Why not spice December up? We have tips and a fiery end of year challenge waiting for you.

This year will be marked by stark differences for most of us. COVID has forced us to stare at the status Quo, and with the winter season kicking-in in the Northern hemisphere, Xmas celebrations will be a scaled down affair, with more physical distance from your loved ones and less opportunity to get out and about with the array of restrictions on movement.

It is easy to feel down about the year behind us and the prospect of limited celebrations. In such times, where most of us feel the burden of the variety of sacrifices we must make, it is important to remember and consider self love and care. More than feeling good, self-love is dynamic and “grows from actions that support our physical, psychological and spiritual growth”. 

Introducing the Xmas Pyramid
We too at BlueTigerEyeWellness, we have not been immune to feeling down and having to dig deep into our team spirit to support each other and stay committed to our training and goals. For this final newsletter and challenge of the year, we have decided to bring forward what we know is certain to beat the blues: combining exercise and fun in the season’s spirit. 

To pep-up the long dark evenings, we will finish this year with the theme of the Pyramid. This is a perfect challenge to do as a family or group of friends to energize and build relationships over the Christmas period. So Grab your friends, family members, virtual communities or those in your circles you know could use some challenging team fun and cheer, and finish the year on a positive mind set. 

We’ve got you!
If you are new to our newsletter and wonder where to start, we have it all laid out for you in our newsletters and past challenges. We opened the year with the notion that “Each year there is a beginning and an end; each year we look forward to a fresh start”. Through our newsletters, we have looked at how to make long-lasting changes and form positive habits, how to set goals and at how to be patient and committed to reaching them without getting lost on the way; we took a practical look at the notion of Adapt.Improvise.Overcome and at how to prepare for and safely enjoy and train during your staycation; we took a closer look at how to tap into your inner super-powerhouse, which is Energy; we looked at the myths and misconceptions surrounding training and training at home; and finally we explored team spirit and the required elements of teamwork, vision and commitment.

Through our challenge community, we sought to bring forward in a fun way the concepts of how spirit and encouragement have the power to give us that extra va va voom, how teams dig deeper into the never give up spirit that comes from determination, consistency and teamwork at its best, and finally, at the notion of team spirit, including leveraging on skills and experience, letting people step out of the shadows, and positivity.  

All you need for this last challenge and to boost your motivation and creativity for the month(s) ahead is right there.

Why are pyramids important at Xmas, you might say – let us tell you about the The Pyramid Workout
The German culture has been prevalent in many of the seasonal traditions, ranging from markets to the birth of the Traditional Xmas Tree. Yes, our beloved green friend comes from the time when an English Monk travelling to Germany in the 7th century decided to refer to the triangular shape of the German fir tree to express the notion of the Holy Trinity. “As a result, Germans began placing Christmas trees in their homes as a symbol of their Christian faith, but at first they were traditionally hung upside-down inside the home. Over time, the trees were turned back around and the traditional Christmas tree was born.” (source)

With the importance of Pyramids in the culture of Xmas as exemplified by the Xmas tree, we take a look at what is pyramid training and its associated benefits. 

Pyramid workouts all include pyramid training. Pyramid training involves a slow, steady increase (or decrease) in intensity or repetitions throughout a workout. The concept behind increasing difficulty to reach a desired result is called the progression principle, which basically states that to ensure the muscles or systems continue to improve, the stimulus must be increased periodically to cause an overload. The interval-style makes pyramid training especially beneficial for metabolic conditioning, increasing muscle, and, ultimately, burning fat.

Getting your Pyramid on – Join the Xmas Pyramid Advent Calendar Challenge

We have prepared an Xmas Pyramid Advent Calendar Challenge to spring some inspiration into the last sprint of the year and to help you feel accomplished. Though far away, we have a perfect opportunity for you to connect closely with your family, friends and fools through our final challenge of the year.

Here’s the plan
Each team (no matter how big or small) has to complete the daily workout. The challenge will take 24 days. If you fall behind, fear not (or do depending on the workouts), you can combine days if you need to catch-up or nominate your friendly fools to help you! Each team or challenger has a week to complete each section.

This challenge is about teamwork, interactions and creativity. Each week, the 3 most creative teams will receive 15, 10 and 5 points, respectively. We will be posting a weekly league table for all teams to see where they are at as well as some special days where you win extra bonus points.

Sign up through our private group on Facebook,via our webpage or through Instagram.

Running from 1st to 24th December, here is your Xmas Pyramid Advent Calendar Workout Schedule 🙂

X – Xmas Party Planks:
Each Day select an outfit to Celebrate the holiday spirit and cheer (you know there would be a reason to bring those Xmas jumpers and socks out again…). 

Day 1 – Normal Plank / 1 min
Day 2 – Side Plank / 2 min (1 min each side)
Day 3 – Spiderman Plank / 3 min
Day 4 – Bridge Plank (hips up; head & shoulders on the floor) / 4 min
Day 5 – Military Plank / 5 min
Day 6 – Plank Two Point (alternate sides; 1 min per side)
Day 7 – Shoulder Bridge Plank / 7 min

M – Magic Spirit of Xmas:
This week is about the magical spirit of Xmas

Day 8 – Military Burpees / 8 reps
Day 9 – Military Press ups / 9 reps
Day 10 – Military Squats jumps / 10 jumps
Day 11 – Military Abs / 11 reps
Day 12 – Military Lunges / 12 reps
Day 13 – Military Hops / 13 reps
Day 14 – Military Plank / 14 reps 

A – Angel Abs
This section represents the Angles of Xmas; time to get those wings out

Day 15 – Abs Classic / 15 reps
Day 16 – Abs Circles / 14 reps
Day 17 – Abs Heals to the Heaven / 13 reps
Day 18 – Abs Scissors / 12 reps
Day 19 – Abs Leg Climbers / 11 reps
Day 20 – Abs Oblique Crunch / 10 reps (5 each side)
Day 21 – Abs Bicycles / 9 reps per leg with 3 sec hold

S – Spicy Surprises
Come out with your spicy X factor moves. 

Day 22 – Spiderman Press-ups / 8 reps (4 each leg)
Day 23 – Suitcase Abs / 7 reps (with 3 sec hold)
Day 24 – Star Jumps  / 24 reps

Posting for a cause and the perks of the community
As for all the challenges, we post to raise awareness about causes that matter to us as a team. When you post, we encourage you to tag us on Facebook @bluetigereyewellness  and Instagram @bluetigereye_wellness and tag #bluetigereyewellness along with the causes of your choice.

We ask each team to post individual or mash-up videos weekly to share the energy as well as help us raise awareness about inclusion and diversity and spread the word about the community and the challenges. If you want to escape this as well as benefit from some extra perks such as access to our trainers and testing some of our core programmes through our app, then join the closed community. Sign up through our closed Facebook group, through the form below or contact us through one of the socials to know more.

Follow us on Instagram @bluetigereye_wellness to watch some of the posts and videos from the past challenges and join our closed challenge group on Facebook