Han’s advice around challenges and how we go about them at Our Pilates.
I have quite mixed emotions when it comes to challenges. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the word is some kind of boot camp that involves before and after photos - eek. While these kinds of challenges do still exist, it’s certainly not how we go about them at Our Pilates.
So why do we offer challenges at all?
When done right, a challenge is a great way to boost motivation and get yourself into a positive exercise routine. Sticking to a short term goal is generally much easier than a big long term goal. So by joining a challenge that goes for 1-2 weeks, you can easily see the finish line and are very likely to get to the end. This gives you a great sense of achievement, a big rush of endorphins and serotonin and a positive attitude towards exercise. This is a great way to lay the foundations of a consistent exercise routine moving forward because you are already feeling good about your experience.
On the flip side, when signing up to a more traditional challenge, that goes for 6-8 weeks, focuses only on high intensity exercise and requires regular weigh-ins, there is a high chance that you will drop off somewhere along the way. This may be due to the unrealistic expectations of the challenge not fitting in with your lifestyle or you may become injured due to the sudden increase in exercise. This can leave you feeling guilt and shame around not achieving your goal and ultimately leads to a negative association with exercise. Then, if you do get to the end, the intensity of the challenge cannot be maintained, so the progress made is often lost soon after it ends.
At Our Pilates, our goal is for our community to enjoy moving their bodies, to feel good about exercise and to look forward to rolling out their mat each day. We love to offer challenges because we see the positive effect they have on our community every time we run one.
- Boost motivation: Brooke and I love these challenges as much as our members, whenever we feel our motivation lacking we usually suggest a new challenge because we know it inspires us to get back on our mat, moving regularly.
- Set up a consistent exercise routine: once the challenge ends, use the motivation to set up a routine that works for you, 3-4 classes per week is ideal but even 1 is better than none!
- Experience new classes you may not have tried before: By following the challenge planner you may end up doing a class you wouldn’t have selected for yourself and it’s usually these classes where we learn the most.
- Build a sense of community: the online chat and sharing of workouts create a real sense of teamwork that we absolutely love, it’s why we created Our Pilates in the first place.
- Focus on a specific goal or body part: we can use challenges to focus on working a particular area of the body (glutes, arms, core) or a particular goal (posture, flexibility, cardio fitness) for the ultimate results.
- Increase energy levels: regular exercise is well known to increase our energy levels by helping us to sleep better, improving our hormone balance and naturally motivating us to eat a balanced diet.
- Improve mood and mental health: daily exercise causes a release of serotonin and dopamine, while slowing the release of cortisol, which can help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, while also leading to sharper focus and cognitive function.
- Gain a deeper knowledge of your Pilates technique: you’ll be amazed at what you can learn from regular practice. Pilates is a skill that involves your nervous system so the more often you practise, the more you will master the moves.
- Strengthen your mind-body connection: Pilates brings focus to your body and how you are moving and when practised regularly creates a strong sense of body awareness and mindfulness.
Our challenges are always planned out to be challenging of course, but balanced and most importantly enjoyable. The goal is to make you feel good about exercising and inspired to keep up the momentum after the challenge ends.
Our Ultimate Energy Boost challenge begins April 29th!
Han x