Fitness Challenges Everyone Should Try at Least Once

What do you train for? What are your fitness goals? Here’s the thing: not everyone has or wants a “goal” to train for the way you might think. Some might want to engage in exercise for good overall health and ensure they have mobility and strength as they get older. Others might have fitness goals in mind or achievements they want to undertake. Others simply enjoy it. And honestly, there’s no one wrong or right way to exercise, nor do you actually need defined goals or a reason to be training for anything.

But what if you do? What if you like a challenge and you want to push your body to see what it’s capable of? Then you need a good fitness challenge to sink your teeth into. Something in the calendar that gives you goals, something to push for and strive to succeed at. But what should you choose? Should you be looking at steroids for sale to enhance your abilities? Or, should you be looking at natural options that will provide you similar results, but slower?

But what if you do? What if you like a challenge and you want to push your body to see what it’s capable of? Then you need a good fitness challenge to sink your teeth into. Something in the calendar that gives you goals, something to push for and strive to succeed at. But what should you choose?

This post is going to dive into a few exceptional fitness challenges that you can consider for your future. It won’t be easy, nor will it be a quick process, but it’ll give you something to look forward to, structure to your training, and you never know, you might find that thing you’ve been looking for!

5K and 10K Races

Starting smaller for those new to running or who want something to work towards. It’s less about speed here and more about proving you can do it, and the mental benefit of this alone can be immense.

Parkrun is the obvious entry point in the UK., It’s free; they occur weekly across the country and accept people at every entry level. You don’t need to be “ready” in any sense of the word, just willing to participate.

If you want to move forward, then a 10K like the Greater Manchester run or the London 10,000 gives you a bigger crowd and a different atmosphere and, more importantly, actual pressure to train beforehand.

Half and Full Marathons

Ideally, starting with a half prior to running a full marathon will prepare you mentally for what’s to come, but not everyone follows that path. And it’s entirely up to you what to do, but both are amazing challenges to set yourself fitness-wise.

Honestly, these aren’t races or challenges you can take on the day,you need to prepare, you need to train, and you need to have discipline in the run-up to, as well for the run itself.

Events like the Royal Parks Half or the Great North Run are popular half marathons because they’re well organised, but they’re still demanding. And this is where you learn about pacing, fueling and recovery so you don’t struggle sooner rather than later.

But moving on to full marathons is where things flip again. It’s not so much the distances you’re running here. It’s about what you do before the race begins, it’s how you approach training, it’s your consistency, time management, energy and your whole approach to the marathon. Your session ended up being structured around your life and it’s not something you can train and plan for a few weeks ahead of time.

The London Marathon is one of the most well-known in the UK, and similar marathons run worldwide too. But what takes people out at these types of events is how mentally challenging it is to keep pushing through, even when you feel like you might not be able to go on.

Triathalon and Ironman Events 

You can undertake triathlon events as both an experienced competitor and in events specifically for first timers or less experienced competitors. And here’s where you realise exactly how fit you are.

Let’s say you’re undertaking a sprint triathlon, it’s a short swim, short ride and short run, but while these are fine individually, combined is a completely different experience. Transitions take time to get used to, and swimming open water is nothing like swimming in a pool. And then riding a bike after swimming is something else entirely.

If you’re taking on long-distance triathlons or Ironman events, this requires even more determination and training beforehand. This is why people look for help from experts like Tri-Revolution Triathlon Coaching to help them build up to the event and push through any physical and mental barriers that might be an issue on the day.

Hyrox and Functional Fitness Competitions

Hyrox and Crossfit events have been popular with fitness lovers for a while now, and the popularity seems to be showing no signs of slowing down. These events sit somewhere inbetween  gym training and competition.

They’re structured, repeatable and don’t rely on outdoor conditions. You run set distances, you complete functional movements in between, such as sled pushes, wall balls, carries, etc., all inside one event.

The appeal of these is that it’s familiar for regular gym goers, and it combines endurance, strength and pacing all at once. And they quickly expose any areas you’re not that great in. For those who enjoy strength training and want to push their fitness level, this is the ideal event to get involved in.

Obstacle Courses and Endurance Events

These are your Tough Mudder and Spartan races or your events for charities that use similar formats and are often less pressure and ideal for beginners.

The courses involve mud, water, climbs and it’s not about being perfect, it’s about adapting to your environment and the conditions as you move through the course. Often it’s the obstacles that change, not to mention the conditions you’re competing in, and you’ll rarely get through the entire thing cleanly like other types of events. Literally and figuratively.

But one benefit of these types of races is that they’re very social. Groups sign up together to help each other through, and it’s more of an experience than a race, although it is still highly competitive. It’s just not an individual type of competition. 

That’s not to say they’re easier, far from it; endurance still matters, which means you still need to train so you’re prepared for the sustained effort it takes. But if you want to join an event that you don’t have to do alone, this is for you.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.