Ever had someone ask you what you would bring with you if you were stuck on a deserted island for all eternity?  The one item you absolutely couldn’t live without; the thing that would get you by during all of those long, lonely days.  While any scenario that excludes the need for food at water may not be the most realistic, it does force you to think about the one thing you absolutely cannot live with out.

I was entertaining this line of thinking just the other day.  Except there was no island in this scenario.  Just endless masses of people looking for that magic bullet – the quick fix that would solve all of their fitness worries.  I’ve come to learn that no matter what kind of guidance you give, no matter how scaled back you make your workouts, some people are just out of reach.  They just don’t have the willpower to follow through.

It’s with these people in mind that I turned my attention to an ultra-scaled back approach to fitness.  If I could get someone to do just one thing to most efficiently improve their lives and health, what would it be?  While doing some thinking, I recalled a Fitness Challenge I wrote about several years back.  In a moment of pure creativity, I named this fitness challenge the Great Push Up Challenge.  As you probably guessed, the premise was simple, follow a set schedule with the goal of working your wa to completion of 100 continuous push ups.

Thinking a little further, 100 continuous push ups isn’t really for the faint of heart; much less those having issues sticking to a set schedule. But there’s no denying the benefits of the push up.  An all-around fantastic exercise, the push-up hits the shoulders, chest, abs, lower back, triceps, as well as muscles in the lower body.  It really is that “deserted island” exercise.  So with that in mind, I want to introduce you to a similar, but different challenge, that I can guarantee will get you in to freakishly awesome shape EVEN IF you do nothing else.  And perhaps the best part is, it’s so simple, you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a try for the next few months.

The 1,000 Push Up Fitness Challenge

First off, we’re going to eliminate the idea that you’ve got to complete X number of push ups in a row. Or that you’ve got to do X number of push ups per day.  With this fitness challenge, the choice is yours.  You determine exactly how many and how often you do your push ups.  The only condition I give you is the total push ups to complete in one month.  Brace yourselves – we’re shooting for 1000 push ups per month.  Really though, it’s not that terrible.  It works out to about 33 push ups per day.  But 33 push ups in a single day is nothing…you’ve got this.

While 1,000 push ups is a somewhat arbitrary number, the end goal of this challenge is anything but.  We’re going to add muscle to your body, build strength, significantly tighten your core, and build lower body stability. Over time, the muscle and strength increases are going to lead to a heightened metabolism, leading to greater caloric burn, faster fat loss, and an overall leaner body.

Seriously.  Don’t feel like doing cardio?  Then don’t.  Don’t want to track your weights?  Forget about it.  Going to the gym too much of a pain?  Stay at home. This is a completely stripped down, bare-bones plan that will STILL up your fitness game and leave you looking better naked.   But of course, if you want to incorporate this into your current fitness program, feel free.  I’ve added 1,000 push ups to my current routine four months ago and it’s given me a real shot in the arm.  Gains are coming bigger, faster, and without plateaus these days.  The 1,000 Push Up Challenge really is that powerful.

So give it a shot, you literally have nothing to lose. Just be sure to give it a fighting chance to really change you.  I’m asking for 90 days here.  Ninety days to see what 1,000 push ups a month can do you for you.  And if you’re like nearly anyone I’ve met who has accepted the challenge, it’ll change you in ways you never thought possible.