The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge for Women E-Book

Mark Lauren

• Herausgeber: Riva
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 280

Beschreibung

Millions of people around the world achieve their fitness goals using Mark Lauren's proven training formula. With The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge for Women, you will get in the best shape of your life by harnessing the power of your own body. There's no need for fancy equipment or expensive gym memberships—you can work out any time, any place. This easy-to-follow program is designed to give you stunning results in just three months. Mark Lauren has created a series of progressively intensive exercises that use your own bodyweight as resistance. It only takes 30 minutes, three to four times a week. Lifestyle tips and a nutritional plan, including recipes, will help you achieve a stronger, slimmer, and firmer body. Not only will you look better, you will also feel stronger and more confident. It's never been so easy to get fit!

Leseprobe

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic information is available online at http://d-nb.de.

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge for Women proposes a program of diet and exercise recommendations for the reader to follow. However, you should consult a qualified medical professional (and, if you're pregnant, your ob-gyn) before starting this or any other fitness program. As with any diet or exercise program, if at any time you experience discomfort, stop immediately and consult your physician.

1st edition 2016© 2016 by riva Verlagan imprint of the Münchner Verlagsgruppe GmbHNymphenburger Straße 86D-80636 MunichTel.: [phone]Fax: [phone]

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Translation: Bradley Schmidt, Bryn Roberts, Kevin WhiteEditing: Kathryn MintzRecipe section: Chris GamperlProofreading: Rita ForbesJacket design: Melanie MelzerCover photograph left and exercise images: Nils SchwarzComposition: bookwise medienproduktion GmbH

ISBN Print 978-3-86883-936-4ISBN E-Book (PDF) 978-3-95971-279-8ISBN E-Book (EPUB, Mobi) 978-3-95971-280-4

Further information is available at www.rivaverlag.de

Contents

Welcome to the fitness challenge of a lifetime!

Allow me to introduce myself: Mark Lauren—your personal trainer

What makes bodyweight training so effective?

What are the advantages of the 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge program?

Dispelling myths about women, exercise, and the feminine ideal

Why men exercise

Strength training: How it works

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge: What to expect

FAQs

Getting started: Tracking tools and self-assessment

The Challenge: Days 1 to 90

Appendix

The Exercises

The Recipes

You did it! What next?

Picture credits

Welcome to the fitness challenge of a lifetime!

You’ve decided to take on my 90-Day Challenge? Fantastic! Perhaps you’ve been working out regularly, but haven’t seen the results you expected. Or maybe you just realized that you want to feel stronger, physically and mentally, and you’re ready to take the first step. Whether you’re an experienced exerciser or a beginner, my unique training program will give you the tools to achieve complete mind/body fitness. Getting in shape is much more than losing weight and making your body more beautiful. The goal is not just to look great in the mirror, but also to feel healthy, confident, and strong enough to handle the problems we all encounter during the course of our lives. By committing to 90 days of progressively intensive exercises that use your own bodyweight as resistance, you will increase your strength, endurance, willpower, and flexibility, and improve your coordination and posture. The program also includes nutritional advice, with recipes and a menu plan. Lifestyle tips round out the program to help you achieve your full physical, intellectual, and emotional potential—and an attractive body you feel good about.

For the next three months, I will be spending every day with you. I will be right here as your trainer and companion, to encourage and motivate, to advise and look after you. Not just during the workouts, but also during your mealtimes and regeneration periods. Thanks to this comprehensive program, you will achieve astonishing results, fast. As you progress, you will learn everything you need to know about getting your body into the best shape possible. I have created 12 different high-intensity workouts using completely new exercises that train the entire body. Doing these 30-minute workouts three or four times a week and following the tailored nutrition plan, as well as the lifestyle tips, will help you reach your goals: a strong, toned, flexible body that radiates confidence!

Allow me to introduce myself: Mark Lauren—your personal trainer

I was born in the Unites States in 1977. My Filipino father was in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany right after boot camp. He met my mother there, where she was just finishing school, and they married in the U.S. Soon after I was born, we moved back to Germany, living near Frankfurt for eight years before returning to the States in 1986.

Both my parents were naturally athletic, as was my maternal grandfather, who was a runner-up for the Olympic freestyle wrestling team. My grandfather was the reason that I wrestled for several years in my youth. At the age of 13, I joined my school’s track & field team. From my coach, I learned about the principles of overload and supercompensation.* I started doing push-ups and sit-ups, which is how my journey with bodyweight training began.

In 1996 I joined the military and trained as a Special Tactics Combat Controller. The curriculum included open- and closed-circuit scuba diving, water survival, static-line parachuting, military free fall, POW survival training, close air support, search and rescue, airfield seizures, and infiltration techniques, along with a wide variety of other training objectives.

After a year and a half, my training continued while I was on a deployable team at the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron at McChord Air Force Base in Washington. After just three years on the teams, I was chosen to become a trainer.

On September 6, 2001, I became an instructor at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Five days after I received my new assignment, the September 11 attack shook the world, America, and especially the U.S. Armed Forces. Almost overnight, there was tremendous pressure to graduate higher numbers of soldiers who had the skills to carry out ultra-dangerous missions. The question was how to train them quickly, without compromising quality.

I worked with the elite troops of U.S. Special Operations, for whom achieving peak fitness is more than just life enhancing—it’s life-saving. These soldiers (Navy SEALS and Army Green Berets, e.g.) are world-famous for their discipline and unbreakable willpower. They take on the most difficult and dangerous war-zone missions, regardless of the risk to their own lives. They must be ready to give 100% at any moment. What they don’t have is time.

After 9/11, I urgently started learning more about and applying principles of sports physiology to create a simpler and more effective fitness program. It’s often said that I revolutionized the training regime of the toughest men in the world. When I started as a Special Tactics instructor, the “more is more” principle had been received wisdom. Soldiers trained too hard and ran for too long. The result: a terrifyingly high injury rate. Until, that is, I introduced my bodyweight concept, along with sound training principles, and whittled it down to the essentials. Lo and behold, the recruits got stronger, in much less time than before. Injury rates plummeted; fitness levels rose. And I’m very proud and privileged to report that many of my trainees went on to become highly decorated war heroes.

* Exercising is a process of applying stress, recovering from that stress, and then becoming slightly more adapted to that stress. The third phase, in which you get stronger, is called supercompensation.

The program and exercises I developed to get those tough young men fit for active duty at top speed had other benefits: they could be done anywhere and they cost nothing, since no fitness equipment was required. We trained using our bodyweight as resistance, along with a few easily available household items, such as towels.

Over the years, I have continuously expanded and improved the training concept originally developed for elite soldiers, and have made it flexible enough to suit everyone. In Bodyweight Training for Women I adapted the program to suit the special needs and goals of women. Today, I work primarily with people just like you, ordinary civilians who want to get fit, but who don’t have time to go to the gym because of a demanding career and social or family obligations. Not that spending hours at a gym is necessary. As you may already know, you always have access to a gym—your own body! Bodyweight training has proved its worth many times over, not just for elite Special Operations troops, but also for everyone who has tried it.

People of all ages, with widely varying objectives, have started following my bodyweight training principles. Formerly insecure, out-of-shape men and women have transformed themselves into strong, self-confident athletes; seniors who thought that exercise was no longer an option have won a new lease on life by regaining strength and flexibility, even at an advanced age. One thing unites them all: whenever and wherever people have worked out using the Mark Lauren bodyweight training methods, they have been successful—without having to pay for expensive gym memberships or fitness equipment, and above all, with a time/results ratio that is second to none.

These advantages are probably the reason why Mark Lauren products are now familiar to millions of people all over the world: in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland alone, more than a million people keep themselves fit using my bodyweight training concept. I continue to develop the Mark Lauren product line (available at www.MarkLauren.com), including this book, because I want as many people as possible to enjoy success with my very simple methods. I want you to be successful! The messages I’ve been receiving from those who follow the program attest to its effectiveness. It’s such a pleasure when someone writes to me saying, “Mark, you changed my life.” Or when someone starts using my program and finally manages to lose weight and build strength that helps with the everyday challenges of life. I love it when my training program helps people to become stronger, healthier, and, at the end of the day, happier.

For myself, bodyweight training is an irreplaceable part of my life, because it gives me agency. We can’t control the world, but we can control ourselves—and ultimately, it is only this feeling of mastery that gives us the power to influence our environment. Working out is a metaphor for life itself: we set targets, we get started, we don’t give up—and in the end we are successful. The journey is hard, it demands everything from us, and when we achieve our goals, we are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment and strengthened resolve.

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge for Women is the same. You may struggle as you push yourself to new limits. But when you finish, you will be proud of your achievements and your new body. You’ll also find that your confidence, willpower, and ability to withstand all kinds of pain will improve dramatically. Week after week, you will work out hard, eat mindfully, and continue to learn. It is my most sincere wish that when your Challenge is complete, you too will say, “Mark, you changed my life!” I would be honored.

What makes bodyweight training so effective?

Classic strength training, using machines found in most gyms, isolates individual muscles and stimulates them in a way that we never replicate in real life. The movements the machines require are often almost comically distant from reality. When was the last time, besides in a gym, you lay down on your stomach and started bending your legs?

My bodyweight training method is functional, improving the movements we use in daily life. It improves your balance and coordination, and it greatly increases resistance to injury. Every exercise in each of the movement categories—pushing, pulling, bending, and squatting—also strengthens and targets the core. You’ll learn to use your body as a cohesive whole, rather than as isolated parts.

Anyone who uses my bodyweight training programs understands that we train for function (e.g., walking, running, climbing stairs, sports), and that form follows function, not the other way round. I firmly believe that a training program that corresponds to the demands of life outside of the gym is what’s most effective in improving both performance and aesthetic appearance.

If you work out systematically, you will get stronger and have more energy. You will strengthen your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and you’ll improve your muscular endurance. Speed, balance, coordination, and flexibility will all benefit. A systematic approach will improve your posture and help you move more gracefully. And of course, you will look better, too.

What are the advantages of the 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge program?

It’s easy to be seduced by the promises of the health and fitness industry: if you join a fancy gym or buy an expensive supplement, then a successful outcome is somehow magically guaranteed. Of course the main beneficiaries are the companies who sold you their products. However, getting in shape doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. You don’t need a gym, and you don’t need any trendy equipment or classes. It really is so simple (and cheap) to get healthier, stronger, and more attractive. The only things you need are knowledge and motivation: the know-how to use your own body as a fitness center, and the motivation to start a program and stick with it. That is the essence of my bodyweight training method.

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge makes working out without gym equipment simpler, and at the same time harder. Simpler, because I tell you exactly how to train and how to eat. There’s no need for you to put together different exercises and training plans yourself. All you have to do is follow my program for 90 days. Harder, because this is an intensive program, which means you have to put complete focus on your fitness for a set amount of time every day in order to achieve the best results.

If this is your first taste of an exercise regime, the Challenge will be like a fitness boot camp. You’ll learn everything you need to know, step by step, to get into the best shape possible and to live a healthy lifestyle. If you already have training experience, the Challenge will help you fine-tune your form, accelerate your progress, and enhance your well-being.

What I demand from you is this: during our 30-minute workouts, three or four times a week, be prepared to give everything. And during these 90 days, say goodbye to one or two old habits. If you want to look like an athlete, you have to train like an athlete!

In addition to saving money, bodyweight training offers advantages that other types of exercise do not. You can work out anywhere: at home, on a business trip, on vacation, indoors or outdoors. Hey, you have your own personal gym right there with you.

My program provides variations for many of the exercises, so that it may be easily modified for people with widely varying fitness levels. Even my grandmother can do push-ups, by supporting herself on a table with her hands. Far too easy, you say? Then try doing push-ups with your feet up on a chair! You can adjust the difficulty level for all of the other Challenge exercises using these types of tricks. In this program, I provide three levels of difficulty for each workout, either by increasing the number of reps or performance time, or by changing the difficulty of the exercises.

What about cardio? Perhaps you’re thinking: “Why don’t I go for a run three times a week like my friend Alicia? She seems pretty fit to me.” Look, it doesn’t matter whether you want to burn fat, or strengthen and tone your body, or both. Traditional endurance training, such as jogging, simply cannot compete with high-intensity bodyweight strength training. Endurance training may strengthen slow-twitch muscles, but it doesn’t develop the fast-twitch muscles needed for strength, an efficient metabolism, and overall fitness.

We can see the results of this most clearly in professional long-distance runners, who are mostly very thin—downright scrawny—but who lack balanced muscle tone. And honestly, being very thin is not the same as being very healthy and attractive.

During The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge you will work out in intervals—and that does not mean taking your time moving from one fitness station to another, like many people do at the gym. We’ll work in short, high-intensity units: 15 to 25 minutes spent alternating between maximum effort and brief rest periods. These workouts are a real challenge for your cardiovascular system because they engage many muscles at once. To achieve the best results, every second counts. Dead time and distractions (put away your smartphone!) have no place here.

Interval training burns calories like a furnace and produces positive changes in body composition faster and more effectively than any other form of strength training. High-intensity exercise increases the “afterburn effect”—the body uses up more energy (calories) from carbohydrates and subsequently fat to recover, repairing muscles, strengthening ligaments and tendons, increasing bone density, and making neurological adaptations. It’s hard work, no doubt; but no other form of exercise gives you better results for your sweat in so little time. Increasing your body’s percentage of muscle mass will boost your metabolism and the afterburn effect.

Take this simple calculation: the body requires around 9 calories a day to maintain 1 lb. (.45 kg)* of muscle mass. Building up and maintaining an extra 5 lb. (2.25 kg) of muscle mass will cause it to burn around 1,350 calories a month—giving you a metabolic boost, even while at rest!

If you want to get as fit as possible as fast as possible, interval strength training is your fast-track to success! Yes, it requires some hard work and motivation. But taking on the Challenge means following the most convenient and effective fitness concept to date. And you’ll be able to treat yourself to something nice using the money you saved on expensive gadgets, supplements, or gym memberships.

HOO-YA!

You will come across “Hoo-ya!” boxes many times in this book. They provide information that offers you a deeper insight into the topic on that page, or an extra building block of fitness knowledge. “Hoo-ya!” is a U.S. Special Forces battle cry and can be traced back to Native Americans. “Give me more!” is a rough translation. They would shout “Hoo-ya!” before a battle, letting the enemy know in no uncertain terms what to expect. You can see why Special Forces adopted the expression.

* This book uses U.S. measurements with metric equivalents in parentheses, unless otherwise noted.

Dispelling myths about women, exercise, and the feminine ideal

You’ve probably heard plenty of misinformation about fitness for women, so right now it’s time to hit the reset button. We’re starting over!

The fitness industry often tries to sell “gentle” training concepts for women. This is sexist nonsense! In terms of training, a woman’s body works very similarly to a man’s. Many women think they don’t need to sweat when they work out. They’re hoping to attain their ideal body by doing lots of repetitions with light weights, taking classes that focus on one area of the body, or pedaling at an easy, steady pace on stationary bicycles. It’s a waste of time! Body- weight training is so effective because the exercises work more than one muscle group at a time at a pace that makes us sweat. It focuses on improving all of the possible fitness components: body composition, cardiovascular performance, strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility. The more intensity we bring to our workouts, the better the results.

Our culture has a distorted image of the perfect female body. We see celebrities and models in fashion magazines and other media, which convey the message that beautiful women need to be as skinny as possible. It makes my blood boil when I see these unhealthy images. Too many women still struggle to emulate this absurd, unhealthy ideal by keeping their weight down at all costs. They constantly go on extreme diets and endure the classic yo-yo effect of losing and regaining weight. They’re unable to enjoy eating and don’t realize that good food is vital to keep their bodies functioning well. Even if their weight is under control, their bodies may be weak. They don’t have enough strength to play sports or even to climb stairs, carry groceries, or sprint to catch a bus. Many women spend hours doing endurance activities thinking they’re going to burn as many calories as possible.

Nowhere else are promises so lightly made and tricks so casually employed as in the health and fitness industry. Don’t be fooled by the super thin, hard-body models on magazine covers. Those photos are almost always the product of extreme diets and the magic of Photoshop® editing. Every perceived blemish is polished over and every curve is digitally enhanced. Don’t get me wrong, the models still deserve credit, but I assure you they don’t walk around looking like that on a daily basis. And forget traditional bodybuilding, which has very little functional value outside of the gym; the moves often lead to injuries and long-term health problems.

As I explained earlier, high-intensity bodyweight training is a faster, dramatically more effective way to build strength, tone muscles, and rev up the metabolism. Thoroughly trained muscles won’t just make you look great. They’ll make you feel stronger, more resilient, and self-confident. A powerful, well-defined figure represents true beauty and fitness.

Why men exercise

There are many reasons to exercise regularly. Let’s start with the most obvious ones: an attractive, athletic physique gives you sex appeal and selfconfidence. A firm, flat stomach with defined arms and toned legs simply looks good and attracts the admiration of others, including potential mates.

Do you cringe when you see yourself in the mirror, or do you smile with satisfaction about your appearance? A woman who likes her body, and who clearly has the self-discipline to take care of herself, is perceived quite differently than someone who shuffles past, hunched over and tentative. A healthy body is a fundamental source of confidence and represents true excellence. If you have good posture, firm muscles, and a graceful walk, you’ll make a lasting impression, whether you’re wearing business attire or a bikini.

In addition to wanting to look and feel good right now, you probably want to stay as healthy as possible for the rest of your life. Working out keeps your heart, lungs, and circulation in good working order. You’re more likely to avoid injury and illness, in both the short and the long run, if you exercise regularly. I often hear people who don’t exercise and who eat indiscriminately say: “Life is for living.” I always think to myself: “Let’s talk again in 20 years.” Trust me, you will enjoy your splurges more—and live longer—by demonstrating a little self-control and moderation. Think of your occasional sacrifices as investments in your future!

Confidence in our appearance and physical abilities gives us the confidence to face challenges in other aspects of our life. Even if you’re one of those rare creatures born with a naturally great-looking body, you still have to work hard to achieve true fitness. People who work out with purpose and discipline have learned to focus—and to push themselves past their comfort zone a bit, if that’s what’s needed. They set goals and work hard to reach them. They know how to prioritize, putting the most effort into exercises that give the best results in the shortest amount of time. They eat healthy foods that nourish the body and support their physical exertions.

This book might be your first experience with a systematic exercise program—or your reintroduction after a long break. Either way, rest assured that you aren’t wasting your time relying on low-intensity cardio, supplements, or an overpriced gym. You have chosen the most direct route to your goal, the straightest line between where you are now and where you want to be. Try not to be distracted by society’s outdated notions of beauty and fitness, and stay focused on the journey ahead.

Fitness is made up of many components, including strength, speed, power, balance, coordination, and stamina. The workouts in this book address all of these. I’ll explain how to move properly so you can improve each of these vital factors. That’s what makes my program so effective. If you keep working on developing efficient movement patterns, using your bodyweight for resistance, then a beautiful, fit body will be the natural outcome.

Train hard regularly, eat well, and rest when you need to. The goal here is to bring the best out of you and your body over the next 90 days. An active, more fulfilling life is yours for the taking!

Strength training: How it works

This book is not a scientific treatise. Nevertheless, strength training causes changes in your body, and you should understand the basic principles behind them.

When you work out (i.e., when you put significantly more strain on your muscles than normal), the parts of the body involved are damaged on a microscopic level. Sound unhealthy? It really isn’t. Your body doesn’t just repair the damage in the muscles; it strengthens the damaged structures in preparation for the next time they are put under stress. This is an aspect of what is known as supercompensation, and it is the principle we use to make our muscles stronger and stronger. In effect, we force our bodies to adapt to more intense stimuli and more demanding tasks.

Picture it like this: a sheet of paper represents a muscle. You work out—and the paper tears a little at the edge. After the workout, the body adapts—you tape up the tear. That part of the paper is actually now stronger than before. This is supercompensation. And so it goes, step by step, workout by workout. Your muscles become more resistant, and therefore more developed too. Take a look at this diagram, which illustrates the concept of supercompensation:

If a period of stress is followed by an appropriate recovery phase, the body responds with supercompensation.

It’s not just the muscular system that adapts to overload. The cardiovascular and nervous systems also adapt. For example, the transport of nutrients in the blood works more efficiently, and muscular contractions are better coordinated.

Months of low-intensity and low-resistance workouts don’t provide your body with enough impetus to adjust and become stronger. Regrettably, however, fitness studios all over the world continue to tell women to do precisely that type of training.

It’s worth repeating: bodyweight training at high intensity for 30 minutes, three or four times a week or more, will exponentially increase your strength and injury resistance. To say nothing of that priceless feeling of well-being. When you exercise and maintain an active lifestyle, it’s almost impossible not to like yourself.

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge: What to expect

Whether you are already using any of my other products available on www.MarkLauren.com, such as You Are Your Own Gym, or you’re starting from scratch, it doesn’t matter. Either way, The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge will provide you with new techniques and advice that produce clear-cut results. This is an intensive exercise and lifestyle program that is unlike anything else. Be prepared for significant changes in how you look, move, feel, and think!

Why 90 days? On the one hand, this time frame is short enough to be tackled with full commitment of mind and body. On the other, it’s long enough for fundamental lifestyle changes to take root. In three months you will be in the best condition of your life—stronger, healthier, and more confident than you’ve ever been, with the knowledge and resolve to continue for the rest of your life. I will tell you everything you need to know and do to achieve that.

Just follow my instructions to the letter. You will work out three or four times a week. On the off days, we will focus on regeneration, nutrition, or lifestyle. Each day, you will have at least one task to complete (and sometimes a bonus task as well). It’s critical that you complete all of them—this is the challenge you accepted with this book. The program will be tough on you, that is clear. Without a doubt, you will be pushed to your physical limits, and even be forced to reexamine some other aspects of your life. But hey, you bought this book because you want to change something about your life, which first requires a change in thinking. Seize that chance, and accept these challenges for the next 90 days. I will support you every step of the way. I know exactly how it feels to draw on everything you’ve got and claw your way to the finish. Chances are, you’ll reach a point during one of the workouts where you want to punt this book across the room and hurl some choice words at me. No worries. Just get through it, however you can, and keep coming back!

Take note: Today’s chore is tomorrow’s good habit! The information and instruction I give you on any given day goes forward into the rest of the challenge—and hopefully, the rest of your life as well.

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge Schedule

Weeks 1 to 4

Weeks 5 to 13

We’re going to work our way forward, step by step, starting with the basics and progressing to more advanced, fine-tuned techniques. In the first four weeks we build the foundation of a successful exercise regime, integrated with a nutritious diet, optimal hydration, a winning attitude, and sufficient rest—sleep being of critical importance. For the following four weeks, we increase the number of workouts per week, and focus on the habits of your daily life. You’ll learn how to eat properly, how to overcome difficult circumstances or obstacles to help you complete the Challenge, and how to occasionally treat yourself with a clear conscience. In the final part of the program we ensure that your new way of life takes deep root. We prepare you for an active, enjoyable lifestyle that becomes your “new normal.” The 13 weeks of the Challenge look like this:

Coaching, Week by Week

Week 1The perfect dietWeek 2Drink as much as you can—but no calories!Week 3Your goals—KO each workoutWeek 4Sleep—the silver bulletWeek 5Plan right, eat rightWeek 6Overcoming the toughest obstaclesWeek 7Temptation and how to resist itWeek 8Smart rewardsWeek 9Supplements—fact and fictionWeek 10The soundtrack to your life!Week 11Fitness is funWeek 12Fit for life!Week 13Final Checklist, Parts I and II

To better plan your daily routine, always look over tomorrow’s schedule today. That way, you know whether to expect a workout or a recovery/coaching day, and you can think about fitting it into your schedule. However, there is little to be gained by planning more than a day in advance. Simply focus on your tasks for the day and be alert and motivated as you go about completing them. Besides, surprises are definitely more exciting than spoilers. Your most important objective for The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge: Finish it! And “finished” means that all the individual assignments have been completed in full. If you can do that, you will also reach your personal goals, improving both your mind and your body.

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge: This is how you train

Each training unit has the same structure: first the warm-up, then the workout, and finally the cooldown. The workouts themselves never give you a chance to slack off. You have a specific time frame in which to train, or the given workout is to be done as quickly as possible. In some cases the work and rest periods are fixed. In others, you stop when you reach a specific number of sets and repetitions. To ensure that everyone trains at the right level—being taken up to but not beyond their limits for 90 days—all workouts come in three cumulative intensity levels. Right at the start of the Challenge, and then again at the beginning of each week (and later every second week), you have the option of going up a level and tackling even more ambitious exercises. But technique always comes first! Be honest with yourself: only when you can complete the exercises exactly as required, with perfect form, can you claim to have met the standard. To increase your flexibility and coordination, you can also complete an additional series of agility exercises every seventh day. If you’re not totally familiar with the individual exercises, read through the descriptions and practice the movements the evening before the workout, so that you will be comfortable with them when it’s time to do them the next day.

During the first four weeks, you will train three times a week. Once your body has grown accustomed to the workload, we increase the volume: during weeks 5 through 13, you will train four times a week. Sound like a lot? You won’t need more than half an hour for each workout. You should always be able to manage that, even if you are on vacation or a business trip.

Yes, it is going to be hard! But the program is designed to ensure your success, and I’ll be with you each step of the way. So give it your all, and don’t disappoint me—or yourself!

The 90-Day Bodyweight Challenge: Eat to win

Women’s goals can vary widely when it comes to improving their bodies. For some, it’s all about losing weight. Some want to shape and tone, while others want to develop their muscles. Your personal focus will determine how you eat during the 90 days and beyond.

One rule applies to everyone, though. From Day 1 of the Challenge, eat five meals a day: breakfast—snack—lunch—snack—dinner, all roughly three hours apart. If you aren’t hungry after the fourth meal, you can leave out the last one, especially if losing weight or toning your body is the goal.

Yes, this might mean radically altering your eating habits. And no, this is not up for negotiation. Your diet makes a decisive contribution to your suc- cess—or failure. If you don’t eat right, you sabotage your body. You can find a selection of recipes in the Recipes chapter (page 163). Some are also incorporated into the individual Challenge Days.

Starting on Day 1, choose what appeals to you from the respective categories, or you may look for other appropriate recipes with our guidance. In case you don’t always cook for yourself, we explain the best way to select and plan your meals when you are too busy or on the go. For now, that’s all you need to know—you will learn everything else over the course of the 90 days.