The world of gym challenges is definitely on the increase. Gym members have been kept in the dark for a long time about the benefits that this form of training can produce with amazing results in a relative short period of time. But with the introduction of this Fitness Challenge launched by Men's Fitness and carried out by Fitness First comes a real insight into the first stages of X Training.

I think it's important to stress from the outset that this challenge is not what is considered a X Training Open or Advanced level event - more Intermediate. But at this stage that is probably the wise move forward. Any event that is just too hard to complete will not entice participation, but as any good X Trainer will tell you, they were all at this level once and progressed onto the Open.

Admittedly there is a need for a build up of cardio to do these type of events first and also the need to have a high lactate threshold - but these are the areas that x trainers focus on most and when you see our results you will understand why worldgymchallenge is so keen for the sport of X training to develop and for Sport England to recognise this as a unique sport with unique training qualities and unique athletes.

The Challenge will of course entice members into Fitness First to complete the challenge and also enable potential customers to meet Personal Trainers and view the surroundings of any Fitness First Gym - potentially increasing gym membership. Again a good and positive move by Fitness First.

Whatever the gym challenge is - the most vital ingredient behind it is to be able to record the time. That is what Worldgymchallenge does.

What was it like ?

What I had to do now was discover - is the challenge any good? I was keen to try out the latest Men's Fitness challenge. And my initial reaction was, I was pleasantly surprised.

The warm up and Row

The event starts of with a row and this is a good way to warm up all those muscle groups before you get well into the challenge. - but it's also advisable to warm before this and I spent a quick leisurely 10 min's on the x trainer followed by some stretches .

Most x trainers will tell you do not go off with all guns blazing for the row , the extra effort you put in will not make up huge amount of time - but this is a clever challenge and shares a similarity with the WGC course as in - its basically all down to the row, bike and run where you will make up time - there are no weight issues here that are that tough , unlike the WGC course with shoulder press and bench press which needs some serious training to complete in one hit.

But the concept rower is a great piece of kit and completing this in 1:58 is an ok time with energy to spare at this stage.

Biceps curl to press

I borrowed the 6 kg dumb bells from the weights section as we don't have 5kg - they were placed at the feet of the rower and as soon as I finished I cracked on to curl to press with the dumb bells. No real problems here the exercise is quite straight forward and works obviously the biceps and shoulders together. It will be interesting to see how this exercise is judged - it's a fast exercise and the full range of movement is going to be very hard to enforce and I can see a few complaints about various technique on this exercise. Having said that its a welcome change and different to the normal current set of exercises normally used in x training events

Burpees

Moving on to the burpees . I must admit I was a bit self conscious of doing this exercise , I found a space near the rower and carried out the required amount - getting some weird glances from other gym users. It never bothers me - I'm there to train and sometimes that means ignoring your self conscious image and just getting on with it.

Bike

Its half way at this stage, and the order of disciplines was relatively easy to set up in my gym and in fairly close proximity of each other , so I went onto the bike. - level 12 at an average of 106 rpm. Not too sure if they have set minimum levels here but I used 12 for the Men's bike which is 3 km in distance. It's at this stage where the top x trainers start to separate the men from the boys - too. X trainers will pretty much max this discipline which means the bike couldn't really go any faster and top times will not vary much .

The Bench Press

The bench press uses dumb bells which means its far easier to set up and you tend only to hog the 2 x 10 kg d/b for a short while. I used the Reebok step with 7 risers so I wouldn't upset any of the gym weights guys by nicking their benches.

30 at 10 kg in each hand is an intermediate weight. Top X trainer level and this will not even break sweat for some of the guys. It will also be notoriously hard to judge as the downward motion will vary to each competitor and the correct lock out at the upward stage has now been doubled as each arm has to be checked.

Bench Hops (Jumping Jacks)

I guess the hardest section for me was now happening . I quickly changed the set up for steps to three risers and the step to incorporate the jumping jacks. I realise that this may have been too low, but using risers I guessed the height. A nice steady routine meant I kept my breathing steady -ish. And didn't at this stage care at all at the odd looks I was getting and this included the gym staff - it would be good to see some of them try this event but it looks like Ultrafit may well introduce a challenge to ROKO soon and it will be interesting to see how well the gym staff do in that.

10 kg d/b squats

The jacks completed its time for the leg sapping dumb bell squats with 10 kg - I must admit I struggled a bit here - not severely but enough to know that when I started the run I was in for a tough time.

Using the 10kg dumb bells meant I had taken two sets with me 6 kg and 10 kg the gym wasn't that busy and I was using the Reebok steps as a bench so on the whole I was not really hogging any equipment and I was fairly happy I wasn't getting in anybody's way either - but gym layouts do vary and it would be advisable to do this challenge in pairs. One taking the time and preparing equipment and then reversing the roles, so to give incentive to this challenge and not looking so extrovert in the gym when you do it by yourself.

                                                                                 Treadmill

The last piece of equipment to go through is the run. Set at 0 per cent incline for a 1000 metes this will be a very fast machine and speedy legs to finish with a respectable time and this is where I let myself down a bit. Finishing on a 16 kph dash is never going to give me a brilliant time - but a time good enough for me.

Opinion

What I like about this challenge is - set it too hard and it will scare off the potential X trainer but make it challenging enough to wet the appetite then you will create interest and more members will start competing and worldgymchallenge hopes this will be the kick start X training needs. For a start, numbers for competing will be up and Sport England should acknowledge there is potential for this sport to develop. And the FIA could take a closer look too.

X Trainers

It is unlikely that the entrants to the upcoming Indoor Ironman Open or even Intermediate would struggle in any way on this challenge - but I am sure they will welcome the initiative to try and increase participation and in this degree worldgymchallenge is on the side of introducing the sport of X Training to any member of a gym for them to try it because lets also remember there is also a time issue here. I have exercised legs, back, triceps, shoulders and chest and had a tough cardio workout with the bike, treadmill and the rower all in under 20 min's. That gives me time to wash and relax and be out of the gym in 30 min's !

Worldgymchallenge is proud to try and enhance the sport of X training in any way it can - the national database that is set up will give any gym that subscribes to it a chance for the fittest members to shine from any gym. It will also give the beginner and intermediate the chance to shine with other gym users as they start training together for this and the other events out there.

How can worldgymchallenge help you?

This Challenge can be set up for your own Personal Database to record improvements at any attempt you try.

It will record each time the event is tried and tell you (in the last column) if you are getting faster or slower (the above is an example and more the one attempt is needed) Red will indicate slower, Black the same and Blue faster.

Saying that the x training season is just underway - if you would like to know more about gym challenges and how to record your time for them them please register on this site - its free for three months and then £11. 75 per year to keep a record of the challenges you enter and the time it took you to do it in but if your gym subscribes for just £199 a year it is fee to all that gyms' members for one year - you can also get it verified on line so you get a tick by the side of it which records the name of the gym instructor who witnessed it too - the catch? That gym instructor needs to have completed the WGC in under 20 min's male and under 22 min's female, that way we maintain our role as having the fittest gymathletes on our site or those with passion and dedication. Either Challenge makes you a real X trainer, a gym gladiator and a superb all round athlete for the industry you are part of - ask your gym today to subscribe and see what they say. And if they say no - ask them why and let worldgymchallenge.com at info@worldgymchallenge.com know the reasons. If they say yes, well get them to contact info@worldgymchallenge.com at the same email!! It's your chance to be part of something special and have the gym elite train at your gym.

Always seek medical advice before undertaking a physical challenge !

X Training at it's top level is competed by the gym elite and they have trained and trained to be able to do the X Training Slump and hold their heads high and say "that was a tough event". Unfortunately the present Men's Fitness Challenge should not be confused with X Training at its higher level - but is welcomed by worldgymchallenge to encourage the sport of X Training.