Try one of these printable fitness challenges to kick start your fitness training or add a bit of variety to your program. Although fitness challenges are generally only for a short duration and are not a long term fitness plan, there are lots of benefits to doing them:

• It’s easy to find the time to fit a daily challenge in, even if you don’t have time for any other exercise.
• There is usually a defined goal to work towards (eg 200 squats) and each day’s progress towards this goal is clear.
• They can help to establish a regular habit of making time to exercise.
• Focusing on a particular aspect of fitness makes it easier to see improvement than it is with an all-round workout program. This increases motivation.
• Finishing the challenge gives a sense of achievement.
• Doing a challenge for 30 days and then moving on to something else helps to avoid boredom with exercise.
• If you’re already a regular exerciser, doing a workout challenge can give your fitness efforts an extra boost
• It can also be a good way for regular exercisers to try something new or work on a different aspect of their fitness. If you run or walk for example, it may be good to do upper body challenges.

Free printable fitness challenges to do at home

Fitness challenge FAQs

How do I find a challenge that’s the right level for me?

The first day of the challenge should feel like it needs a bit of effort, but not too much. If you really struggle with day 1, then you probably won’t get through the challenge. The idea with the challenges on this site is that the first few days get you used to the exercises and the daily habit. Usually about halfway through the challenge the effort levels start to increase more quickly.

Avoid challenges that increase effort levels very quickly – they’re simply not realistic. It’s unlikely that, for example, you would be able to increase how many squats you are able to do by 10 a day for 30 days, or increase your plank hold time by 10 seconds a day for 30 days.

What if the challenge gets too hard?

Fitness improvements don’t always happen in a predictable way. Sometimes we’re just not as strong or energetic for no apparent reason, or we hit a plateau. If you get to a point where you’re struggling to complete the day’s challenge, you can try one of the following:

• Take a couple of days off and start again where you left off
• Do the challenge on alternate days rather than every day
• Instead of increasing the effort every day, stay at the same level for 2 or 3 days and then go onto the next day of the challenge

Obviously these solutions mean the challenge will last longer, but you’ll still benefit from doing it.

Shouldn’t you have rest days between workouts?

In general, allowing muscles 48 hours between workouts is good because it gives our bodies time to recover and adapt. Challenges are generally short workouts and for a limited period of time (usually 30 days), so not having many rest days won’t be a problem. With challenges that alternate exercises each day, it’s not an issue, because you’re using different muscles.

See all fitness challenges