5BX and Lent

For Lent 2016, I gave up video games.  I am no longer a practiciing Catholic, but I felt it was time for me to take a break and focus on other things in life.  With that, my Wii Fit U activity has been suspended.  In the meantime, I have rediscovered 5BX (short for five basic exercises).  The 5BX regime is an exercise program developed by Dr. Bill Orban for the Royal Canadian Air Force.  The notable things about this program are it only takes eleven minutes per day to complete and does not require any specialized equipment (particularly great for pilots stationed in remote bases or anyone with limited time or access to a gym).  The participant starts at the lowest level of the first chart and progresses his or her way up to a level appropriate for his or her age (I am 31 years old, so my endgoal is Chart 4, Level C+).  As one progresses through the program, the fitness demands increase, either requiring more repetitions per exercise in the time limit or the exercises themselves becoming more difficult.

The regime starts with two minutes of a stretching activity (essentially the warm-up period), followed by one minute of ab exercises, one minute of back strengthening exercises, a minute of push-ups, concluded with six minutes of cardio.  The final exercise may be substituted with either a run or a walk that must be completed within a time limit.  It must be said that later levels of ab exercises can cause back problems.  Doing modern crunches or holding a plank formation may be substituted.

The program is no longer in use by the Royal Canadian Air Force.  However, a quick Google search can bring up lots of resources for the program, including free .PDF files of scans from the old booklets!

I try to work out the entire two minutes or one minute required for each exercise instead of just doing the required reps and stopping.  I also do the running option for my cardio (the school I work at has a track which I run on during my free time.  On weekends, I go to the park and run).  Today is my eighth day of doing 5BX and I am impressed with what I am seeing.  Progress seems slow, but with my back injury from a few years ago, I want to take my time and make sure I can comfortably do the routine before moving on to higher levels (my age dictates that I spend at least four days at each level before progressing).  The exercises are controlled and paced in Wii Fit U, contrasted with 5BX in that it's a daily physical fitness test where I push myself to do my best.  It will be interesting to see how I do in Wii Fit U after Lent is over...IF I don't want to give up 5BX.

Here is a great link to get started with 5BX.  As always, consult a physician before starting an exercise program.  http://fit450.com/HTML/5BX_Intro.html