This week my socials have been full of people doing various different fitness challenges. Ranging from #30milesin30days to the #496challenge (run 1km on 1 Jan, 2km on 2 Jan etc, totalling 496km).
Fitness challenges like this can be really motivating and help push you towards your goals. They can also be empowering, fun and a great way to connect with others online. BUT before you jump head first into the next latest challenge, have a think about if it's…
A massive increase in volume? Consider the difference between your December training load and your expectations for January. Switching from sporadic workouts to overzealous daily training often leads to injury and burnout. Genuine fitness progress takes time. It's about consistency, balanced nutrition, adequate rest, and gradual progress. Think marathon rather than sprint.
Realistic? Fitness isn’t a one-size-fits all thing. These challenges don't consider your body's current capabilities, your time availability and pace of progress. We're not all on the same path, and nor should we be.
Stressful? No doubt you’ll start off highly motivated. But committing to potentially unrealistic targets can become mentally draining and demoralising. Your fitness journey should boost you up, not get you down!
The aim of this post isn’t to discourage you, but to inspire you to approach fitness in a way that’s more likely to lead to success. To encourage you to dig deeper into long term, achievable and realistic fitness goals.
Sustainable fitness is where change is slow and steady. It’s a balanced and realistic fitness journey that’s progressive and individual. It has no miracles, quick-fixes or false promises.
Do drop me a line if you’d like a chat (either in person or on Zoom) about how to sustainably grow your fitness levels this year.
Cheers to enjoying the journey in 2024, and not just chasing that end goal!
