HOW TO WIN THE
MoDa
TEAM VALKYRIES FITNESS CHALLENGE
There aren't any secrets. It's very simple: push-ups. Anyone can practice them, anywhere, with no equipment or help. You don't need to be fast. Or "athletic." We wanted it to be that way so all of you have a chance to win.
It's like your schoolwork -most of it doesn't require you to be "smart": you just need to spend a little time working with or practicing it. If you've practiced enough, tests are easy. If you've practiced push-ups, our contest is even easier - you even know exactly what's going to be on the test!
BASIC TRAINING
Every other day. That's all you need. Not every day -your body rebuilds during recovery, not during exercise. Set aside ten minutes each day at home, either before a meal or at least an hour after eating, to practice them. Do them as part of your warm-up before team practice or games. And feel free to take a day off now and then... you'll come back stronger. The important thing is that you are practicing them several times every week, and pushing yourself to do more.
Get a piece of paper and write this on it:
DATE REPETITIONS
Write down the number of repetitions after each practice.
At first, don't push too hard; let your body get used to the exercises. No matter how difficult this seems to you at first, it will get easier!
After a week, start trying to do as many reps as possible. Don't worry about timing yourself yet. Just do as many repetitions as you can. The first time you try this you may be sore afterward. Congratulations- you just woke up some sleeping muscles! Once they're awake, they won't get sore again... as long as you keep them awake by exercising them regularly.
Each day, try to add at least one repetition. Some days, it won't happen. Don't worry about it... the body needs more time to recover. But at the end of each week, you should be ahead by at least a few reps.
Pay attention to form. Fifty sloppy repetitions mean nothing in the competition, because they won't count! Is your back straight? Are you getting down far enough and up far enough? If you're not sure, have a friend or family-member check you. This is important because this is a CONTEST and we will judge every repetition very strictly! For a guide to correct form click here. We recommend you go further down in your practice repetitions than you need to for the contest. When in doubt, go all-out! The harder you make your practices, the easier the contest will be.
Practice with your team-mate. Challenge each other. Bet each other. Make it competitive. You will do more repetitions... guaranteed!
ADVANCED TRAINING
Take it to the next level. Ok, we lied a little bit about there being no secrets... this is something of a secret to a lot of people, but it's common knowledge to serious athletes and weight-lifters. We'll call it the "Overload Principle" here. This is how it works:
Once you can do a lot of push-ups easily, find a way to make them harder. Do the push-ups wearing your backpack (with some heavy books in it!) Or with a friend pushing down on your back.
With your feet on a chair... or higher! How 'bout this?
NOW, go back and do your normal repetitions... wow, how did they get so easy???
OTHER STUFF
It goes without saying that if you're not eating correctly or getting enough sleep, you're probably wasting your time with this. There's plenty of good information in your library, in magazines, and on the Web (click on our RESOURCES page), so we won't lecture you about food other than to offer the basics: never skip meals (especially breakfast!), be sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, and avoid sugar (that includes sodas, candy, cookies, cakes etc). Much of our population spends $33 billion a year in the diet/weight-loss industry...and we KNOW you're smarter than they are!
Now... get training, and we'll look for you and your team at the contest! Good Luck!
