I believe there are many benefits to participating in “challenges”.
For example:
Deciding you are going to get out and walk 20 minutes a day every day for 100 days is a great way to build the habit of walking and attain all its benefits and compounding benefits that are associated with building the habit.
Deciding you are going to get to sleep by 10pm every evening for at-least 30 days in a row is a great way to improve over all vitality and those thirty days may stick for a life long.
This brings me to 6 week Fitness challenges. Taking part in a 6 week, 8 week, however long Fitness program can be something that helps you zone in and build the habit of exercising, socializing, eating nourishing foods, etc.
These are the types of programs I applaud, ones that truly want to assist the individual on a life long wellness journey and one that promotes sustainable habits.
On the other hand there are many of these Fitness challenges that bring people to the point of being over worked and under fed , in an attempt to lose weight and decrease body fat. These programs may render such results but with a detriment to the participants health and vitality in the long run.
Over the years I have had many participants of these challenges come to me for orthopedic rehab, the inability to lose weight, autonomic Nervous system imbalances, and more. These people may have gotten results for 12 weeks and a couple pictures to prove they were once fit, but they also ended up in a place where they could not get back to where they once were after those 12 weeks, and they could not (for physical , mental, emotional, and /or physiological reasons) maintain such low calories and such an aggressive exercise routine.
I have seen this un-sustainable training approach a-lot with the fitness industry, I’ve known a few trainers myself whom may have never trained for anything other than aesthetics and then because the environment they were in was more “performance based training”, they all of a sudden wanted to learn to put things over there head, run, row, due gymnastics type movements and their egos drove them to over exercise and eventually hurt their backs, shoulders, and pull their hamstrings, all in the name of an inferiority complex. Again, not sustainable. They got stronger and faster but not with any real intellect and respect for the body as the cybernetic system of systems that it truly is.
If your program is not developed and maintained for longevity purposes, it just will not be sustainable.
Have you considered the inflammatory response to resistance training and frequency of training? How frequently should I train?
How often should I get out in nature to stimulate my visual field? How do I incorporate this into my daily routines?
Have you considered some potential dysfunctions that may be a results of your center of mass being pushed too far forward? How do I consider this in programming? Do I consider this in programming?
Are you only training in bilateral symmetrical stances?
Can you access Relative motion , and reciprocate motion when you move?
These questions only point to and highlight the importance of the fitness and healthcare professional (fitness is healthcare). The answers to theses questions will be available when you seak out and higher a skilled and qualified coach who can help you develop and implement a fitness and longevity program that is safe, effective, and sustainable.
Start today, Find a Coach /Mentor who can guide you in the process of a sustainable fitness routine.