Welcome to the second half of the journey! I have heard from lots of participants so far, and I have noticed a few interesting trends. In no particular order they are:
1. Spontaneously upping workouts. More than one person has told me that they are not so tired after their original amount of exercise, so they have been adding more. That's cool. A friend doing a fitness circuit in his basement had this to say: "I am noticing a difference in my stamina and also as my daily increase in total reps is happening.... I am pushing myself harder. Feeling really good about it." That was awesome to hear. Even my Mom got into the act. After a few weeks of walking up and down her hallway, she told me the other day she felt "so good" after that day's lap the she decided to add an additional half-lap. That is the adaptation I was talking about earlier. In action!
2. Experimenting with variety. Some folks, especially ones doing repetitive things (like, say, kettlebell swings!), have started looking for more variety. I personally have done some research into kettlebell exercises and have decided to implement one or two new ones into my routine. It is just getting too routine. A person doing plank decided to take one of their weekly workouts and go for a PB (personal best) on that day and see how long could they hold the plank position! Not only did they do a PB (of 4:30), but they also smashed their previous PB by over a minute! Now they have a new high bar to try to shoot for. And, as I have said many times before, you have to respect plankers! One spinoff of shooting for a PB every so often is you find out what you really can do.
3. Talking more about fitness activities and wellness. I have picked this up from different people, but have noticed even at my workplace that there is a lot of chatter about fitness activities and even wellness in general. I frequently have co-workers stop and update me on their progress, or what their kids have been doing. One person even told me they are thinking ahead to their summer holiday and would like to incorporate a cycling excursion into it. Another workplace had a Kettlebell presentation at their Health & Safety meeting. Knowing that others are being active and challenging themselves seems to encourage others to get involved or stay involved.
4. Increasing enthusiasm. Related to point #3 is this: the level of enthusiasm seems to be rising. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that we are seeing the cumulative effect of a couple weeks' worth of exercise: people have survived the first week's shock and have persevered through the second week by simple, plain hard work. Now, starting week three, the adaptation is starting to be felt - people don't hurt as much, they feel less tired during their workout, and many are realizing they can do more and more in each workout. I am pretty confident that we are now getting into the phase of the fitness challenge where the benefits will start outweighing the costs. And as we hear the stories of other participants, the reality is starting to settle in: we are changing our lifestyle and becoming more fit.
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