6 Essential Fitness Articles From the Whole Life Challenge

Our goal at the Whole Life Challenge is not to just provide you with workouts and training plans, but to empower you with an education in fitness and exercise. What if you felt confident in choosing the right kind of workout for you? What if you felt confident about choosing the right gym or trainer to support you in reaching your goals?

These six fitness articles have something special about them. If you read through these, you’ll learn all the essential elements you need to get fit and stay fit for the long term. You’ll have a goal, a plan, and number of exercises and workouts to follow. You’ll also have a few fitness myths debunked along the way. Read these and you’ll have the power and knowledge to start taking charge of your fitness journey.

Want to make a change in your health and fitness? Pick an article and start reading!

1. A Glute Education: 3-Phase Program for a Better Booty

Healthy glutes don’t just help you perform at a high level, they’re also more aesthetically pleasing. When the glutes aren’t being regularly challenged, they begin to shrink. This gives the appearance of a “flat butt.” But don’t worry — coach Timothy Bell is here to help. This three-step program includes videos and instruction and will help you get your glutes back in tip-top form.

2. Fitness After 40: A Simple Plan for Life-Long Health

After age forty, biology isn’t on your side anymore. It makes recovery harder and progress slower. That doesn’t mean you have to give it all up. Since coach Andrew Read turned forty, he has cycled 1000km in one week, finished a full Ironman, and completed SEALFIT’s brutal Kokoro course. In this article, he explains exactly how he did these things while remaining injury free and working a full-time job.

Andrew Read, running and cycling through his Ironman.

3. Setting Athletic Goals: A Primer for Normal People

While exercise for its own sake is admirable, it’s hard to maintain. With no specific goal, nearly anything can derail your fitness. But we can increase our motivation to train, staying on track and getting better results, without becoming diehard athletes. Coach Jon Gilson explains how in this “primer for normal people” — a way to set athletic goals you’ll actually achieve (without the need to wear yoga pants everywhere you go).

4. A Simple Bodyweight Workout You Can Do Anywhere

Coach Peter Haas demonstrates a simple bodyweight workout that’s good for everyone from beginners to advanced athletes. The difficulty of the exercises and intensity level is totally up to you. This workout only requires a little free space and your own body – you don’t need any equipment. That means there’s no reason to skip your workout today.

5. How to Design Your Own Workout Program: A Guide for Beginners

Learn to like a trainer and build an effective workout program, one that gets you the results you want without spending thousands of dollars at the gym. And don’t worry, it’s not even complicated. Jon Gilson shares the five factors you’ll want to consider in building your program, along with an example from the running world. Read on, and get some insight into what it takes to build your own program like a pro.

Sophia Drysdale teaches how to build a strong core.

6. Why Endless Crunches are NOT the Way to a Flat Stomach

Coach Sophia Drysdale is the mother of two daughters, a figure competitor, and a world champion BJJ athlete. She knows a thing or two about how to build a strong core and how to regain a flat stomach after pregnancy. This article includes photos, video, and detailed instructions on how to get a stronger, healthier mid-section — which not only looks nice, but will improve your athletic performance and prevent low back pain, too.

Becca Borawski Jenkins

Becca earned her MFA in Cinema-Television Production at USC’s famed film school, and her first career was as a music editor. Becca found her way to career number two through martial arts. She trained in BJJ and muay Thai and worked with professional MMA fighters, building websites, organizing fight promotions, and producing videos.

In 2005, she became a student at CrossFit Los Angeles where she met WLC co-founders Andy Petranek and Michael Stanwyck. In only a couple years, she became CrossFit Level III Certified, left her entertainment career, and dedicated herself full time to coaching, serving as the Program Director of CFLA and founder of the CFLA CrossFit Kids program. After seven years as a music editor and then eight years as fitness instructor, Becca segued to her current career — full-time editor and writer.