When it comes to keeping fit, most people go for the “quickest fix.” Quick fixes are never effective. If you want to be fit without stretching yourself to impossible limits, then you need to put in place consistent habits. One such routine is the 90 days workout challenge.
The 90-day challenge is a steady results long-term plan designed to make fitness part of your everyday life. For the three months, you can ultimately get in better shape if you follow your plan keenly. Here what you need to know about the 90-day weight loss challenges and much more.
Benefits Of The 90-Day Workout Challenge
So, why should you even get into the 90-day challenge? Here are some significant reasons why you should consider doing so:
- You will do full-body workouts. This means that the challenge will focus on muscular endurance, flexibility, balance, coordination, speed, cardiovascular endurance, power, and strength. No stone will be left unturned.
- You work out when and where it is convenient for you. You do not need to pay gym subscription fees. It is possible to work out from your home with super flexible schedules (13).
- You enjoy various workouts. You won’t stick to just a few exercises, there are tens if not hundreds to choose from. One will have fun every day and look forward to your next session.
- Minimizes injuries. You will do 100% bodyweight training. No need for a gym. It is that simple with minimal equipment.
- You can’t fail. The 90-day workout plan is structured so that it will be practically impossible for you not to lose weight if you follow it to the latter.
How Effective Is 90-Day Body Transformation?
If you exercise consistently for 90 days, you will surely see a noticeable change in your body and overall fitness level.
However, you can only reap this plan’s benefits if you adhere to your diet and all your workouts.
Hence, the 90-day body transformation is super effective only when a healthy diet is incorporated into your routine and all you exercise consistently.
Read More: HIIT Workouts With Weights: This Hardcore Strength-Boosting Routine Is Sure To Leave You Sore
What Is The Best 90-Day Workout Plan To Lose Weight?
According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, a good workout plan should include strength training, cardiovascular exercises, and flexibility workouts.
Moderate to intense cardio exercises should be included once per week to help you burn calories, lose fat and improve your respiratory system (1).
Strength training targeting several muscle groups should be done a couple of times every week. This exercise will help you gain strength, increase your metabolic rate and improve your balance.
Flexibility workouts stretch muscles, build stability and improve joint mobility. They should be done during each workout session.
How To Start A 90-Day Abs Challenge?
Starting the 90-day challenge can be hard. It is going to be challenging. Therefore it is not for the faint-hearted as it taxes your limits in around 30 minutes every day.
To get started with the program, you need to set a workout plan.
Your plan should be flexible and incorporate different exercises and muscle groups. You should also have a day off once in a while.
For instance, you could set a 6-day workout routine that you will follow for three months.
Next, get all the necessary gear and equipment you will use in your daily workouts, and then you are good to go (12).
Sample 90-Day Challenge Workout Plan
The following is a sample routine you can follow. It is based on working out different muscle groups each day to achieve the best results. The plan also focuses on building your muscles as well as burning fat.
The plan can be broken into the following phases:
- 5 weeks of compound bodybuilding exercises
- 4 weeks of moderate fat-burning cardio along with high repeat compound movements
- 3 weeks of individual muscle chiselling and cardio
Here is the sample plan:
Phase 1: 5 Weeks Of Compound Bodybuilding Movements
Follow these routines for the first 5 weeks (4):
- Monday – chest, and back
- Flat bench presses
- Wide grip lat pull-downs
- Repeat each of the above 5 times in 5 sets
- Tuesday – legs
- Seated Calf raises
- Leg presses
- Do 6 sets with each having 7 repetitions
- Wednesday – rest
- Do not do any exercises; give your muscles time to recover.
- Thursday – shoulders and abs
- Dumbbell presses
- Push-ups
- Planks
- Do 5 sets, each having 5 repeats
- Friday – biceps, and triceps
- Dumbbell Curls
- Lying Triceps Extensions
- Do 5 sets with each having 5 repeats
- Saturday – rest
- Give your muscles a day off to recover
- Sunday – legs
- Standing Calf raises
- Squats
- Do five sets, each having six repetitions
Since you are a beginner, you should ensure that:
- You take enough rest between sets (15).
- You need to change the weights you are using for each session to challenge your muscles. If you do not want to change the weights, then increase the repetitions to give your muscles a reason to grow.
- During your off days, rest and recuperate properly. Do not do any other physical activity, such as running. If you do not want to take a rest, then during such days just do low-intensity workouts.
- Train with a friend or a qualified specialist so that he/she helps you avoid injuries and also keep you motivated.
- Change the type of exercises you are frequently doing. Do not just stick to the above exercises alone. For instance, you could substitute the flat bench presses with incline bench presses on your week two.
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Phase 2: 4 Weeks’ Schedule
Now that you have been working out for five weeks, things should get a little tougher in this stage. Instead of those several days off, you will only have one day to rest every week (6).
Follow the schedule below:
- Monday – chest, and abs
- Barbell incline presses
- Push-ups
- Side planks
- Do 5 sets, each having 8 repeats
- Tuesday – legs
- Leg Curls
- Do 5 sets, each having 10 repeats
- Wednesday – back
- Barbell incline presses
- Do 5 sets, each having 10 repeats
- Thursday – rest
- Give your muscles a day off to recover
- Friday – triceps, and biceps
For biceps do the following:
- Seated Cambered Curls
- Repeat 10 times for 5 sets
For triceps, do the following:
- Standing cable pull-downs
- Repeat 10 times for 5 sets
- Saturday – shoulders
- Machine presses
- Do 5 sets, each having 8 repetitions
- Sunday – cardio
- Jump rope
- Dance
- Run up and downstairs
- Jog
- Kickbox
- Do jumping jacks
- Burpees
Follow the following tips for this stage:
- Take less time in between sets.
- Gradually increase the weights you are using for each week. Also, you could keep the weights constant and increase the number of repetitions.
- Take advantage of your rest days to recuperate properly.
- Change your exercises as often as possible; do not just stick to the ones covered above.
- Do not do cardio on Sundays alone. Include additional 10 minutes every day for them (14).
Phase 3: The 3-Week Shred
This is the phase where the men are separated from the boys, so to speak. These final three weeks are all about targeting individual muscle groups. This is the hardest and most intense stage because you will be working out like a pro bodybuilder.
Follow this schedule:
- Monday- biceps
- Seated Dumbbell concentration curls
- Barbell preacher curls
- Do 6 sets, each having 10 repeats
- Tuesday – chest, and abs
- Standing cable flyes
- Starfish exercise
- Sphinx to Forearm planks
- Push-ups
- Decline bench presses
- Do 7 sets, each having 8 to 10 repeats
- Wednesday – legs
- Seated leg extensions
- Seated calf raises
- Machine leg curls
- Do 7 sets, each having 8 to 10 repeats
- Thursday – shoulders
- Dumbbell rear delt raises
- Dumbbell lateral raises
- Seated dumbbell presses
- Do 7 sets, each having 9 to 10 repeats
- Friday – rest
- Give your muscles time to recover
- Saturday – chest
- Incline Bench Presses
- Incline Dumbbell Flies
- Decline Dumbbell Flies
- Do 7 to 10 repeats for 6 sets for each of the above exercises
- Sunday – legs
- Standing Leg Curls
- Seated Leg Extensions
- Hack Squats
- Do 7 sets, each having 9 to 10 repetitions
- Monday – triceps
- Dips
- Seated Dumbbell Extensions
- Lying French Presses
- Do 5 sets, each having 7 to 10 repeats
- Tuesday – back
- Seated cable rows
- Dumbbell bent rows
- Wide grip lat pull-downs
- Do 7 sets, each with 8 to 10 repeats
- Wednesday – rest
- Give your muscles a break so that they may recover
Adhere to the following in this phase:
- Do cardio exercises during each workout. You could run up and down the stairs after the above workouts during every session. You can also dance, jump rope, or jog (3).
- Rest for a few seconds in between your sets.
- Try increasing the intensity of your workouts every week for best results.
- Do not give up, you only have three weeks, and you are done with the 90-day fitness challenge. So, press on.
After this phase, you should be able to notice a difference in your body. You are now more physically fit than before.
Read More: Types Of Workouts For Weight Loss: Understanding The Difference For Better Results
Workout Meal Plan
The 90-day challenge is centred around building your muscles and losing fat through lifting weights and also nutrition. So, this challenge involves the gym; it is a lifestyle that considers the time you spend outside the fitness centre.
To maximize the results of this challenge, you must mind your diet. Eating the wrong foods could be detrimental to your goals (10).
The diet you will be eating during your 90-days challenge will be repetitive, restrictive, and boring. Here is one week’s sample menu for you.
Monday
- Breakfast: Eggs and mushrooms with oatmeal
- Snack: Blueberries
- Lunch: Venison burger and white rice with broccoli
- Snack: A banana with a protein shake
- Dinner: Quinoa, salmon, and asparagus.
Tuesday
- Breakfast: Protein pancakes, and peanut butter, with raspberries
- Snack: An apple and hard-boiled eggs
- Lunch: sweet potato, sirloin steak, spinach salad, and vinaigrette
- Snack: Walnuts and protein shake
- Dinner: Marinara sauce and ground turkey over pasta
Wednesday
- Breakfast: Roasted potatoes and Chicken sausage
- Snack: Almonds and Greek yoghurt
- Lunch: Basmati rice, Turkey, breast, and mushrooms
- Snack: Grapes
- Dinner: Mackerel, salad leaves, and brown rice with vinaigrette
Thursday
- Breakfast: Egg, ground chicken, salsa, and cheese
- Snack: Granola
- Lunch: baked potato, chicken breast broccoli, and sour cream
- Snack: Berries with a protein shake
- Dinner: Eggs, carrots, brown rice, peas, and broccoli
Friday
- Breakfast: Strawberries with Greek yoghurt and overnight oats
- Snack: Nuts
- Lunch: Pinto beans, Tilapia fillets, lime juice, and veggies
- Snack: Watermelon and protein shake
- Dinner: brown rice, Ground beef, green beans, and green peas
Saturday
- Breakfast: Egg, Ground turkey, corn, and cheese
- Snack: Tuna and crackers
- Lunch: Potato wedges and Tilapia fillet with bell peppers
- Snack: Pears
- Dinner: black beans, Diced beef, rice, bell peppers, and cheese
Sunday
- Breakfast: Eggs and avocado toast
- Snack: Almond butter and Protein balls
- Lunch: Roasted garlic potatoes Pork tenderloin with green beans
- Snack: Strawberries
- Dinner: Marinara sauce, Turkey meatballs, parmesan cheese, and pasta
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90-Day Challenge Meal Plan Tips
You can always create your own meal plan during this challenge. The advantage of doing so is that you will incorporate foods that can be sourced locally. You will also include provisions that you can afford.
Here are the tips you should adhere to when creating your diet plan:
1. Set Your Goals Right
Know whether you just want to keep fit or you want to lose weight. If you fall under that category then you might want your plan to do the following for you:
- Keep you satisfied throughout the day to avoid consuming junk foods
- Give you more energy for your workouts
- Diminish your cravings for unhealthy snacks
- Shed some weight
- Decrease stomach bloat
- Be sustainable and enjoyable
- Control crash dieting
- Give you minerals for nourishment
- Prevent muscle loss as you lose weight (7)
2. What Your Plan Should Entail
Your strategy should include everything you need during the 90 days. So, make sure your plan has the following:
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for 90 days. Alternatively, you can craft a week’s plan and repeat it over the course of the challenge
- Recipes that you can easily make
- The ingredients used should be locally available and easy to find
- A breakdown of the micronutrients in each meal
3. Calories And Macronutrients You Need
To achieve your goals, you must burn a lot of fat and increase your muscle mass during your sessions and burn a lot of fats when you are not working out.
So, how many calories should you consume every day?
Experts advise that you increase your calorie intake by 15% during your bulking stages (9).
For instance, if you normally consume 3000 per day when you are not working out, consume 3,460 calories during your bulking stage.
When transitioning from the bulking stage, decrease your intake by 16%.
This means that you will consume 2550 calories instead of the normal 3000 or 3460 taken during the bulking stage.
It is recommended that you get calories from the following food types (5):
- 15 to 20% of calories from fat
- 55 to 60% of calories from carbs
- 30 to 35% of calories from proteins
4. Foods To Consume
You should eat the following foods:
- Poultry, meat, and fish such as chicken breasts, sirloin steak, tilapia, and ground beef.
- Dairy products such as cottage cheese, yoghurt, low-fat milk, and so forth.
- Grains such as crackers, oatmeal, quinoa, rice, and popcorn.
- Fruits such as oranges, bananas, apples, berries, watermelon, and pears.
- Seeds and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds.
- Beans and legumes such as pinto beans, chickpeas, lentils, and kidney beans.
- Healthy Oils such as avocado oil and olive oil.
- Water: Drink three to four litres every day.
5. Foods To Avoid
You should limit the intake of the following foodstuffs:
- Alcohol: Contains a lot of calories and can affect your ability to lose fat and build muscles (2).
- Added sugars: Include plenty of calories and few nutrients. This can make your weight loss journey a little bit hard.
- Deep-fried foods: Deep-fried foods promote inflammation if consumed in excess (11).
- Carbonated and sweetened drinks: You could substitute them with drinking water.
- High-fat foods: Do not consume unhealthy mono-saturated fats as they will make you gain weight.
6. Incorporate Fasting
If you are trying to lose weight, then fasting might speed up your results.
Research shows that fasting can reduce your body weight by up to 8% in just 3 to 24 weeks!
Not only that, but fasting can also make your waist circumference reduce by up to 7%.
One of the worries you probably have now is that fasting might make you lose muscle as you burn some fats, right?
Interestingly, that won’t happen! Research shows that fasting may be beneficial in maintaining your muscle mass (8).
Hence, you have absolutely no reason not to try fasting during your 90-day workout challenge.
You should, however, note that you cannot go to work out on an empty stomach. Always make sure that you consume enough food on your workout days. You can skip some meals during your days off.
Before you start fasting, consult your doctor if you have any pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and so forth.
7. Do Not Ban Your Favourite Foods
Occasionally take that unhealthy snack you fancy. Do not ban it as doing so will make you crave for them more.
You do not have any reasons why you cannot treat yourself occasionally as long as your daily calorie limit allows you.
The 90 days workout challenge is an effective routine to lose weight and stay fit. While at it, do not forget to diet properly to make sure your body gets all the important nutrients for building your muscles and your overall health.
DISCLAIMER:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!
SOURCES:
- A Diet and Exercise Plan to Lose Weight and Gain Muscle (2016, nytimes.com)
- Alcohol Ingestion Impairs Maximal Post-Exercise Rates of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis following a Single Bout of Concurrent Training (2014, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Cardio exercise and strength training affect hormones differently (2018, sciencedaily.com)
- Does Your Workout Really Work? (2020, webmd.com)
- Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation (2014, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Fitness: Create a program that’s right for you (2021, mayoclinic.org)
- How often to work out for health, strength, and weight loss (2021, medicalnewstoday.com)
- Intermittent versus daily calorie restriction: which diet regimen is more effective for weight loss? (2011, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Macronutrient considerations for the sport of bodybuilding (2004, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Nutrition: Healthy Eating (2008, medicinenet.com)
- Role of “Western Diet” in Inflammatory Autoimmune Diseases (2015, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
- Striving for Six-Pack Abs (2007, webmd.com)
- To Lose Weight With Exercise, Aim for 300 Minutes a Week (2020, nytimes.com)
- Train your body: Experts provide tips for training and protecting the entire body (2013, sciencedaily.com)
- What’s better for strength training — one set or multiple sets? (2020, mayoclinic.org)
