Birthday Challenge History

This should provide some fun reading for your weekend. I mean, you should be outside doing something but just in case you’re not, or resting from killing it yesterday, here’s some birthday challenge lore that I’ll bet you didn’t know.

It all began with Jack LaLanne. For those who don’t know Jack, you’re missing out. When it comes to health and fitness he is The Man. No one is even in the running (sorry, Tony). The stuff he’s done changed fitness on this planet forever. In fact, Tony Horton will tell you the same thing. We happened to be together when Jack died, which became a night of telling Jack stories (and developing P90X2). Anyway, Jack did birthday challenges. Amazing ones, most of them still have yet to be repeated. He was once-in-a-millenea guy and if you click on the highlights in this paragraph there’s some great stuff to read.

Because of Jack (Denis Faye called him Mr. LaLanne at his 95th birthday party and he told him”my name’s Jack!“), I began doing challenges in my 20s and started a web site about it when many of my friends began following along. It turned into something fairly big. I hear of people doing birthday challenges all over the world now. Unfortunately I no longer have time to maintain the site. If anybody wants to help I’ve got a lot of challenges that need to be posted! Here’s an excerpt from BirthdayChallenge.com on my own challenge history prior to 2000, the year the site went up.

jack pulling 70 boats, with a person in each, across Long Beach harbor on his 70th. Yep, he hands and feet are shackled.

I don’t remember exactly when it was, but one day on TV  I saw Jack LaLanne pulling a boat from Alcatraz to San Francisco with his hands and feet tied together. Until that time I had only known him as the guy from the Jack LaLanne Show and never really considered him an athlete. I thought he just showed housewives how to work out. I mean, I would do some jumping jacks with him when I was sick and couldn’t go to school but it sure didn’t seem like real exercise, I just figured he was some TV personality. But here he was, doing something that seemed totally insane.

Peruse the birthday challenge history page if you’d like to see more. You find it here. Some of my more notable challenges are in the links at the bottom of each day’s page. There are more on that page, and below I’ll post a few more favorites. Get psyched. Pick your own. Maybe we’ll get that site up and running again and someday you’ll be the next Jack. I’m sure you’ve got some good years left.

Now the numbers…

Steve’ 53rd Birthday Challenge

Join the Challenge and win stuff!

Beachbody Workout of the Day

Stretch X – Sometimes it’s good to slow things way down and do a slow stretch. I warm-up (workout, actually) before doing this workout but before a long weekend it feels fantastic.

Synopsis – Friday a long recovery day and Sat a challenge that’s in progress as you read this. Probably.

Reading & questions answered: /2809 (53/day) –   xx& xx (191 questions and 767 pages), Charlie Francis Training System and Education of a Bodybuilder.

Nutrition:
Servings of Shakeology: /53 – 1(19) – w/ water
Days of Ultimate Reset: /5.3 0(0)
Days taking supplements: /53 – 1(19)
Days of no alcohol: /53 – 1(19)
Days of no meat: /53 – 1(19)
Coffee Cycles (more on this later): /5.3 – round 3.
King Pin fritters: /5 0(0)

Exercise:
Beachbody workouts: /53 – 1(21)
Push-ups: /5300 – 300(1,820)
Jumping jacks: /5300 – 300(1,800)
Leg lifts: /5300 – 300(2070)
Crunches: /5300 – 300(2090)
Ab Ripper X Moves: /5300 – 300(2450)
Beast back day: /53,000 lbs. 0(54,000) 
Beast chest day: /53,000 lbs.
Beast shoulder day: /53,000 lbs.
Beast leg day: /53,000 lbs.
Beast arm day: /53,000 lbs. 0(53,000) 
P90X2 functional warm-up: /53 – 2(18)
Running drills: /53 – 2(18)

Neuro-integrating stretching: /53 – 2(19)
Iron Mind gripper and extensor band reps: /10600 400(4800)
Breath hold sessions: /53 – 2(18)
Stabilizer sessions: /53 – 1(20)
Internal Organ Training: /53 –  1(20)

5.11 Climbs: /5 0(4)
5.12 Climbs: /3 0(1)
5.11 Boulder transverses: /5 – 0(5)
5.12 Boulder transverses: /3 – 0(2)
Campus board movements: /530 – 50(211)
Climb-specific pull-ups: /530 – 40(175)
Cycling on road bike: /53 miles 0(0)
Cycling on mountain bike: /53 miles 10(20)
Cycling on cyclocross bike: /53 miles 0(26)
Cycling on time trial bike: /53 miles 0(0)
Cycling on fixed gear bike: /53 miles 0(0)
Cycling on single speed bike: /53 miles 10(51)
Cycling on tandem bike: /53 miles 0(0)
Hiking: /53 miles –3(28)
Running: /53 miles 0(14)
30 minutes of rowing: /5 times 0(1)
30 minutes of elliptical: /5 times 0(0)
30 minutes of swimming: /5 times 0(0)

Family:
Tasks for his wife: /53 – 3(19)
Chores around the house: /53 – 1(24)
Tasks for his dogs: /53 – dogs are basically sidekicks so this one’s a freebie

Other:
Blog posts: /53 – 1 (21)
Team Beachbody Instructional Videos: /5 0(0)
Team Beachbody Video Chat /5 1(2)
Days keeping these stats: /53 – 1(19)

A Few Challenges of Yore

2000 – 40 Days of Hell
2003 – Get Back To Reality
2006 – This is Gonna Hurt
2007 – My Blood Must Be Fully Replaced Each Year
2010 – Birthday Tribute from 67 friends
2012 – Making Lemonade

Related posts:

1. A P90X3 FAQ, T25, Asylum, Birthday Challenge and Fritters!
2. 5 Questions: Birthday Challenge Half Time Report
3. The Possibilities of 53: Birthday Challenge 2013
4. Dysentery, Greg LeMond, Birthday Challenge, Metabolism, Hormones & So Much More…