A 30 Day Challenge is a great way to end up fatter, weaker, and dumber. The whole concept is flawed because it reinforces the notion that fitness or health is a destination when it is a journey. Go to any type of race and ask anyone who finished on the podium, ask the most yoked guy/girl at your gym how many 30 Day Challenges they did to get there? They will look at you like you are speaking Latin. That type of talk is completely foreign to them. They got where they are because they have been doing the work for a long time. Think lifestyle.
A lot of the people who promote the 30DC concept will likely tell you that New Years Resolutions are stupid (they are) but how are they any different than a 30DC? They both set you up to fail because they have a defined start and finish. Wanna change your life start now. There is no finish line. Real fitness is gained with a periodized program not some slapped together program that will most likely be either too easy to elicit any change or so hard that you give up or get hurt.
Yes I realize the irony in the fact that the first thing you see when you land on my site is an invitation to download a 28 Day Off The Couch program. That plan though is designed to get you started on a lifetime of health and fitness. A good 30DC (or 28) should function the same way. I get it that no one plans to get fat, weak, and out of shape. We all have to start somewhere. After just telling you how bad a 30DC is if you approach them right they can be good. Change your thinking about what a 30DC can do for you. If you are thinking that in 30 days you are done you will be disappointed. Use those 30 days to give you some structure and to learn some new habits and get rid of some old ones. This is just the start. There is noting magic about 30 days it is an arbitrary number. Use those 30 days to figure out what you like and don’t like. You will be much more likely to stay on track if you do things you like. That said you may still end up having to do things you don’t like. I really don’t like mobility work but I do like the results so I do it. Think of the stuff you don’t like as cod liver oil. It is nasty, but it is good for you.
