January: 100 Day Burpee/Push-up Challenge. We had 4 finishers for the full challenge!

February: Thrusters 2 x the date. Includes the Thrusters on trains, at airports, on skis, etc. video.

March: Plank Holds 31 minutes in total for the month

April: Nutrition Challenge of 3's

May: 1,000 squats (for time or total in month)

June: TBA on June 1st

It's Hillseeker Monthly Challenge time again! For the month of May, we're going for lots of squats, where Lots = 1,000.

There are two versions of this challenge. If you have the experience and conditioning, then it's 1,000 squats for time. This means 1,000 squats with good quality in as little time as possible. There are 3 mini-challenges included in this version: 100, 250 and 500 squats (each for time). The grand finale will be your best effort at 1,000 squats.

The 2nd version is 1,000 squats in TOTAL spread throughout the entire month. For this one, just track your daily squats and keep going until you reach a cumulative count of 1,000. If you are brand new to this type of exercise, make sure that your technique is excellent before adding volume. Have a friend, or even better, a qualified coach, watch your form. Then start with 20 squats in a day and keep adding reps until you are on track to reach 1,000 by the end of the month.

Newsflash: The Hillseeker Fitness Performance Lab became an official CrossFit Inc. affiliate in April 2012 and will now be known as Hillseeker CrossFit. Hillseeker CrossFit is owned and operated by Hillseeker Fitness GmbH. Coach Jeff is hard at work on SEALFIT Instructor Certification and is looking forward to Hillseeker CrossFit become Europe's first SEALFIT Authorized Training Center. More details on this to be published in May and June, 2012.

Hillseeker Athlete Ryan Tiplady is taking on one of the most grueling ultra marathons in the world -- the weeklong Marathon des Sables. To track Ryan's progress, please visit the official Marathon des Sables site. Ryan's race number is 753. You may also send him motivational messages during the race (info available at the link above). These messages of support were a HUGE source of inspiration for me during the 2008 race, even from people I didn't know ... so please feel free to send a short note of support to Ryan. Godspeed Ryan -- smile and enjoy the journey -- it's one you'll never forget!

Ultrarunners, adventure athletes and anyone who enjoys a good adventure story about this life-changing epic race, check out the short videos below. If you want the full story on what it was like to train for and experience the weeklong race through the Sahara, please visit Jeff's MDS2008 blog.

And the Hillseeker Monthly Challenge for April is NUTRITION!

It’s a challenge of 3’s!

3 good habit days in a row

3 good things to include

3 bad things to exclude

This challenge is more of a habit checkpoint than a nutrition transformation. It’s time to ask ourselves: How are we doing with introducing and fostering good habits for ourselves? Are there any bad ones that have crept in that we want to remove? Let’s make that checkpoint now and if necessary, re-establish some self-leadership via this challenge.

Make your good and bad list at the start of the challenge. It applies to the whole month. The items on this list can be food items, food groups or habits. To make it easier for you, I've created a spreadsheet that you can carry around or tape up on the wall. Check it out below.

Every month I offer a new challenge for friends and clients of Hillseeker Fitness. The goal is to help improve your core strength and conditioning in a manner that you can incorporate into a busy schedule.

The March Challenge is 31 aggregate minutes in a plank hold. You have the entire month to put together these minutes in the plank. Note: this is an abdominal plank hold, not planking! Watch the video to learn more and post on my Facebook page to let me know if you're in and how it's going!

-- Coach Jeff

We’re hosting a full day First Aid course at the Hillseeker Performance Lab on March 25th. This is a custom-tailored course for fitness trainers and outdoor sports people (coaches, tour leaders, cyclists and runners, event organizers, etc.). It will include CPR/AED and basic emergency care covering the most likely injuries in coaching work as well as outdoor activities. Other topics will include bone and soft tissue injuries (including cramps, crush injuries, dislocations and spinal injuries), open wounds, temperature related injuries, anaphylactic reactions and head injuries and many more. Knowledge and skills on these topics could literally save a life.

Dr. Luitgard Holzleg of Healthy and Safe Away from Home is the instructor.

Details

Cost: 180CHF (paid directly to Dr. Holzleg). Click here (save as) to download registration form.

Series 2 starts February 28th & ends March 29th. This is a 5-Week Series for both the Zürich Running Program and at the Hillseker Performance Lab.

• All classes are 19:00-20:00. If you are interested in a 20:00 option in Richterswil on Tuesday or Thursday, please contact Coach Jeff. With enough interest, I'll add classes.
• The Tuesday Series 2 is sold out. 3 spots remain in the Thursday Series 2.
• Drop-ins are possible on non sold-out nights, but the best pricing and assurance of a spot comes with a series purchase.
• Free trial sessions offered on select nights. See Group Classes for dates.
• Pricing & more info: Zürich Running Program and Hillseker Performance Lab.