21 Day Challenge During Quarantine

In these unfortunate and frustrating times, I know some people's last priority is to focus on health and wellness. And it's easy to get dismissive of this with all the social media channels and influencers attempting to hook us on some new workout plan or supplement during the craze of misinformation and hysteria around COVID-19.

However, we are required to be in this quarantine till the end of April (and that is before any further extensions likely to happen). So, I’m reminded of the 21-day myth in regards to habit-forming. While the validity and origin of it are not to be taken as gospel (there can be huge differences between how long it takes people to make something stick), I like how neatly it fits into the timeline of our current predicament. We have roughly that many days before any possibility of slowly returning to normal, so it’s a perfect opportunity to push ourselves and learn a new skill or healthy habit. 

And while that new “skill” or “habit” could be anything someone is compelled by and should be respected, health and fitness is my passion and I can’t help but nudge people in that direction - especially when we’re in a time and situation where that may be more important than ever. Many in the industry are echoing the same sentiment, because should our judgment slip or social distancing be compromised, keeping our immune systems strong is massively important when protecting ourselves from COVID-19. 

Exercise is the first thing many people look to when committing to healthier lifestyles, which is great. There’s plenty of home workouts and online resources to help you do some killer fitness. But there is so much more you can do outside of that. 

Health and fitness is incredibly broad. It doesn’t have to be a focus on shedding pounds or getting stronger. You could improve your flexibility by incorporating more yoga and stretching. And since take-out is an ever-dwindling option, learning to cook yourself healthy meals is an important initiative to take at the moment. Making sure we have a robust amount of micro (vitamins/minerals) and macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, etc.) to support the functions of our body is one way to strengthen immunity. Also, sleep is often overlooked as a key component of health; especially in regards to our immune system. There is plenty of thoughts on this and a semi-recent study that showed, in their experiment sample, sleep deprivation caused the same hit to the immune system as excessive stress. So staying to a consistent, seven-to-eight hour schedule of sleep when our situation enables us to do the opposite would be a huge accomplishment! 

The great thing is, if you focus on improving in these areas, you may find some weight sheds in the process without even focusing on exercise! 

While I love to see people get passionate, be selective and intentional with your new habit goals. Health and fitness is a gradual process and shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing pursuit. Moreover, what I also like about the “21 Day Habit” myth is, regardless of its truthfulness, it acknowledges the need for a solid dedication of time to make something last. 

I’m not a big fan of that common “first step is the hardest” expression. When it comes to many things in life, especially fitness, I’d argue the first step is easiest; the true challenge is to keep going despite the pain and lack of immediate progress. We all know the trials and tribulations of improving ourselves. We get gung-ho with planning to make a change, but quickly get discouraged or unenthused about breaking from routine comfort. 

I think this speaks to the difficulties of workouts in of themselves. What tends to be the hardest part of any set? Certainly not the first repetition. Pushing through the “burn” and testing the limits of our strength and endurance is hardest at the end, not beginning. That is how we progressively overload and improve over time, but committing and making it a true part of our lives is the challenge. 

So, use this vague period of uncertainty to your mental advantage! Just know, even past the “21 days” or however long we must remain indoors, whatever healthy habit you choose will be a give-and-take relationship for the rest of your life, but you’ll be all the better for it. 

When this is all said and done, I think we can take pride in trying to make the most of this awful circumstance and come out of quarantine with a silver lining of our creation. 

This includes me, too. I’m taking the (literal) steps to get back into running during my quarantine - which has been a humbling experience. I’ve had to start slow, edit my form and set out a plan, but it’s a fun new challenge.

And if you need any help with some new goals around training and physical wellness, I’m here for you! We can make some fitness magic work while staying safe and smart.