Switch legs again so that your right is back up and your left is down and count “three”. Switch your legs one more time so that your left is up and your right is down and count “four”. You have completed one flutter kick.

2:00 Rest, Repeat
Take a short rest to recover and start again with the jumping jacks. You should cycle through a total of three times.