End of Year Challenges
We have been quiet over the last month and we had forgotten to keep everyone updated on what has been happening! As the world changes day by day everyone is doing what they can to maintain normality…..us included as we try to keep close to family, think about christmas, what festivities can we enjoy, and of course goals and objectives for the new year [2021]. Jeez are we already at 2021…..š©
What are the demands and challenges we face individually. To name a few:
- Fitness goals go up and down like a yo-yo. One minute we are focused with our daily rituals, the next we are curled up on the couch with a dominoes pizza and a 2 litre bottle of coke
- Mental challenges of Covid-19, ongoing lockdowns, and separation from friends and family
- Lack of space and serenity which we all need from time to time. Ability to rest the brain, take deep breaths and enjoy the silence, sound of nature
- Ability to maintain any forms of balance given the chaos of 2020. We justify our excuses, but also punish ourselves for making excuses…..it is all very exhausting and taxing
The setting of goals and objectives exist to challenge discipline, but also test our boundaries and weak spots. Why is this important? It means you will approach the challenge differently when you do it again (and maybe again and again). Lessons are learnt from trying first and to be honest failing a few times. It takes a strong man and woman to accept failure, go back to the drawing board and start again.
The first few days, even the first half of any challenge can be easy, whether it 5, 10, 15, 100 days……or training for a triathlon, marathon, iron man, or any type of event. Actually it doesn’t matter what the challenge is, or what the objective is. All that matters is it matters to you. The middle and final stages of any personal test are where resilience is tested.
Our recent focus has been on moving, whether that is walking, running, crawling. As someone said somewhere ……motion is lotion, especially for those that are older or are recovering from a prior injury, or going through rehabilitation. The fact is the more sedentary you are the stiffer you feel, and the more locked up your muscles and joints feel. Then we go and put stress on our bodies without the appropriate conditioning and something goes snap, crackle, and pop (apologies Kellogs don’t sue me for copyright)…..and we wonder why because we did the five minute warm up we got from from YouTube. The body is complex and like a car if you treat it to a poor service something is likely to break if you put your foot down.
Tomorrow we reset again? – why? – because we can and it means we keep trying. But with continuous trying year after year, a level of fatigue can set in. How do we solve the yo-yo syndrome, and how is next year going to be any different to the last few years. Here are some suggestions that we have tried.
- Set yourself small challenges like this 30 day challenge and see how you track against it. Note what you find hard and what came easily
- Use devices such as smart watches and applications on your phone to give you rich data. We get excited when we see data working in our favour with small gains.
- Plenty of places providing monetary incentives to exercise. How great would it be to make money or get little gifts for achieving your own fitness or wellness goal. Examples include your health insurer, or even your local gym with reductions in your membership
- Track what you eat as best as you can. This will show a honest view of your calories in / calories out. Try to be honest with yourself as best as possible. It is easy to underestimate how much we eat
- Try to mix up your exercise, and do stuff you enjoy. If you don’t like going to the gym or going running….DON’T!!…..
- Get a coach or trainer. Honestly some of the best things that we did was hire a teacher or coach. Someone to hold you accountable and be there at your side helping you achieve those goals
Happy training. Keep up the good fight and get to the end. We are almost there!
Team@TitanšŖš½
titanidentity.com 