After all of the focus and determination put into this 60 day challenge, I feel like a new person. I am the healthiest I have ever been and finally have the physique I’ve always wanted. My knowledge of food and exercise has vastly expanded since the creation of this blog. I encourage everyone to continue living a healthy lifestyle and pursue tough challenges, for there is no better feeling than reaching your goal.
Before After
Today my workout partners and I decided to each picked our favorite workouts. We ended up picking different muscle groups and getting a really good full body workout to end the 60 day challenge.
– Bench and push-up circuit: Start with a small amount of weight on each side of the barbell. Do 5 to 10 presses. Then do 5 to 10 normal push-ups. Take 5 or 10 pounds off each side of the barbell and do 5 to 10 presses. Then do 5 to 10 inclined push-ups. Take another 5 or 10 pounds off each side of the barbell and do 5 to 10 presses. Then do 5 to 10 decline push-ups. Take another 5 or 10 pounds off each side of the barbell and do 5 to 10 presses. Then do 5 to 10 wide stance push-ups. Do 2 sets.
– Tricep Burnout: Start with a medium to heavy dumbbell and do 10 seated, behind the head tricep extensions. Drop 5 pounds and do it again. Keep on doing this until you are down to a 10 pound dumbbell. Do this exercise twice.
– 21’s: 3 sets
– Snatches: 3 sets of 10 reps
– Shrugs: on a smith machine, stand where the bar is in front of you and shrug the bar with your shoulders back: 3 sets of 10 reps. Compound the shrugs with stepping in front of the bar and shrugging with the bar behind you: 3 sets of 10 reps.
– Declining ab circuit: 15 weighted decline sit-ups. 7 one hand weighted side sit-ups with lower weight on each side.
Day 55: Lean Beef and Veggies Cooked in Red Wine
– 1 pound of lean stew beef
– 6oz French green beans
– ½ white onion
– 4 oz of sliced mushrooms
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 3 cloves of garlic, minced
– 1 shallot, minced
– 1 cup red wine
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp pepper
Heat a pot with the oil on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots as the oil starts to heat and cook for a minute or until. When the garlic starts to brown, deglaze the pot with 2/3 cup of the red wine. Add the veggies and stir frequently for 10 minutes, or when the green beans become more flexible and less crunchy. Add the meat and the remaining red wine and cook for another 5 – 7 minutes or until beef is cooked to your desired temperature.
Day 57: Steak Wraps with roasted peppers and garlic aioli
– 1 pound of flank steak
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp pepper
– 1 yellow pepper
– 1 red pepper
– ½ white onion, sliced
– Garlic Aioli
– ½ cup arugula or spinach
– 4 Whole wheat wraps
Heat a grill.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Cook for 20 minutes, then flip and cook for another 20 minutes, or until the skin is charred. Pull out the stems and cut in half. Cut into quarters. Peal the skin off of the peppers.
Season the flank steak with salt and pepper. Grill the steak on both sides for 4 minutes or until cooked to your desired temperature. Let sit for a few minutes, then cut into strips.
Assemble your wrap with the steak, peppers, spinach and aioli.
day 59: Back and Abs
– Seated Rows: 4 sets of descending reps: 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
– Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets of descending reps: 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
– Seated Wide-grip Rows: 4 sets of descending reps: 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
– Reverse Flies: 4 sets of 15 reps
– Ab Circuit: 25 weighted ab ball crunches, 15 standing weighted oblique side crunches on each side, 20 ab wheel rolls. Do 3 sets.
Day 58: Chest
– Bench press: 4 sets of descending reps: 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
– Incline dumbbell press: Hold both weights up in the air. Do 5 reps with one arm, then switch and do 5 reps with the other. Then do 5 reps with both arms. Do this 4 times
– Decline Bench Press: 3 sets of descending reps: 12, 10, 8 reps. Then do 1 burnout set of as many as you can do with lighter weight.
– Low cable chest flies: 3 sets of 10 reps
– Middle cable chest flies: 3 sets of 10 reps
– High cable chest flies: 3 sets of 10 reps
Day 57: Steak Wraps with roasted peppers and garlic aioli
– 1 pound of flank steak
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp pepper
– 1 yellow pepper
– 1 red pepper
– ½ white onion, sliced
– Garlic Aioli
– ½ cup arugula or spinach
– 4 Whole wheat wraps
Heat a grill.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Cook for 20 minutes, then flip and cook for another 20 minutes, or until the skin is charred. Pull out the stems and cut in half. Cut into quarters. Peal the skin off of the peppers.
Season the flank steak with salt and pepper. Grill the steak on both sides for 4 minutes or until cooked to your desired temperature. Let sit for a few minutes, then cut into strips.
Assemble your wrap with the steak, peppers, spinach and aioli.
Day 58: Shrimp, Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
– 6 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
– 6 oz sausage, spicy (chicken, turkey or pork), cut into 1-inch cubes
– 6 oz thawed frozen, tail on shrimp
– 2 tsp olive oil
– 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
– 1 garlic clove, minced
– 1 white onion, chopped
– 1 cup white wine
– 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
– 1 cup canned chicken broth
– 1 tbsp of Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning
– ¼ cup of fresh parsley
– 1 bay leaf
– 1/8 tsp table salt
– 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
– 1/4 tsp dried thyme
– 1 scallion, chopped
– 1/8 tsp black pepper
– Hot sauce as desired
Thaw shrimp if frozen.
Heat a large pot with oil. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the wine to deglaze. Add the onion, chicken and sausage and stir constantly, until lightly browned; approximately 2 minutes. Then add shrimp and cook for another 2 minutes.
Next, sprinkle the mixture with flour and let cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth and make sure to scrape up any browned bits in bottom of the pot.
Add in the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper, thyme and bay leaf, parsley, Paul Prudhomme’s seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and green onions; simmer for 5 minutes.
Day 59: Zucchini Ribbon Pasta with Red Sauce
– 2 pounds zucchini
– 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp pepper
– 3 cups red sauce
– 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Using a vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini into lengthwise ribbons. Peel off several from one side, then turn the zucchini and peel off more. Continue to turn and peel away ribbons until you get to the seeds at the core of the zucchini. Discard the core. You can also do this on a mandolin, adjusted to a very thin slice.
Cook the zucchini strips in two batches. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the zucchini ribbons and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook, tossing and stirring the zucchini, for two to three minutes, until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Adjust salt and add freshly ground pepper to taste, and transfer to a serving dish. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and zucchini. Serve, topping with tomato sauce and freshly grated Parmesan if desired.
Day 60: Spicy Chicken Sandwiches
– 4 6oz chicken breasts
– 1 cup healthy hot sauce
– 1 tomato, sliced
– ½ white onion, sliced
– Lettuce
– 4 whole wheat buns
Marinate the chicken in 2/3 cups of the hot sauce for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Heat the grill or preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the chicken on the grill for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or cook the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
Toss the chicken in the remaining hot sauce.
Assemble your sandwich with the veggies.
Day 57: Run with a circuit and Legs
Run with a Circuit
– Run 2 miles to a location where there is a pullup bar. Then do 50 pull ups, 75 push ups, and 250 total bycicles in as many sets as you need. I did 5 sets rotating between each exercise. Then run 2 miles back.
Legs
– Squats: 3 sets of 10 reps
– Quad extensions compounded with hamstring extensions: 4 sets of descending reps each: 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
– Calf raises: 4 sets of 15 reps
– One legged dumbbell squats: 3 sets of 15 reps on each leg
Day 56: Sprints
– Sprint 10 yards, jog back. Sprint 20 yards, jog back. Sprint 30 yards, jog back. Sprint 40 yards, jog back.
– Sprint 10 yards, and wait 3 seconds. Spring back to start, then wait 3 seconds. Do this twice. Then sprint 20 yards, and wait 5 seconds. Then sprint to start, and wait 5 seconds. Do this twice. Then sprint 30 yards and wait 7 seconds. Sprint back to start and wait 7 seconds. Do this twice.
– Sprint 10 yards, then do 5 push ups. Jog 10 yards, then do 5 push ups. Continue this pattern until you have traveled 50 yards.
– Sprint 10 yards, then do 1 burpee. Jog 10 yards, then do 2 burpees. Sprint another 10 yards, and do 3 burpees. Jog 10 yards, then do 4 burpees. Continue this trend until you have reached 12 burpees.
Day 54: Outdoor Circuit and Shoulders
Outdoor Circuit
– Do 50 burpees, 100 pull ups, 150 pushups, 200 free squats, and hold 5 minutes of plank. Do this in as many sets as you want. I broke the circuit down into 10 sets, alternating between each exercise.
Shoulders
– Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets of descending reps: 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
– Lateral weighted shoulder raises compounded with forward shoulder raisese: 3 sets of 15 each.
– Weighted Plate Circuit: Take a weighted plate and hold it over your head. Start rotating the weight clockwise 10 times over your head. Then rotate the weight counterclockwise 10 times over your head. Bring the weight down in front of you and lift the weight in front of you with your arms straight 10 times. Then lift the plate over your head into a military press 10 times. Do 3 sets of this circuit.
– Shrugs: 4 sets of 15 reps
Chef Jim's 60 Day Challenge 