2020 was my first year without a gym in 20 years.  While I do miss the gym because of the atmosphere and the variety of equipment, I have learned to do the best I can with my home workout equipment. I’ve written about how much I enjoy the workouts on the Peloton app, YouTube yoga workouts, and my own routines but I could feel my motivation slipping.

I set a goal of doing 150 -160 workouts in 2020 and I ended up doing 191.  I attribute a lot of that to being at home and not having excuses about going to the gym and also doing more 20-30 minute workouts on days when motivation was lower instead of skipping it altogether as I may have done when I had to get up and go to the gym.

One of the greatest lessons from 2020 for me on the workout front was that 20-30 minute workouts are plenty and really adjusting my mindset to always having to do a 45 minute to 1-hour workout.

Getting us out of the mindset that longer workouts are the only way is one way online fitness apps like Peloton are changing the game of fitness.  In the past it seemed like a waste of time to get dressed, get in the car, drive to the gym, look for parking, and then workout for 20 minutes.  You spent more time getting there than the actual workout!

Now all I have to do is go downstairs to my basement, grab my weights, and go.  I’ve already saved the 30 minutes or so “going to the gym”

Starting Strong

Call me negative but I don’t believe this Covid19 Pandemic is ending anytime soon so I’ve already got it in my head that I’m not going to get back to the gym or resume any of my normal activities until Late Summer at the earliest.  I wish I could believe the happy talk and promises to make myself feel more hopeful but the ways things have been going, the reality seems to be that this is all going to go on much longer than anyone knows.

Before completely giving up and throwing in the towel, I decided that I was just going to have to enlist resources and put processes into place so that I would start 2021 strong and not give up completely.

I signed up for a 60 Day Workout Challenge from Nicole Wilkins.  I’ve done several of her challenges in the past and I love her workouts because they are tough. I don’t follow the nutrition part of the plan really but I like the suggestions and it gives me ideas to spice up my nutrition if I’ve gotten into a rut.

Challenges give me structure, a routine, and something to complete. If you’ve gotten into a rut with your fitness routine or it’s non-existent, then you may look into joining a fitness challenge.

You need structure

One of the main reasons people fail at their fitness goals is because they have no structure and they “wing it”.  This makes it much easier to blow off.  Nicole provides a calendar with the challenge so you know what you’re supposed to be doing and when you’re supposed to do it.  You check off each day you’ve completed your workout.  I think that’s so important because it prevents “All or Nothing” thinking.

If you miss a day, then you do that day and catch up (or not).  In a past challenge, it took me almost an extra week to complete it because I had missed some days but I still finished. I didn’t quit because I didn’t finish right on time.

You need a routine

When I went to the gym for past challenges, I would go early in the mornings and that became part of my normal routine.

Rituals and Routines are so important for lifestyle habits.  One of the main reasons people fail at their healthier lifestyle goals is because they never develop a routine.  Challenges help you to develop new routines and discover new elements to add to your routine.

This time not having a gym and working out at home, I’m planning to add a post-workout shake to the routine and also doing some morning workouts when I can.  I enjoy morning workouts and I would like to add them back into my routine.  A challenge gives me the motivation to do so.

You need something to Complete

One of the main reasons I like Challenges is because they have a start and finish date.  It does not feel like we’re on a march to nowhere.  It feels really good to complete something.  Completing a challenge, a class, or a goal you’ve set for yourself really helps to build your confidence and self-esteem.

We all need higher self-esteem in times like these that are so uncertain and the days are filled with bad news.  We will all need confidence and healthy self-esteem to make it through these challenging times.

According to Merriam-Webster one of the definitions of the word challenge is to arouse or stimulate especially by presenting with difficulties

When you challenge yourself physically, it helps you to push past the temporary discomfort and difficulty in order to become stronger.

Practice makes perfect so the more you practice challenging yourself (even physically), the more grit you’ll have when faced with other difficulties.  You won’t be so quick to give up or give in because you’ll have developed skills that kick in for when it gets hard.

As I said in my post about Hiking Mission Peak, we learn to do hard things by doing hard things.

Challenge yourself

Here’s my Call to Action to you!

Come up with your own challenge for 7 Days and stick to it!

Sign up for a Fitness Challenge!  There are tons of them out there.  I will just caution against those associated with Multi-Level Marketing companies.  Been there and done that.  It’s not worth it.

Let’s continue to challenge ourselves and get better one day at a time.