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I Tried the FitFam 10 Workout Challenge

2017-06-20 ShanghaiWOWeng


Training/ Fitness and Diet challenges are all the rage right now. Chefs, managers, pets, even your ayiseem to be doing some quick-fix fitness/diet program, so I decided, why not me? Courtesy of the amazing FitFam community, I decided to give their 10 workout challenge a shot to shred my body. Obviously I survived, as I live to write about it, but it wasnt easy! Heres how the last 2 weeks went down



Shanghai’s lifestyle sometimes feels like adult college but with money, too many parties, too much alcohol, too much food… and before you know what hit you… BOOM- muffin top. Shit. I had no other choice than to sign up for one these intense trainings to get back in fighting shape.

 


THE DEAL


Complete 10 HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)/ Bootcamp style sessions within a two week period. From the 4th of June until the 17th June, more than 200 people registered and took part in the challenge, all willing to get sweaty and dirty in order to push their limits. 


That was my plan, for the next two weeks


The price? RMB50 for the registration and... that’s all. Your commitment to try of course! No kidding. The FitFam organization work as a community where workouts are free. However, please note before you start training with FitFam:


-  Be prepared

The exercise level is high, seriously. Which means if you are not into fitness at all, YOU MUST start by training at a regular fitness club with a sport professional’s advice.


-  Don’t push yourself too much

As FitFam is a free association of people and volunteers, if you get hurt by joining them they can’t be held liable. You workout with FitFam under your own risk and responsibility, so don’t get hurt.


-  First come, first served

Registrations are made via the app or website Eventbank. For any training with FitFam, spots are limited. Registrations for sessions open at 8am or 10am depending on the session, if you don't get in quick, don't bother, there will be no more spots available. The FitFam leaders can’t guarantee you a place. First come, first served. Be quick with those fingers to register.


THE ORGANIZATION


Everything via Wechat


Challengers have all been added into one wechat group in order to get the same information. Shockingly, in total we were 205 people- WOW that’s a lot. To make the challenge a little more interesting they created teams. So you’re not only part of a challenge, you have also a team for motivation!

 


The glorious teams :

The Victorious Secret - The Furious Avocado - The Oodles of Noodles

The Burpee Bombers - The Guns and Peaches - The Dragons

The 海Fivers



Seven teams of around 30 people each, all tracking each others' stats, really forced everyone to step their game up and be accountable.

 

Reach your goal, step by step


In order to control the progress of each person and workout, we registered via Eventbank for each workout, a convenient way to sign up and plan your workout week. Furthermore, we had to send to our team leaders a picture of us at training to prove our participation. After collecting the selfies and group pictures and checking everyone registration, the leaders published daily results into the communal group chat.




THE TRAINING

 

 

Running, HIIT, Yoga, Papas & Pipsqueaks… at 6am, 7am, 9am, 7pm… in 14 different locations around Shanghai. The FitFam community is big, around 1500 active members. Each session is lead by a volunteer. Some are professional sport teachers, others are involved in the fitness industry, some just fitness enthusiasts! Each workout is around one hour and trust me it is going to be tough and make you sweat.

 


Challenge subscribers could do a performance test before and after the ten days to check how much they’ve improved. Some had amazing changes, improving their results by up to 25 %!  WOW!

 


WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF IT?


From our sight

 

 

1 Laundry management


After each workout your sportswear is… disgusting. Full of mud, grass and sweat, super stinky; I did consider just burning them but they were even too wet for that. Plus, you need them clean because the next training is less than 24 hours.


My experience: Dealing with the laundry was very complicated. For sure my roommates didn’t want to mix their delicate dresses with my stinky sweat pants… plus you don’t really want to deal with laundry when you come back home at 10 pm after a training. Sometimes I had to wash them in the sink… no fun.  


The Solution: Buy new clothes!

 

2 SORE, Damn!

 


For the full two weeks, you’ll be sore as hell. In your arms, your butt, your legs… everywhere. That’s your worst enemy. These pains will give you no rest for days. Even (and especially) when you go to the bathroom, you feel every squat youve done in the last few days. Some even wake you up when you are sleeping. No other option than to face them and endure the pain!


My experience: As I’m doing more and more training it wasn’t the worst part, actually I was so proud of my endurance and my strength, that slight muscle soreness was sort of enjoyable!


The Solution:  You can’t avoid getting sore, but you can minimize the pain. Great stretching, drinking a lot of water and consuming more proteins.

 

3 Sleeping



All these work outs make your adrenaline level rise like never before. So, expect a very unusual energy surge. You might be wide awake at 5am, without alarm to assist you, then hit the morning training like a crazy gorilla at 6am, then fall asleep on your desk at 2pm, then can’t stay quiet behind your desk around 5pm. But, when you finally reach bed at 11pm YOU CAN’T SLEEP because your body wants more. Damn!


My experience: I accted like a zombie for a few days… the worst was not being able to sleep at midnight when you have to wake up at 5am!


The Solution:  Having a very peaceful evening after 10pm in order to cool down my body after all the adrenelin. Walk back home listening to relaxing music (no more Metallica), massaging my muscles, taking a cold shower, inhaling essential oils, having a consistent and well-balanced dinner, drink hot water…

 


4 Bye bye parties, hello Burpees  


Today you need to train at 730pm and tomorrow you may have to wake up at 5am, same the day after… face the reality; you can’t go out for a drink. Any spare minute of free time in the day must be dedicated to resting and sleeping. Partying? Meh.


My experience: Friday night Fever? Sorry have to wake up at 5am. Actually I don’t even want to go out anymore, already got enough fun today. Shanghai Sin city? Many say it is impossible to avoid daily drinking. Well, this is the ULTIMATE way to solve a drinking problem.


The Solution: Stop spending money on alcohol and use it to give yourself a better diet. My body was literally asking me for Fruits! Vegetables! Proteins! Water! I must admit Lizzy's All Natural’s smoothies helped me a lot to survive.

 


WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS

 


1 Endorphin


We can’t say the daily training was the difficult part of the challenge, it is actually the best part. It brings you endorphins, in other words- you have the runner’s high, and it is awesome! Your body is completely unstressed, nothing/nobody can piss you off, you don’t want to mess with anything… just sit and be happy. 


2 Friendship



As part of a team (and because its FitFam) you can connect with many people who are on the same routine as you. They understand your soreness, your life choices and feel exactly the same.  


The relationships you build with them is raw and real. No more social classes or business talk, we are all rolling in the dirt on an equal footing. You have time to get to know people out of their comfort zone or normal setting, which often leads you to develop stronger bonds with them.

 


I must confess even off FitFam hours, I tend to spend time with other FitFammers because they are “clean” people. Many of those who participate and contribute to FitFam are also great aspirations in my life, inspiring and creative. Clean mind in a clean body, these are the kind of friends we all want and need right?

 


3 Get fit

Let’s not kid ourselves of the biggest reason most people work out though: to look freaking amazing. During the challenge I feel my legs, my arms and my core changing. Better diet, better lifestyle, better balance… Your body and your mind get stronger. It is like becoming a better version of you. Awesome.

 


4 Become more efficient

At work, at home, in your relationships… you react faster and stop losing time thinking about small/ insignificant details. Furthermore my house, my clothes, my desk have never been this clean before! As my body was getting cleaner, I felt the need to clean my environment too. I guess this is what happens when you wake up full of energy.


DID I SUCCEED ?


11 work outs in 14 days, so it is a definite yes!

 

Work hard, play hard! We even held a party to celebrate our success !  

 


What does it bring? Energy, happiness and self esteem.

Why you should do it? Simply if you want to feel better.

You should not do it if: you don’t know your body's capabilities and you're not used to doing sports or physical activity. SAFETY FIRST!

 

How to get in touch with the fitfam: https://www.fitfamshanghai.com/

Wechat: FitFamShanghai 


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