A 100-day challenge is a training format where you do one rep of a chosen exercise on day one, two reps on day two, and add one rep every day until you do one hundred reps on day one hundred. In this Physical Friday, recorded on day 98 of our hundred-day burpee challenge, I explain why fixed-length challenges build mental toughness, how the stair step prepares your body for volume you could not touch on day one, and how to run the format over thirty days instead.
Watch now: press play on the video above and follow along.
Day one, you do one rep. Day two, two reps. Day fifty, fifty reps. Day ninety-eight, ninety-eight reps, and you go all the way to one hundred on day one hundred. Whatever exercise you pick, that is where you are headed. We picked burpees this round: one burpee on day one, two on day two, all the way up. The numbers really ramp up at the end, with the last ten days totaling close to a thousand reps.
Almost anything: burpees, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, kettlebell swings. The format is the engine, not the movement. Pick something you can do anywhere so travel and busy days never give you an excuse, and pick something you want to be dramatically better at a hundred days from now.
Because over thirty or one hundred days there will be plenty of days you do not want to do it, and you have to figure out how to overcome that temptation in your mind. The designated time period helps: you know it ends on a specific day, so you push through. Whether it is a pull-up challenge, a kettlebell swing challenge, or a burpee challenge, you are working on your mental toughness every single day it runs.
Yes, and it is a great entry point. Do one push-up on day one and add one every day for thirty days. By the end you are doing thirty in a day, and you will not believe where you get. The principle is identical: a start so easy you cannot say no, and a finish that would have intimidated you at the beginning.
That is exactly who the challenge is for. You are not asked for one hundred reps today; you are asked for one. The format adds a little to what you did yesterday, every day, so your body adapts gradually. By day 90 you are prepared for a volume of burpees or push-ups or sit-ups that you absolutely could not have imagined at the start. The challenge builds the readiness it requires.
Here is the full format we are using for the burpee challenge, currently on day 98. Swap in any exercise you like.
We have run this challenge a number of times, and it has made me much better at burpees, pull-ups, and whatever else we pointed it at. Pick your exercise and start tomorrow with one rep.
One of the things we like to do is set challenges for a month, two months, or a specific period of time, and there are two reasons I keep returning to them. First, the mental toughness work is built in: across thirty or a hundred days there will be plenty of days you do not want to do it, and each one is a rep for your mind. Second, you can pick a challenge you are not ready for today and let the format build you into someone who is. I expand on both in the episode, so press play above.
We are on day 98 right now, which means yesterday was 97 burpees and tomorrow is 99. The start was almost laughably easy, and that is the trap and the genius of the format: you do not even reach halfway in total volume until you are deep into the challenge, and the final ten days add up to nearly a thousand burpees. Your body handles it because the previous ninety days built it. I describe what this stage actually feels like in the episode, so press play above.
One push-up on day one. One. The reason this format succeeds where ambitious programs fail is that the entry cost is so low you cannot talk yourself out of it, and each day only asks for one more rep than yesterday. Momentum does the heavy lifting. By the time the numbers get serious, the habit is unbreakable and the body is ready. I explain how to set yourself up for the long ramp in the episode, so press play above.
It does not have to be burpees and it does not have to be a hundred days. A thirty-day push-up challenge follows the exact same rule and delivers the same lesson at a smaller scale. The right challenge is one rep of something you want to master, started today. I share the variations we have run and which ones taught me the most in the episode, so press play above.
By the end of one of these challenges, you are doing something you absolutely could not have imagined at the beginning. That transformation, more than the burpees themselves, is the reason we keep running them.
Pick an exercise, do one rep tomorrow, and add one a day. Thirty days or a hundred, the format will not let you down. Press play above and I will walk you through how we structure it.
100-day challenge · burpee challenge · push-ups · sit-ups · pull-ups · kettlebell swings · 30-day challenge · mental toughness · progressive volume · training habits · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. Physical Friday is the podcast's weekly fitness series, where I share the workouts, training formats, and mindset lessons that keep guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to do what they love for life.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.