Turn of the Year
As we approach the end of the year, I’m heartened by posts I’m reading on social media from people who set themselves a physical exercise challenge for 2021 and which they are completing with one or two days to spare …. or even going down to the wire with another run or walk needed on the last day of the year to reach that challenging target.
All kinds of people are setting targets and asking themselves: “I wonder if I can do something to push myself over the course of a whole year. I wonder if I can …..”.
There’s a big, wide spectrum from the person who does no exercise at all at one end and Olympic athletes like Mo Farah at the other. We’re all on that spectrum somewhere, and the good news is that no matter where you are on that spectrum, you can set yourself a physical exercise challenge that is right for you.
In the last few days I’ve read about someone whose challenge was to run 2,000 miles in 2021, which by most people’s standards, my own included, is a massive challenge that is out of reach. But I’ve also come across people who have challenged themselves to walk at least a mile every day of the year. That sounds easier than running 2,000 miles in the year, but for the person setting out to reach that target back on January 1st it probably represented as big a mountain to climb as the person who had 2,000 miles of running in front of them.
It’s all about using our imaginations to come up with something that will push us to do that bit more than we used to do, or more than we would have done had we not set that target.
For my own set of challenges this year, I set out to keep up my exercise streak of making an active journey of at least five kilometres every single day. That streak has now gone on for over eight and a half years or 3,200 days.
Beyond that, and for a 2021 challenge I set out to run/walk at least 100 miles every month and at least 1,500 miles in the year. Earlier this month when I was on target to reach those two milestones, I threw in an extra challenge to reach 1,642.5 miles which would mean that I had averaged over 4.5 miles per day. I reached that final target on December 29th, so the last two days of the year are just about nudging the total distance up a wee bit more and celebrating having reached my targets.
Those last two days of the year are also the time when we should be looking forward to next year. If you have read this article or read other people on social media commenting on their physical exercise achievements in 2021, then use that as inspiration to set yourself a target for 2022.
Try coming up with your own: “I wonder if I could …..” challenge. Here are a few suggestions:
· I wonder if I could walk at least a mile on every day in the year.
· I wonder if I could walk at least 20 kilometres every week of the year.
· I wonder if I could walk at least 50 miles every month of the year.
· I wonder if I could run/walk at least 1,000 miles in the year.
One of the ten principles I talk about in my book, Find Time for Exercise, is: My challenge, my rules - Your challenge, your rules.
By all means take some inspiration from what I do, or what someone else does, but it’s up to you to use your imagination to set a challenge that is pitched just right for you. Set out to stretch yourself, but don’t set out to do something that is so out of your reach that you’re likely to give up after the first few days.
Bear in mind, your can use kilometres or miles, so pick on the one that fits your needs, and also keep in mind that you can tweak a challenge if you get a few weeks or months into it and it’s turning out to be too easy or too difficult. Better to tone it down a notch and succeed, than fail because you bit off more than you could chew.
The great thing about setting a physical exercise challenge is that it gives your exercise an element of structure, but as well as that you need to have fun with it. Make sure you enjoy getting outdoors for those extra walks. If you have a target that gives you structure and enjoyment, then you’re likely to stick with it and enjoy the benefits of regular exercise.
Good luck and best wishes for a healthy 2022.
