It all started 5 years ago, the year I turned 30.  I’m a big believer in putting forth a challenge to oneself each year, and a birthday seems like the perfect time to do it.  The concept was simple at first, doing your age and reps in exercises.  That first year I just made a list of 30 exercises and went through each one diligently pumping out 30 reps of each.  And so started a tradition!

Since that fateful day, the workouts have evolved and others have begun to join in.  Sometimes I break the exercises up into sets and reps, sometimes I use a timer.  Either way, it always provides a huge physical challenge that I can’t help but love!

This year I hit 35.  So I sat down earlier this week to put together my plan and somehow it all seemed like a good idea at the time, until the sweat started flying today!

Here’s a little look at the Birthday Monster!

There were a lot of kettlebells involved this year as an added challenge and also because I have become a bit obsessed with them as of late.  The first section just has 10 exercises, doing 35 reps of everything.  Next up, 10 exercises completing 5 reps of everything and going through the list 7 times!  Section 3 was a bit of a recovery period, although still challenging.  I picked 10 more exercises and completed each for 35 seconds.  And the finally, 5 exercises guaranteed to push the heart rate up doing once again 5 reps, and 7 sets.

I have to send out a huge thank you to Will, Tim, Dexter and Brandon who joined me in my madness today!  You all kicked butt and it’s pretty awesome to have clients that are up to a challenge like this.

Here’s a little glimpse into the pain and pure enjoyment of this year’s Birthday Workout!

Cheers to next year!

-S