Fall is the Perfect Time for a 30-day Fitness Challenge

Despite the vacation time, summer, with its broken routines, can be a hectic time of year.  With the arrival of fall, the kids go back to school, beach/pool time comes to an end, vacation days are used up, and routines return.

As you reconstruct your non-summer routine this fall, it’s the perfect time to add exercise to your daily routine, especially if it hasn’t been part of it in the past.  As you plan out your days, plan in exercise time as well.  If it’s there, written down or on your smart phone’s schedule, it’s hard to avoid.

Why 30 days?  Because that’s usually how long something takes to become habit, and exercise, unlike may other things, is a great habit to have.   Also, 30 days is usually a long enough period of time to see the results of your efforts.  Those results might be modest, like improving your BMI or having more toned arm, legs, and/or abs, but if you’ve been diligent, you will see results after a month of hard work.

It’s also a great idea to embark on your 30-day fitness challenge with a group of like-minded individuals.

This group will help keep you on track and provide the support and motivation we all need every so often and you can do the same for them.  And with the joys of the virtual world, you don’t even need to meet with them in person.  Simply sharing your workouts with others via various exercise applications can, by itself, motivate you to hit your goals.

And have a goal in mind when you start, no matter how small.  It can be as simple as losing five pounds, running in a local 5k or toning your arms.  Write that goal down somewhere and place it where you’ll see it every day and share it with anyone that will listen.  You’ll then feel obligated to achieve it.

I would also recommend using various forms of strength and cardio workouts.  Someone, I’m *not sure who, once said “variety is the spice of life” and that applies to exercising.  Vary your workouts and then spend time doing what you enjoy most.  The worst thing that can happen is that you get bored and quit.  Do not let that happen.

If you find that yoga is your thing, then, by all means, spend most of your valuable exercise time doing that, or jogging, spinning, walking, Pilates, free weights, core workouts…whatever floats your boat.  If the weather’s bad, put on your favorite Netflix series and stay inside.

There’s no rule that says you must go to the gym or get outside every day.  Just try not to do the same thing daily no matter how much you enjoy it.  Your body responds better when your workouts vary.  If you enjoy walking then vary your pace from day-to-day and within workouts, spend some days walking hills or walk on different terrain.  Do not simply walk three miles on the local track day after day after day.

Below are some 30-day fitness challenge websites and apps that can get you started and help keep you motivated the entire month.

https://www.theseasonedmom.com/fit-fall-30-day-workout-plan-healthy-eating-challenge/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/30-day-fitness/id1099771240

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.popularapp.thirtydayfitnesschallenge&hl=en_US

https://mycrazygoodlife.com/25-motivating-30-day-fitness-challenges/

*Ok, I looked it up, and this phrase comes from William Cowper’s poem, “The Task” (1785)