Fitness Challenges - Do They Work?

So you’ve done the responsible thing by getting off your middle-aged butt and heading to a gym or the occasional exercise class somewhere. You’ve been there a little while, turning up once, even twice a week. You’re feeling pretty good about yourself. The one day you arrive to the greeting “Have you heard about our challenge? You’re going to love it!”

This is how the fitness industry is classifying us all - it’s a secret psychological test. There’s a special subset for those of us past their athletic prime. Do you recognise yourself in any of these?

Type A - “Hell, yeah, gonna smash it!” - can be split into A1, the 40yo athlete who is actually going to smash it; and A2, the one who thinks they will smash it, hasn’t actually perspired while exercising since 1996 and needs to seek medical advice before signing up for anything more than a rewards card
Type B - “Wooohooo! Cheap classes!” - full disclosure, this has been me at times. Whatever gets you moving more often, it’s a good thing!
Type C - “Ummmmmmm… I shooooooould… but… maybe… I guess it would be good for me… “ - 4 weeks ago, this was exactly me. There’s a better than 50-50 chance it’s going to be you when faced with the question.

And then I signed up for the challenge - this one at Strong Pilates. Let’s dig into that story today and answer the question: “Do fitness challenges work?”

*Welcome to the Rowformer at Strong Pilates (source: www.strongpilates.com.au)*

A little background first. Before our Melbourne Covid-19 lockdowns, I’d been active with 3-4 pilates classes and a PT gym session each week. I added a few iso-kilos though. Once we got back out again, they wouldn’t go away, even though I started working out again (nothing to do with a love of ice-cream, I’m sure). I did start the occasional class at Strong though, which is not your normal Pilates. We work out on a machine called a Rowformer at Strong, a machine similar to a Lagree Megaformer at one end (think Pilates reformer, just scarier) and with a Concept 2 rower at the other end. Fantastic classes, but I was finding them tough as hell. And then the dreaded words popped into my inbox… “Join the Tough Love Challenge at Strong”.

A couple of weeks later, I found myself at an orientation session on a Saturday afternoon. They explained how the challenge, starting on the Monday, would work, then dedicated over an hour to teaching us how to row without blowing a gasket. Proper rowing technique is counter-intuitive, as you have to first slow down to speed up. Helping us get the basics right was a terrific step in setting the participants up for success. While I was there, I decided to go all in and do a before and after body scan. The before wasn’t great - but then this is why I signed up, right? And then Monday came around.

*My world-class PT, Liv, joins in the insanity - if she ever gets herself a website, we could link to her here and drum up some business!*

Day 1 was testing day and “Tough Love” immediately lived up to its name. During an otherwise normal class, we took three baseline measures - a row for speed, a row for endurance and an exercise for full body strength. The primary objective of the challenge was to complete 18 classes in 30 days, developing consistent exercise habits, then to repeat the initial class and compare the three measures. One by one, I crossed off classes on my chart and met that activity objective, with a total of 20 classes, including one double class - a mental goal I set for myself.

Classes done, let’s return to that original question. “Will a fitness challenge work for me?”

I’m going to go out on a limb here, with a “Definitely, maybe” - because all challenges are not made equal. Some challenges do little more than empty your pockets, while the best ones give you real results. My challenge at Strong has delivered in spades and is an excellent example of what to look for in your next (or first) challenge. I no particular order, here’s some suggestions for choosing a fitness challenge.

“5P Rule - Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”

Get ready before you start. Strong helped us do this with their induction afternoon, letting us know what to expect and brushing up on a key skill. Take it on yourself to get prepared too. Do you know there’s a shortfall in your knowledge or skills? Speak to the trainers before the challenge starts and find out what you need to do to prepare. Haven’t exercised for a while? Don’t be proud - get yourself to your health professional first to make sure you’re physically ready for what you’re about to do. If you’re a bit off the pace, then either you need a different pathway, or perhaps the trainers can make appropriate modifications to the program for you. Golden rule - if in doubt, ask. Then you’re all set to go.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”

The action plan at Strong is simple - do classes, do a lot of them, so as to embed an exercise discipline designed to improve strength and endurance. 18 classes in a month is challenging in itself and through the middle, I did start getting heavy legs. It’s worked much like a footy pre-season, or a training program for a long distance run, as it built volume. Nothing was random though, as classes were programmed to work on each testing element, and as the month wore on, I noticed my endurance progressively building and my new rowing technique feeling more natural. Whatever challenge it is that you’re looking at - what’s the plan, beyond just turning up?

*Day 1 testing done. Having a plan and setting a baseline are vital for your progress*

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”

Not just a business mantra. The specific measurables in the Tough Love challenge serve two purposes. Not only are they a final measurement of progress through the challenge; they’re also something to chase throughout the month. An additional benefit of the rowing component at Strong is that every rowing block has some sort of measurable target (distance, calories, reps) and this is how we are shepherded towards our final goals. So what will you be measuring in your challenge? It doesn’t need to be rocket science - but it does need to be something you can measure.

Weight a minute…

Is weight loss a good measure? It’s a pretty common one in many of the challenges I’ve seen promoted. Personally, I don’t love it as a target, even though I went into this challenge hoping to lose some lockdown kilos. Truth is, it’s not weight I was looking to lose - instead, I wanted to be healthier and an outcome of that is a reduction in body fat.

I’m no expert, but I’ve read enough of the science to know that you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet. For this challenge, I gave up the cookies, chips, ice creams and pastries and focused on clean eating. No calorie counting - just no crap going down my throat. It made sense to me to layer a couple of good habits in such a way that I could continue them once the challenge was complete. For me, it was more about a reset in my habits. So if you want to lose a few pounds, great - but don’t smash the shit out of yourself to do it, nor starve yourself at a time you’ve taken on more activity. Common sense suggests to nourish yourself, maintain an exercise intensity you can handle and pass on the donuts for a little while.

(yeah, I know - wait, not weight. Dad joke)

“Coaching is taking a player where he can’t take himself”' (Bill McCartney)

Insert all of those ‘comfort zone’ quotes here. It’s not enough to turn up and go through the motions to get your best results. Sure, you will still get a benefit from regular exercise and that might be enough for some people. To me, the point of a challenge is to kickstart your fitness, maybe push over a plateau. During Tough Love, there’s been no place to hide. A coach will pop next to you at any moment during a rowing block, jab their finger at the screen and push you. When you’re holding a plank, they’ll prod your feet to get you higher on your toes - and “don’t be the person who gives up!” Squatting and lunging? “Get lower!!” These are the times I swear under my breath and dig deep for that little bit more that I was never going to find myself.

Who will coach you through your challenge? Are you going to get the push that you need? Trust me, no matter how self-driven you think you are, having someone hold you accountable for these small moments is what helps you reach a little further.

The $64 question

Did it work for me? Indeed!

30 Second Row - increased from 151m to 153m
500m Row - improved time from 1:51.6 to 1:45.6
Plank to Pike (4 sec up, 4 sec down) following 30 second plank - up from 12 to 20

Did I lose weight? Yep - things are fitting much better than a month ago! And I’ve still not had a donut.

Conclusion

Will a fitness challenge work for you? Definitely, maybe! Here’s a plan -

Get honest with yourself - get any medical advice you need before you get silly
Find one that gets your interest, doing something you will enjoy doing
Prepare for your challenge - do you have the skills and knowledge you need? Speak to the organisers so they can help you
Have an activity plan - focus on completing the work in a way that will make results inevitable
Set goals that are realistic and measurable
Consider any other changes you want to make through the challenge
Have fun!

They want me to do a fitness challenge - will it work?