This account is based on the premise of the Fitness Fridays themed day! We’re going to publish a small challenge for people to achieve every week, so that they ave incentive to get into better shape and to post about their achievements every Friday. These challenges are intended to be achievable, and can help build those who need a bit of motivation build up their basic strength and endurance over time.

Additionally, as promised in our announcement, we’re going to include a weekly prize of 1 HSBI to the best Fitness Friday post for those who are able to complete the challenge! This prize will increase over time as the account’s earnings increase, so in the future expect prizes of 2 HSBI, 3 HSBI, etc.

Without further ado, let’s get to our winner and to this week’s challenge:

Winner of This Week's Best Fitness Friday Post

This week's 1 HSBI prize goes to... @dewabrata for this Fitness Friday post!

Congratulations! Keep up the strong work. 💪

This Week’s Challenge

Starting with 1 set of bench presses (8 - 12 repetitions) with a weight at least 30% below your maximum (i.e. if you maximum bench press is 100 lbs, use 70 lbs for this exercise), do an additional 1 set every other day until the end of the week. For example, you’d start with 1 set of 8 - 12 repetitions on March 15th, progress to 2 sets on March 18th, and progress to 3 sets on March 20th. 3-4 days over the course of one week is sufficient to avoid overexertion and allow for recovery time. By the end of the week, if you do 3 days, you'll have completed 6 sets by the end of the week, and if you do 4 days, you'll have completed 10 sets by the end of the week! With an average of 10 presses per set, that's between 60 and 100 repetitions!

Ideally, the repetitions in each set are consecutive. Allow at least a few minutes of rest between sets. Just ensure that you complete them with good form and without injury.

Feel free to post your progress on the challenge throughout the week, but please make sure that you post the final results on Fitness Friday!

Here is an article with an embedded video comprehensively demonstrating proper bench press form.

Some Precautions & Safety Warnings

When doing any exercise, pay attention to form first and foremost. Proper form is important for the purposes of safety and so that you can get the most out of the exercise. Improper form can lead to injuries and also decreases the efficacy of the exercise.

It is normal to feel muscle fatigue, and when approaching the end of a set, a bit of “burning” as you’re completing the movement. That burning sensation often comes from lactic acid buildup, and you’ll recognize it as you continue doing repetitions – it tends to go away pretty quickly once you finish the exercise.

If you feel sharp pain at any point, then immediately cease the challenge and go see a doctor as soon as you can. Do not push through sharp pain, or you risk worsening a potential injury.

Good luck with the challenge!

Disclaimer: Ecency points from the Community account @hive-140084 will be used to attempt to Boost this post.

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