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Are six-week challenges really worth it?

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‘Tis the season to be inundated with “ six-week challenges” from any and every gym within a 7000km radius – and it’s tempting right?

After an undisclosed period of consuming Lindt balls for breakfast, left-over lunches, and indulgent dinners you start to FEEL like a Lindt ball, so it’s understandable that a pre-determined start date and a defined period of time for what looks like great results starts to look as tempting as leftover potato bake.

“ Six-week challenges” [or insert the number of weeks “HERE” challenges] usually comprise of an exercise component and a nutrition component.”

But are six-week challenges worth it?

In short. YES (with some fine print, so read on).

If you’re the classic “I’ll start Monday” type of person you’ll also know that “Monday” never comes, so one of the benefits of a challenge is that it comes with a FIXED start date. So a “Monday” start becomes Monday 5 February – so you are more likely to get started in a TIMELY manner.

Another benefit of a challenge is that it sets the foundation for habit creation. FINE PRINT ALERT: a  six-week challenge is worth it if you stick to it BEYOND the  six weeks. Presumably, once you have created the habits during the challenge (such as scheduling your exercise, and meal prepping) it will be second nature to continue them beyond the challenge. You don’t want to have worked so hard during the  six weeks having made wonderful progress only to pack it in right after and go back to where you started. A Lindt ball if you don’t recall.

Ugh. I know. Maintaining health and fitness is like that. You kinda have to do it…FOREVER. But this doesn’t have the same ring to it as “ six- week challenge”.

A six-week challenge isn’t a magic wand of motivation. In fact, in 2024 we are binning the link between motivation and exercise. Whoever linked “feeling like going to the gym” and the act of “going to the gym” has made my fitness career more about undoing this thinking than doing squats. Ironically, it’s one of the biggest barriers to people getting started because they are waiting for this magical motivation to strike. A six-week challenge however creates urgency to get started (fixed start date) and because you are participating with others, provides an instant support network – a  crucial element when it comes to seeing the challenge through to the end.

What does a “good” challenge look like?

So, we have established that a challenge is indeed a good thing, and while not all challenges are created equal, in all honesty, if it means you are getting started with healthier habits such as understanding nutrition better, learning to cook a handful of healthy meals and moving more consistently, then no challenge is a “bad” challenge. But if you’re comparing like-for-like, there are three common features to look for that will improve your chances of success:

Meaningful ways to measure results.

Whether it’s “before and after” photos, body composition scans (amongst other things they give you a reading on body fat and muscle mass), or fitness benchmark testing (for example how many burpees can you complete in  one minute – I know. Gross) you are looking for a SOMETHING at the start of the challenge that is REPEATED at the end of the challenge as a means to measure your results and assess whether you are on the right track based on your goals.

By the way, no result or less than ideal results aren’t a disaster. In fact, they can be quite informative in how you tweak your exercise and nutrition going forward and forces you to be honest with yourself in regards to your commitment to the challenge. If I can be honest with you: a challenge that is committed to 100 percent is a guarantee of results.

Methods in place to keep you accountable

Signing up for a challenge is just the start. I cannot even begin to tell you the number of times I have witnessed the phenomenon of good intentions signing up to a challenge, participating in the first week or two, and then *crickets*. Change is hard. The irony is, those that chuck it in the too-hard basket after a couple of weeks were on the cusp of a breakthrough: the pivotal point where their “hard” changes ticked over to sustainable habits. There is no doubt the first few weeks are the hardest. This is why a decent challenge has measures in place to keep you accountable throughout. For example, regular check-ins with a personal trainer.

Practices that are sustainable POST challenge

The best challenges are the ones that set you up post six weeks. Is the nutrition somewhat sustainable or are you on a juice cleanse, cabbage soup, or eating foods only the colour purple diet? Believe me when I say that while you will get results from sadly sucking down farty-leaf-soup, when you finally come to your senses and eat like a regular human being you will go back to where you started and then some, and now you have some weird bowel problem. I actually don’t know if this is true, but what I am saying is that you want the diet side of the challenge to be something that fathomably resembles your actual life. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a couple of snacks borrowing from all the food groups sounds about right.

On the movement side, sometimes a challenge does ask for a higher dosage of exercise over that period, this isn’t a bad thing if you can fit it into your life for a defined period to kickstart results and exercise tolerance, but a word of warning here: if the exercise is the same hard-core intensity day in and day out, this isn’t only unsustainable long term (and dare I dare say even during six weeks), but is also a recipe for injury and basically hating exercise forever. Look for challenges that have a variety of intensities and exercise modes throughout, including recovery.

Three tips for getting the most out of your six-week challenge

Your six-week challenge doesn’t start ON the allocated start date, nor is it isolated to the gym environment. Here are 3 tips to make the most of your next challenge:

TIP ONE: Prepare. Start on the right foot by scheduling your gym time over the next six weeks. Life happens and this may get interrupted but it’s a good start. However, do treat your training time like a non-negotiable appointment. Also take the time to prepare your meals and snacks for the week ahead. While it might seem annoying and arduous at the time, this will save you time and stress during the week a million times over. While you’re at it, note down and save go-to recipes/snacks that you loved that you can refer back to post-challenge.

TIP TWO: Inform those around you that you are participating in a challenge. A support crew at the gym is a given, but the support crew outside can make or break your adherence and ultimate success over the six weeks. If you have understanding loved ones around, you they won’t hassle you on 2:1 pizza night or ask that you skip the gym “this one time”. You never know, you might even inspire them to join you!

TIP THREE: Trust the process. If ONLY you could see the results after day one, wouldn’t that make sticking to a challenge so much easier? Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. It never has and it never will. There are no quick fixes. There are no hacks. It’s just good ol’ fashioned stick-to-itiveness. I can promise you this: over time the results will come. In the meantime, focus on how brilliant you feel post exercise, how proud you are that you got started and the satisfaction of accomplishment when you do the hard thing!

So, while “six-week challenges” get a bad  rap for being unsustainable or a quick fix, I beg to differ. If your attitude to a challenge is a “kickstart” as opposed to a means to an end, they are an effective way to create habits for life. I mean compared to the challenges of life; six-week don’t seem so challenging after all. 

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