Why Fitness Challenges?

Why Fitness Challenges? The last few months I’ve been posting about some different fitness challenges and I want to share my WHY for joining and leading them. I’ve done challenges in the past and something in me really clicks with taking a set number of days and really drilling down on my healthy eating and fitness. It’s easy to let one little treat become another and another and one day of skipping a workout or just “dialing it in” become your usual motions. Fitness challenges wake us up from those routines and help to establish new healthy habits or re-establish old habits you’ve slipped away from.

Why Fitness Challenges?

• It costs you. This may not SEEM like a benefit, but I always am more dedicated when I am doing a program that costs me something. I have put my valuable money and time into a program and I want to see a return on my investment! This really creates self-accountability and determines how valuable the fitness process is to you up front.
• Support. Probably my favorite thing about a challenge group is the support. Whether you have a question, want to share a tip, need to commiserate, or celebrate a victory there are other people just like you going through the same thing! That is a powerful motivation when you want to give up! 
• Accountability. Along with support comes accountability. In my challenge groups I check in with my people almost every day and if I haven’t heard anything for a few days I will be sending some encouragement or an offer of help. Once you’ve declared your intentions and jumped in there will be a group holding you accountable for your day-to-day fitness goals and overall success on the challenge.
• Focus. Like I mentioned in the introduction it can be easy over time to give small allowances to yourself: a small brownie, a shorter workout session, not tracking water, just a few slices of pizza–you get the idea. A fitness challenge gives you a shorter amount of time so you can really hone in on your healthy eating habits and put your BEST effort into an effective workout.
• Variety. Sometimes you need to shake it up! If you’ve been running the same 3-4 miles over and over you have probably stopped seeing the same results you initially had because your body is smart and adaptive. You need to keep challenging yourself! I love the 21 Day Fix workouts because there is such amazing variety in this program–strength workouts, cardio blasters, abs, pilates, yoga AND plyometrics! You can also mix and match programs like I’ve been doing with Cize (dance focused cardio) and the 21 Day Fix to keep yourself from getting bored and your body constantly adapting and burning more calories. I also don’t want to over-focus on one body part (aka my legs because of running) and have a weak upper body, core, or flexibility. I WANT it all! And actually that balanced approach with variety is what will keep my whole body in great condition!
• Results. I’ve found doing a fitness challenge really pushes me to get results! When I see the progress I can make in a short amount of time I am super-encouraged and pumped to keep my healthy living journey going strong. I’ve lost between 5-11 pounds on challenges and would say the average person in my last challenge group lost 8 pounds in 21 days! They also lost inches, gained confidence, built their strength, and felt more energized from healthy eating and exercising. And yes, you have to keep your healthy habits going once the challenge is over; it’s not a one and done kind of thing. But challenges give you the tools to kickstart your health again and keep going toward your fitness goals.

[tweetthis]Why Join a Fitness Challenge? Variety. Focus. Support. Accountability. Results. #fitfam #workout[/tweetthis]

Those are some amazing reasons to join a fitness challenge group! Shake up your routine and give yourself focus when it comes to your fitness goals. If you are looking to join a challenge group look for some on Facebook or Instagram (I’ve joined a running and yoga ones this way), see if your favorite blogger offers one (I love Fitnessista’s Summer Shape Up) or (of course!) join one of mine!

I do my challenges in conjunction with Beachbody Fitness programs! Our next challenge starts on August 8th and runs for 3 weeks. You can choose to do the 21 Day Fix or Piyo for your workout portion-I’d love to chat about which one would be a better fit for your goals and lifestyle! We will be focusing on eating nutritious foods (aka no junk–all the good stuff!) and in the right portions. Leave a comment below and I will be happy to get you signed up for our next challenge!

Have you ever done a fitness challenge before? What did you like about it?