We’ve all seen the ads: 30 Days to a Better You. 60 Days To Get Ripped. Some of the gimmicks are superficial, but the psychology is the same: asking yourself how much commitment you can give for a specific amount of time, for you.
The reasoning of joining a challenge can be anything from getting into better shape, taking advantage of an introductory offer at a new studio to changing fitness and eating habits for life.
But instead of just committing to 30 or 60 days, why not go all in and sign up for a whole year? What are the benefits of a short term commitment vs. a long term one?
It can get you over a plateau.
Some 30/60 challenges are designed to help you move through a particular time that you are stagnant, or have plateaued in your fitness routine. These challenges are aimed at moving you through static energy to push you into a new phase in your movement journey. Use this as a way to break up your routine and inject life into your fitness regimen, possibly learning new ways to reach a muscle group or yoga poses to prevent injury.
It can allow you to form new healthy habits.
Think of these challenges as a way to begin a new healthy routine. Whether it’s a new way of eating or a new way of getting exercise daily, your goal is to start a daily practice that becomes a habit, not stop after the “challenge” is over. These 30/60 days revolve around restructuring your daily life in an effort to welcome balance and wellness in, essentially making room to get to a healthier you.
It can provide a way to experiment with new things.
Many 30/60 challenges allow you to explore a certain fitness idea without locking into a long term commitment. The “speed dating” of fitness, these challenges can provide a way to sample their class offerings for a month or two to see if their environment is a good fit. Once the challenge ends, you have the knowledge to know whether or not that specific discipline or studio is conducive to your learning style, movement appetite, or schedule.
I signed up for a 30 days for $30 deal at a local yoga studio. I had never had that much freedom to go to yoga daily. I was able to test out all their classes, find a teacher that challenged me and also encouraged me, and ultimately fit in my busy schedule. What came next was an intense paradigm shift. I had found a practice that resonated with my mind, body, and spirit like I had never had before. And once the 30 days were up, I had already committed by simply prioritizing classes and my yoga practice flourished, as well as my life.
I’m a very active person and being able to practice yoga with an amazing yoga teacher brought my various movement hobbies together. I started a home practice when I couldn’t get to the studio and my hiking, skiing, and backpacking improved. I also realized I had certain mental blocks that I wouldn’t have been able to work through if I didn’t learn the importance of meditation, “arriving,” and how powerful it can be to get to your mat.
30/60 challenges can allow us to sample life changes in an effort to see what sticks. It allows exploration and cultivates awareness of habit changes. When practiced correctly, these challenges have the potential to cultivate new habits, and possibly replace the ones that are inevitably holding us back.
Author: Sarah Ronau