Diet and fitness challenges have become something of a trend in recent years. It makes sense considering that less than 5% of US adults get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day.
Look on Twitter and you'll find that the most attention grabbing Tweets are those concerning the latest diet and fitness crazes. They may seem harmless enough, but they can actually be incredibly harmful.
This article is going to introduce you to some of the concerns regarding the diet and fitness challenges circulating online.
Harmless and Ineffective
At best, these challenges are completely harmless and ineffective. The problem is that these challenges are like an emotionally abusive relationship in that you think you have to keep coming back for more. And that leads to a cycle where you are constantly taking up challenge, after challenge yet you are not going anywhere.
You are wasting your time and this will steadily grind you down because you are not making any real progress.
Working the Same Muscle Group and a Lack of Balance
With diet challenges, you have no balance in your diet. With fitness challenges, you are working the same muscle group over and over again. Targeting these individually, there are multiple problems here.
Dietary challenges leave you with cravings because you are unable to indulge in cheat days. You are forced to stick with the same routine every single day. This may work in the short-term, but in the long-term it's going to cause a wicked bounce all the way back to the start.
Fitness challenges also come with a lack of the elements that make a well-rounded routine, and that can have different consequences. By working the same muscle group over and over again, you are not allowing your muscles to recover. You are wearing them down. Plus, you are using the same areas of your body over and over again, thus neglecting different types of exercise.
No Evidence to Back It Up
Another major problem with many of these challenges is they have no evidence to actually back their claims up. If you went to the gym and your personal trainer told you to perform dumbbell curls for an hour without a break and then you could go home, you'd fire the trainer.
It's the same principle with these challenges. You are essentially being told by someone that you have to perform the same exercises over and over again until you reach some arbitrary limit. Do you really think an expert trainer came up with these challenges?
All the Wrong Reasons
Challenges are not just about what you are doing in the real world. They are about the community you are interacting with online. At first glance, this is a good thing because you get the chance to build relationships with other people in the same situations as you.
Take another look and you will soon see how this is a terrible idea. You are only interacting with people in an online capacity. These are not real friends and they can't provide you with any expert guidance. All they can do is send meaningless Tweets and Facebook updates.
If you want to get the most out of your personal training regime, you have to go to a gym and you have to interact with real people.
Why they Started in the First Place
Now that you have learned these challenges provide you with no real benefits, you may be wondering why they arose in the first place. The truth is nobody is quite sure of their origins, but the point is they are here. For many people, they are an easy way to get fit and healthy.
Later on they discover that they are never going to get fit and healthy through going down this route. They are never going to succeed because they are fundamentally flawed. It's why you will never see an athlete partake in them because they know that they do more harm than good.
Like all trends, these will eventually fade away and something else will replace them. This is not science this is social media.
Conclusion - What Should You Do?
You should completely ignore these challenges and go to a gym. Employ professional help to enable you to get the best fitness plan and you will get what you want. Challenges are for people who aren't serious about getting fit and healthy.
Preserve your health with a balanced diet and do things the right way. Avoid social media challenges today.