Join us for 28 days of exercises that fit easily into your regular workout… or, help you kick off your fitness efforts with strength and consistency.
Scroll for the Fitness Challenge chart, plus videos, exercise instructions, and more.
Share your strength! Tag us with #PJCCMarchChallenge on Instagram and Twitter and comment on our daily social media posts to let us know you’re taking part. We’ll be cheering you on (and participating alongside you, too)!
One-on-one sessions with our certified personal trainers will help you meet your individual health goals.
Tap and hold on your smartphone to save the image—or, save a PDF of the PJCC March Fitness Challenge Chart.
Day 1
Bicep Curl
Complete 2 sets of 10 reps using dumbbells comfortable for you.
Remember to keep your core engaged and soft knees (slightly bent) in any standing exercise position.
Challenge Mode: Bicep Curl Balancing on One Foot
Complete 2 sets of 10 reps using dumbbells (we recommend 10 to 25 pounds). Alternate feet—complete one set of 10 on one foot, and the other set on the other foot.
Day 2
Plank–Bent Knees
Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Make sure to keep your back flat and a gentle chin tuck. Lightly “squeeze” your shoulder blades through the entire exercise.
Challenge Mode: Plank–Straight Legs
Same as above; press into the toes, keeping the foot flexed. Hold for 1 minute.
Day 3
Forward Lunge–Holding the Wall
Complete 2 sets of 10. Keep your trunk upright; do not let your front knee bend forward past your toe or collapse inward.
Challenge Mode: Reverse Lunge–Holding the Wall
Step back, maintaining a steady core. Don’t let your front knee collapse inward or bend past your toes when you lunge.
Day 4
Standing Front Raise
Raise your arms forward to shoulder height, leading with the back of the hand. Keep the hand and arm in line; flex or bend your wrist with the movement. Keep your core engaged and use soft knees (slightly bent). Don’t lift your shoulders during the exercise.
Challenge Mode: Front & Side Raise
In addition to the above, bring the arms directly out to your sides in line with your shoulders.
Day 5
Wall Squat
While sitting against the wall, position your feet slightly wider than your hips. Make sure your knees are not bent past your toes, and keep your back flat against the wall during the exercise. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
Challenge Mode: Single Leg Wall Squat
While in a wall squat (described above), lift one leg straight out, parallel to the floor, while flexing your foot. Hold for 30 seconds on each leg.
Day 6
Single Arm Bench Row
Complete 2 sets of 10 reps on each arm, alternating arms, using dumbbells (we recommend 10 to 25 pounds). Pull your arm upward, bending at your elbow and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Make sure to keep your core engaged with a straight back.
Challenge Mode: Renegade Row
Start at a pushup position with feet shoulder width apart, and a dumbbell in each hand. Lift the weight one at a time, towards your chest. Engage your core and squeeze your shoulder blades as you go.
Day 7
Modified Pushup
Use a counter or bed. Lower your body towards the counter or bed, bending at your elbows, and push yourself back up to the starting position. Make sure your body is in a straight line during the exercise and keep your core engaged. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Challenge Mode: Primal Pushup with Arm Tap
Begin on all fours, feet resting on the ground and your knees “floating” above the ground. Keep your back straight. Lift one arm up off the floor and tap the opposite shoulder. Repeat, alternating arms, for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Day 8
Bench Dip (Feet Close)
Place your hands behind you, and place your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees. Move your body off the bench, keeping your hands on the edge of the bench. Slowly lower yourself toward the ground and push yourself back up.
Challenge Mode: Bench Dip (Feet Far Away)
Same as above, but keep your legs straight rather than bent.
Day 9
Plank–Bent Knees
Hold for 30 to 40 seconds. Make sure to keep your back flat and your chin gently tucked. Lightly “squeeze” your shoulder blades through the entire exercise.
Challenge Mode: Plank–Straight legs
Same as above; press into the toes, keeping the foot flexed. Hold for 1 minute.
Day 10
Forward Lunge
Begin standing upright with your hands on your hips. Stride forward in a lunge position, keeping your knees bent at 90-degree angles. Then, step back. Keep your trunk upright and don’t let your knees collapse or move past your toes.
Challenge Mode: Walking Lunge
Stride forward in a lunge position, keeping your knees bent at 90-degree angles. Then stride forward with the opposite leg without letting your foot touch the ground.
Day 11
Sword Pull with Tubing
Begin in a standing upright position, with the exercise tubing placed under one foot and held in the opposite hand. Drag your hand straight up and across your body in a diagonal movement, as if you were drawing a sword.
Challenge Mode: Sword Pull with Weights
Complete the above movement using a dumbbell rather than the exercise tubing.
Day 12
Bench Squat
Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, bend your knees and lower your hips back towards the bench while keeping your chest high. Return to a standing position, then repeat.
Challenge Mode: Pistol Squat
Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, with one leg bent and one leg straight with a flexed foot, bend your knees and lower your hips back towards the bench while keeping your chest high. Hold your hands straight out to help you maintain your balance. Return to standing position and repeat.
Day 13
Mock Pullup
Begin by standing on a box or platform below a pullup bar. Grab the bars with your hands wider than your shoulders, with your palms facing away from you. While keeping your toes on the platform, bend your elbows and perform a pullup motion while squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Challenge Mode: Assisted Pullup
Find the PJCC’s Assisted Pullup machine (seen in this video) and ask a PJCC Personal Trainer or floor trainer to show you how to use this machine. Counterbalance the amount of weight you wish to pull with the plate weights of the machine (e.g., if you weigh 150 pounds, set the weight adjustment at 100 pounds—therefore, you’re lifting 50 pounds). From the pullup position, pull yourself up with a bent arm, keeping your eyes focused straight ahead. Lower yourself down to almost a straight-arm position (keeping a slightly bent elbow). Return to starting position and repeat.
Day 14
Modified Bent Leg Pushup
Grab a mat. Begin on all fours, hands shoulder-width apart and ankles crossed. Bend at your elbows, lowering your torso toward the ground, and push yourself back up to the starting position. Make sure your body is in a straight line during the exercise and keep your core engaged. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Challenge Mode: Up-and-Down Pushup
Bend at your elbows and push yourself back up to the starting position. Make sure your body is in a straight line during the exercise and maintain an engaged core. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Day 15
Cable Curl–Single Arm
Using a cable pulley, as pictured in this video, bend your elbow and bring your hand toward your shoulder. Slowly lower it back down. Avoid shrugging your shoulder while completing the exercise, and remember to keep your core engaged and soft knees (with a slight bend). Do 2 sets of 10 reps.
Challenge Mode: Cable Curl–Both Arms
Same as above, but use both arms while completing the exercise.
Day 16
Plank-Straight Legs
Hold for 40 to 60 seconds. Make sure to keep your back flat and your chin gently tucked. Lightly “squeeze” your shoulder blades through the entire exercise. Press into the toes, keeping the foot flexed.
Challenge Mode: Plank-Straight Legs with Toe Tap
From a plank position, with your feet together, slowly slide one leg to the side. Return to center, and repeat with the other leg. Alternate legs for one minute. Keep your core engaged and prevent your hip from rotating as you move your legs to complete the exercise.
Day 17
Walking Lunge
Stride forward in a lunge position, keeping your knees bent at 90-degree angles. Then, stride forward with the opposite leg without letting your foot touch the ground. Continue the exercise for one minute.
Challenge Mode: Walking Lunge with a Russian Twist
Starting from a lunge position while holding a medicine ball in your hands, rotate your torso to the side as you step. Then, return to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side. Complete the exercise for one minute.
Day 18
Prone Bent Arm Raise
Start the exercise lying down on the floor with your arms bent at a 90-degree angle. Lift your arms and chest off the floor and hold for 10 seconds. Lower down and repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps. Be sure to keep your hips and feet flat on the floor as you complete the exercise.
Challenge Mode: Prone Bent Arm Raise on Swiss Ball
Begin lying on a Swiss ball with the front of your body, with your arms bent at a 90-degree angle. To stay stable, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your arms and upper body, hold for 10 seconds, then lower back down. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Day 19
Sumo Squat
Stand upright, feet wide, toes pointed outward. Bend at your knees and hips, lowering yourself into a squat. Keep your weight back on your heels, without bending your knees inward or letting them pass your knees. Return to a standing position.
Challenge Mode: Sumo Squat with Weight
Begin in a wide-stance position, feet turned out, holding a weight (such as a hand weight, sand bag, or kettle bell) in both hands. Lower into a squat, then return to standing position. While completing the exercise, keep your torso upright without arching your back.
Day 20
Low Pull
Begin by sitting on the cable row machine (as pictured in the video), holding the handles or bar with your palms facing inward. Pull slowly, bending at your elbow, back to your side. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Challenge Mode: Bar Pullup
Begin seated with your chest directly below the bar, hands on the bar with your palms facing down. Keep your legs straight and place your weight on your heels. Pull your body up so that your chest meets the bar. Be sure to maintain a completely straight body without letting your hips drop. Then, lower yourself down. Complete 2 sets of 10 pullups.
Day 21
Flat Bench Chest Press–One Arm at a Time
Begin by lying on a flat surface (using a mat or bench), holding a dumbbell in one hand. Keep your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Press your hand up toward the ceiling, then return to the starting position. Repeat on the other arm. Alternate for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Challenge Mode: Swiss Ball Chest Press–One Arm at a Time
Lie face up with your upper back resting on a Swiss ball in a bridge position (feet slightly apart, bent at a 90-degree angle while your torso is completely flat and head and shoulders resting comfortably on the ball). Hold a dumbbell in one hand. Keep your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Press your hand up toward the ceiling, then return to the starting position. Repeat on the other arm. Alternate for 2 sets of 10 reps. Keep your hips still and do not lower them toward the floor during the exercise.
Day 22
Modified Eccentric Pushup
Start in pushup position with your knees bent. Slowly lower your body to the ground, then push back up again slowly.
Challenge Mode: Chaturanga
Start in plank position, with your hands placed underneath your shoulders and elbows at a right angle. Keeping your body straight, slowly lower your body parallel to the ground. Push back up slowly, then repeat.
Day 23
Plank with Straight Legs
Challenge Mode: Plank-Straight Legs with Arm Reach
Start in plank position with bent arms. Alternate raising arms and extending them straight ahead.
Day 24
Reverse Lunge with a Russian Twist
Take a long step backward into a lunge position, with your knees at a 90-degree angle and maintaining a steady core. Rotate your torso toward your forward leg while holding a medicine ball; then rotate back and raise yourself into the starting position. Repeat on opposite side. Don’t let your front knee collapse inward or bend past your toes when you lunge.
Challenge Mode: Pendulum Lunges
Complete a forward lunge with one leg, then use the opposite leg to complete a backward lunge. Alternate legs for one minute on each side.
Day 25
Side Raise on One Foot
Begin standing in an upright position. Bend one knee and stand on one foot. Hold the weight of your choice on the opposite side to the bent knee. Raise and lower your arm. Then, repeat on the opposite side.
Challenge Mode: Walking Lunges with Side Raise
Stride forward in a lunge position, keeping your knees bent at 90-degree angles while holding weights in both hands. As you come up to a standing position, raise the weights to shoulder height. Complete this exercise in the forward direction for 30 seconds, then repeat in the opposite direction (completing a reverse lunge).
Day 26
Squat Jump
Stand upright, keeping your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Then, lower down to a squat position. Jump up and raise your arms above your head. Repeat.
Squat Jump with Touch
Begin in a squat position, while reaching down and touching the ground with your fingertips. Jump up, raising your arms above your head. Return to start and repeat.
Day 27
Standing Reverse Fly–One Arm at a Time
Stand with your hips bent at a 45-degree angle, and your knees slightly bent. Hold a weight in each hand, arms below your chest, elbows slightly bent, and hands positioned together. Keeping your elbow bent and locked in position, lift one arm up to your side (slightly higher than your shoulder), then return to center. Alternate arms for 2 sets of ten reps.
Challenge Mode: Reverse Fly on Swiss Ball
Lie down on a Swiss ball, with your legs extended and feet touching the ground, and the ball positioned at your hips. Your arms should be in front of the ball as you hold a weight in each hand, palms meeting together. Keeping your elbows bent and locked in position, lift both arms up, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Return to starting position, then repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps. Be sure to keep your core strong throughout the exercise.
Day 28
Pushup
Grab a mat. Start in a straight-arm plank position, then bend at your elbows, lowering your body. Then, push yourself back up to the starting position. Make sure your body is in a straight line during the exercise and keep your core engaged. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 reps.
Challenge Mode: Swiss Ball Chest Press (Feet on Ball)
Start in pushup position, keeping legs straight, with a Swiss ball supporting your shins. Slowly, lower your body to the ground, then return to the starting position. Repeat, ensuring that your body stays straight throughout the entire exercise.
