Five At Five – A Seven Day Challenge From Primal Stride
by Seth Simonds
My alarm clock will begin shrieking at 5am on Friday, January 1st, 2010. I will long to shut it off and continue sleeping away my life, but I won’t. I’ll get out of bed, slip into my running shoes, and stumble out the door into the pre-game light of the day.
I’ll be participating in Five At Five — the first Primal Stride Challenge of 2010. Sound like a boat load of misery? It won’t be. Misery would be me making yet another New Year’s resolution that dies by the second week of January because I didn’t set realistic goals or get my friends involved.
This challenge seeks to fix that.
What’s the big deal about Primal Stride challenges?
Each challenge is only seven days long and has two parts:
- Exercise – Each challenge will include a physical element. A certain distance to cover, number of crunches, plie squats, or possibly sitting still and watching TV (unlikely).
- Health – From food to friendship, body image to sleep, we’ll be tackling a different side of health each week!
Instead of trying to make a change for an entire year, Primal Stride challenges will give you the opportunity to try something new for a week. If you like it, you can keep doing it! If not, that’s okay. We’re trying to discover what works for us as individuals, not create another rule book.
HUGE NOTE: This is a community thing. If enough of y’all decide you want to take a week for a single challenge, we can give that a try. I really want to avoid challenges that are directly weight-related though.
What are the rules?
Some general rules:
- Each challenge is seven (7) days long.
- Each challenge will include an exercise and general health task to be completed each day.
- You get one free pass each week to use in case the sky falls and you can’t complete one of your tasks. If you don’t use the pass, it cannot be carried forward to the next week.
- Sign up for each challenge is done by leaving a comment on the challenge post on http://primalstride.com.
- Daily check-ins are not mandatory but strongly suggested. If you are blogging about your experience, make sure to leave a link in your comment so we can come fiiiiind you! If you’re not blogging but want to keep up with each challenge, I’ll be publishing a challenge post each day that you can update with your progress.
- You may customize the challenges to work within the limitations of your life. When you leave a comment to sign up for a challenge, just make sure to include your changes so we can hold you to them for the coming week!
Individual challenge rules trump those listed above in the case of a dispute.
Make sense?
Now, for the first challenge!
Primal Stride Challenge I – Five At Five
Begins: 12:01am Friday, January 1st, 2010
Ends: 11:59pm Thursday, January 7th, 2010
THE CHALLENGE:
Exercise: 5 kilometers each and every day – You may walk, jog, run, sprint… whatever gets you to the goal.
Health: Get out of bed at 5am each morning – It’s your chance to start the year off as an early riser! Try it for a week!
Remember: You can customize the distance and waking time to suit your needs. Just make sure to include the changes when you sign up by leaving a comment!
THE RESULT:
It’s possible that by day 7 you will either be grinning or groaning. Perhaps both. No matter how you feel, if you are able to complete this challenge you will have solid proof that you can follow through on things you promise yourself.
Additionally, you’ll meet other cool people, perhaps make a new friend, and have joy in the knowledge that you’ve made a real effort to improve your health.
Does that sound good to you? I hope it does! I want some friends to celebrate with at the end of the week! =)
If you have any questions, thoughts, or just want to sign up for the challenge, leave a comment!
UPDATE: Look for a post on Friday (Jan 1) morning with a list of all “registered” participants with relevant contact information (Twitter & blog). I’ll be updating each day during the challenge so we’ll have a space to discuss our progress.
If you are going to be blogging about your Challenge experience, make sure to send me a link so we can come over and encourage you!
Comments
Fantastic idea, fantastic!
how far is 5 Kilometers – silly question – but – I suck at converting kilometers to miles
5:00? Youch! That is a tad early for me. I’ll push that back to 7:00 which is .5 hour earlier than normal. I’m also not sure of what the distance I’ll be doing is since it will be on snowshoes in my back 40. It will definitely not be 5km, but I expect about 1-2km but I’ll have to check out Google maps to see what distance my route entails.
Also, the Jan 1 may be a tad after 7:00 8=)
I’m in for a weekly challenge….although the getting up at 5 would actually require that I sleep IN until 5 instead or rolling out at 4.
Last Christmas ‘08, I weighed over 200. At 51yo, I finally made the decision. I changed my life. I quit alcohol, sugar and breads. I get up every morning at 5-6. I have been unemployed, so I revamped the house. Scrubbed, scraped, painted, packed, you name it. Through the months, I dropped red meat. (Once I understood that it takes 3 days! for that steak to “rot” in your body before you pass it..that was enough for me. I eat fresh, pure food. I’m never hungry., nor do I care to waste my money eating out.
If you have the will, your only obligation is to yourself. For me, my “motto” became, “It’s not an option.” period.
Now, I’m 130lbs. 5′8. It’s all about choice.
Good luck to all that join in. I know you’ll succeed!!!
3.1 miles. Not so bad. =)
Consistency will get you the win. I’m psyched that you’re joining!
Um, perhaps you should go to bed earlier and have that be the goal? I’d think that would be a decent customization. =)
Hehe, you’re so very hardcore. =)
I’m not sure about the steak. I don’t think the body has a selective retainment system. Sounds gross though either way!
I have the will, I’d just like to get some others involved. For me, and for many others, this isn’t just about losing weight. (Notice that losing lbs isn’t part of the challenge) It’s about getting healthier.
“It’s not an option.”
No chocolate? =) Thanks for all your encouragement Nancy!
love it. I am in. It’s on like Donkey Kong.
making myself a priority has always been such a challenge for me especially past couple of years plus I had a hip injury and w/it came back weight gain, bit of depression etc… starting over has been mind numbing at times for me…I’ve isolated myself from even some of my closet friends but I’m really armed & ready with what I’ve learned to start ‘10 off right…time for mama to get her groove back
…
I’ve had “getting up earlier” on my mind for quite some time now…so I’m in 5k at 5am! plus I will add to it a minimum of 100 kettlebell swings daily…
Also will not get out of bed w/o a positive attitude & remind myself daily that I AM worth it regardless of the things going on around me….I am my own priority!
You’re right it’s not about the weight…it’s all about the lifestyle changes that will last!
I’m in. I will be doing 1.5-2 miles at 5:30am. It’s possible I will be up earlier because I have a 7 month old that gets up sometime between 4:30 and 5:30 for his last “sleeping bottle” (last bottle he drinks asleep)…so I’ll just stay up whenever he wakes me up. I will also be working to drink more water and eat fresher foods.
Okay, okay, Seth, you nagged me enough.
I’m in. With major changes.
Exercise: 15 laps around my garden. I don’t know the total distance, but would guess it’s probably in the neighborhood of 1/4-1/3 of a mile. I know, it’s not long, but I have mitigating circumstances, including but not limited to joints that dislocate very easily. This is about as much as I could do without causing joint/muscle damage. And it’s more than I’m doing now, so it’s still an improvement.
Health: Getting out of bed at 6:30am. That’s a good time for me.
I reserve the right to have more than one bad day a week throughout the entire challenge. I can’t predict how my joints/health will be at any given point. I will, however, do my best to limit those bad days to days where it would do me more harm than good to do the challenge.
Fair enough?
I’m thinking about putting this on my blog, too, but haven’t decided yet.
Hopefully you’ll get lucky and you won’t have a single bad day! I’m excited to have you! I wish I had a big garden to walk through. Someday… =)
I didn’t say I had a big garden, but Fahim and I make it work for us.
I am so in!
*Getting my workout tunes ready for the 5am adrenaline rush!*
~Kellie
Ok, I’m in. This first challenge will be ROUGH. I’m REALLY NOT a morning person, but I’ve been thinking it would be better for me to exercise in the morning. So many things come up in the evening that end up bumping the exercise routine to the next day or I end up doing it at midnight.
If you ever do something that requires late night workouts, I’m all over it! ha ha
I’ve also challenged my daughters to join me. Thanks for managing all this. I look forward to the accountability and community. HAPPY NEW YOU YEAR!
ugh. 5AM. can that be noon? Fatherhood, with two kids out of school for the week and two in diapers means I get to bend the rules — as long as I do 3.1 miles, which I am totally game for. BTW — I’ll be pushing a stroller the entire time
FINE. Count me in.
BTW, T & I made a bet as to who loses the highest percentage toward goal weights. $500 to winner.
What’s your customization? This challenge isn’t about weight. Distance, wake time.
Pick your poison. =)
Seth, I’m soooo in!!!! I can do 3.1 miles. In fact this is a great training opportunity for me as one of my fitness goals is to participate in a 5K this summer.
Sleep time / Wake-up time. I
Instead of running outside, I’ll be running up and down steps being as we’re isolated in crazy snow world.
Going for at least 100 up/down steps. We have pretty high ceilings, so they’re like two regular sets of steps, split at a landing.
Weight goal is just an aside. Happy that it was T’s suggestion and that he’s on board.
I’m in!
Customization – wake at 6:00 rather than 5:00. Aside from the last two weeks (winter break for the kids), I’ve been waking at about 6:30, so a 6:00 wake is still pushing me to go to bed earlier so I can wake earlier, in addition to giving me more “me” time before the kids get up.
And I’m happy to see 5K. I got myself up to doing 5K events a couple summers ago and let it slip out of focus when I lost my job.
hell yeah i’m in! =D i love waking up at 5. today i “slept in” til 7:37.
5k? gotcha. i’ll try blogging about it too, otherwise i’ll come back and post progress.
wow! what an idea! count me in
I’m in. As much as I enjoy sleepin in or at least sleeping till my 2 and 4 year old wake up this could be great for me.
I’m gonna give it a go! :0
This is pushing my comfort zone.
Count me in.
It used to take me 1 hour to do 3 miles. That was a while ago, and this time I’ll be in snow. I’ll do 1 hour or 3 miles; whichever comes first.
5 a.m….I can do that for a week.
I’ll probably include it in my blog http://fitby41maybe42.blogspot.com/
I’m nervous already.
I am in with some modification. I will start Monday, January 4th. I know…I know but that is how I function – Monday to Monday. I will get up at 6:30 a.m. and work out for a minimum of one hour per day.
Thanks for the “team work” atmosphere.
Sarah
I’m in but with my knees I better start slower. I’ll get up at 5 am and 15 minute walks each day.
Okay, this sounds very cool. I love that they are mini challenges! Although I would love to try getting up that early, my Mom won’t let me. I’m a growing girl, so I need my sleep. Instead, I’m going to be more active when I wake up. Get up and be awake! For the distance, I’ll do 3 km of either walking or snowshoeing. Thanks for this, I can’t wait!
[...] first challenge which starts on January 1, 2010 is the Five at Five Challenge — rise at 5:00 am and cover 5km either walking, running, cycling, etc. You can adapt the [...]
Made a post of my intentions on Howls: http://blogs.wolfpawroad.com/preparation/fitness/2009/12/primalstride-challenge-five-at-five/
I can’t back out now! Wishing everyone who’s participating a wonderful (and bleary eyed) week.
I’m in! This is exactly what I’m looking for to kick off the new year. Getting up early…ugh. That will be a struggle and a challenge, for sure! This is a great idea…thanks, and Happy New Year!
I could never commit to 5am for more than 7 days. I’m pretty sure I’ll be groaning, but I’ll be grinning at the accomplishment of getting myself out of bed at 5am to exercise for 7 consecutive days.
Heya Seth! This is my first time commenting. I’m in with a slight mod, I can do the walking just fine, just have to wake up at 7 my work schedule doesn’t let me get to sleep early enough to wake up at 5 lol
I’m excited for this! Good luck to everyone. I will be blogging about it
I’m definitely in
This is my weightloss blog: http://lxxiii.blogspot.com
And my twitter is @simohaf
And I may push the waking up time to 6 AM rather than 5 .. but I’m not sure yet ..
Hey Seth,
Thanks for stopping by at my blog!
I’ll be getting up at 5, and enjoying the serenity! And then getting to my 5km early/and later in the day when earlier isn’t possible.
I love the idea of 7 day challenges.
Thanks
Love the idea! I’m not participating exactly – since I have a training program that starts on Jan 4th – but I will participate from Jan.1 – Jan.4th (and then do my workouts till the 7th). Consistency with workouts was a fail in 2009 so I’m looking to doing challenges to help keep me motivated in 2010.
Seth – This is a great idea! I’m in. I have on question – why 5am? Is there something magical about getting up at that ungodly hour or did you just choose 5am because it makes a nice title?
I just started a video series and this was my first goal to feel better while taping it – to get physically healthy. I’m excited to have others to work toward my goal together with! I’ll adjust the time to 6:30 and will be using our Wii Fit cuz I hate the cold!
Yes, there is something magical about it. It leaves you with nearly a full workday before noon! Getting up that early takes some of the stress out of the morning and allows you to, as my mother admonished me as a child, “wake up slow.”
You’re more than welcome to change the time to suit you. Just make sure it’s a challenge and do it for the seven days.
It’ll be fun! =)
Seth – I accept your challenge, I may have to modify the walking time for safety with snow and low temps the early morning wake up call kind of scares me – but it is certainly necessary for me – I have been depressed for so long sleep has been my friend. I love mornings, they are quiet – so thanks for the challenge. http://thesachambers.com/moving-snow-and-choices
Seth – I’m in! I just had spinal fusion surgery, and walking is my rehab at this stage. I’m up to a little over 2 miles a day now, so here’s my customization: I’ll increase my range daily and will make it to 5k by the end of the week, if not sooner. I’ll also have to split the 5k into two walks a day, mid-morning and late afternoon. The back problem that required surgery has increasingly impacted my activity level over the past few years, so resuming normal activities and feeling healthy are high priorities. I appreciate your sharing your personal journey to better health, and I hope having all of us tagging along is beneficial to you as well.
I will never get up at 5 am early for us is 10 am since we are night shift. So 10 am it is and as for 3 and 1/2 miles I will do 30 minutes cardio and weights and toning exercises for another 30 since its too icy cold outside to walk. Jan. 1st 12:01 am also to eat healthier.
Hey Seth – I’m in for the 5 x 5 – going for 21.7 miles across the week (in case I get behind one day). Mike
[...] hope that you are having a fantastic 2010 beginning. I didn’t get my 5km today, sorry Seth..however I have my alarm set and ready to go from [...]
[...] I got my ass up this morning at 5:15am for the damn 5 at 5 challenge from Seth at Primal Stride. Really? I am not even working anymore…this is my damn holidays. [...]
Hi Seth. I’m just getting back into town, was catching up on my reader and caught wind of this challenge. THANK YOU! I am so down! I did start an exercise regimen today and so I’d like to still be considered this week, if you’ll allow me to register
I was always thin then some major life changes caused me to gain an enormous amount of weight in a ridiculously short amount of time. I’ve resolved to take it one day at a time and now, your challenge will allow me to make some strides in this war against obesity. I’ll set my blog up tomorrow and get the link to you ASAP. In the meantime, my Twitter link is http://twitter.com/gekd
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I’m at that age when I wake up at 5 whether I like it or not. The 5K will be the normal dog walk. I need to lose 29 lbs. So I’m in.
I love the idea of a different challenge each week but have only just found you through Lauren’s blog. I suspect I will join in next week now. It isn’t dawn till 7.30 here currently and walking round Coventry in the dark in the early hours is not a wise idea personal security wise so I’m not going to do a morning walk/run that early, plus I have kids to get up and ready. As of Monday it’s the school run anyway so I might extend my walk home so it’s nearer 5km. Kids pretty much get us up early anyway.
I am not sure yet if I’ll keep this more personal (ie, not blog about it on the Sweet Leaf Tea blog) or not, but yes, count me in.
I will start the 5k tomorrow (Sunday 1/3) but the 5am thing is not going to happen until Monday. Trust me when I say that it’ll be a big-ass challenge to do, so saying “I will get up at 5 every work-day this coming week” here publicly is a big deal.
I’ll happily update my progress here & on twitter. @SweetleafApril.
BOOYAH! I did 4 miles of hiking today. Sweat like a roasted pepper in a plastic bag.
BOOYAH! Bluf Knoll has nothing on me
Thought of you..and how I was hopefully kicking your ass 
2 down…4 to go.
I will be waiting for a gold sticker.
I’m late, but I’m in! Up at 5:00 this morning. Will post photo.
FYI – You can find me on Twitter @globalcopywrite.
Ok, I am in. I am starting mid week (Monday) of the challenge. I also need to set up a blog! I have a lot to lose, but a lot more to gain from losing the weight. Lets do this!
[...] been somewhat lax in my PrimalStride Challenge updates. It seems that life doesn’t want to slow down now that the holidays are over! [...]
Im n starting late but it sounds good so we will see.
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