The Positives and Negatives of the Fitness Challenge You're Thinking of Doing
The Positives and Negatives of the Fitness Challenge You're Thinking of Doing
Things to think about before you sign up for that new year challenge.
By Marco Augusto
Heading into the new year, you can bet that you'll see plenty of short fitness challenges, all trying to get your attention with the promise of an improved body and life.
But do these fitness challenges work?
How do you make sure you can make the most of them?
And if there are so many short fitness challenges, shouldn't everyone be super lean and sexy by now?
In this article I want to discuss the benefits and negatives of that fitness challenge you're hoping will make all the difference to your 2022.
The Positives
In all honesty, I'm not actually a fan of these fitness challenges, for reasons I'll discuss soon.
But that doesn't mean there aren't some positives you can get from them.
And there are positives for both you and the coach/facility running them.
From a business point of view, a short term challenge is a great way to attract new clients.
They generally seen a lower barrier to entry, both from a financial point of view and time commitment from new clients.
And the business can get some great results form clients, which the often do, because when most people go from doing no exercise, to some exercise, they get results straight away; it's how the human body works.
And that can be enough to get a long term paying client.
And as mentioned above, for you it can be cheap, and you don't need to commit a lot of time.
It's almost like an extended trial you pay for.
Plus you will probably get some results, which is never bad.
And sometimes getting quick results gives you the taste you need to keep going.
So often a short term challenge wins for you and the business.
The Negatives
What negatives can there be?
Its cheap, short and you're likely to get results.
Well actually, they are the negatives as well.
You see, when it's short, there's only one way you can train, which is the "all or nothing" approach.
Basically you're "sprinting" for the full time of the challenge, trying to do things as hard and as fast as you can to maximise results.
The problem is, it's really hard to maintain that for any period of time, and even harder if you haven't been doing anything before the challenge.
For some people this can lead them to getting injury, which is the worst thing you can do to stay consistent with your exercise.
Basically, it's very rare for these challenges to have a long term focus on your health, which is a shame, because health, from what I understand, is a long term problem.
And then, there are the results.
Sure, many people do get results, and yet, no one really seems to change, or make change that sticks around for any period of time.
You see, when the focus is on one before and after, it's easy to make progress look like results, but what happens after the after photo?
And so, when there isn't a long term focus on health, results don't stick around in the long term, and many people end up looking and feeling how they did, or worse, before they started the challenge in the first place.
So What Should You Do?
My thought is that there's nothing wrong with testing something, so why not do that challenge.
But there's also nothing wrong with asking the coach or business "what happens at the end of the challenge for me?".
If that can't be answered, then you should be wary, but even still, it might be worth it to try.
The other option is to work with a coach or business that has a longer term view.
But doesn't that mean a slower process and more cost?
Potentially, but if you're seeing your health as a "cost" then nothing will ever be worth it.
But if you want health now and into the future, look at it as an investment, and then taking a bit longer is no problem is the results are sustainable.
I personally am in the latter camp.
How are you going to look and feel in 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 3 years.
That's what I'm focusing on; the habits and processes which lead to that result for you.
And of course, time for a shameless plug, you can find out more and organise a consultation by clicking here.
Until next time,
Marco Augusto
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