Like so many other people I struggle to keep myself motivated to exercise. I will get into a good routine then something will come along and derail me, and it will be hard getting myself back into the swing of things.
During the quarantine days when we had to stop going to gyms and other public places I switched to walking outdoors consistently. I have always loved walking but this became a daily thing. 3, 4, 5, sometimes 8 miles a day was not uncommon. When the weather was pleasant this was easy. When it began to get colder, I began to struggle because the treadmill bores me so much.
That’s when a friend of mine introduced me to virtual fitness challenges. At first, I thought she was nuts but then I gave in and tried my first one. I loved it. After each exercise you could input your distance and virtually explore whatever location you had chosen. In my case, the first one was “Mount Everest”. I loved moving the cursor and seeing all types of places I probably won’t ever see in real life (no plans here to climb Mt Everest 🙂 ).
The challenges allowed me to set a target for when I would finish. I’m competitive so it motivated me to exercise when I didn’t feel like it. When you complete the challenge, they send you a medal. I didn’t really care about the medals initially, but I have enjoyed seeing them on display in my home.
Turns out these challenges motivate me to do things other than exercising. I currently have one that I use to track books I’ve read – 1 mile per book. It’s a 35-mile challenge. I hope to complete it in 2023. I’m 3 miles in so far.
I hurt my foot and really struggled to stay active towards the end of 2022. I’m trying to get back on track so I just signed up for the Niagara Falls challenge and have already begun virtually enjoying the scenery.
If anyone else could use a bit of motivation check out these virtual challenges. There are several companies that do these. Conqueror is the one I have used but will likely explore as well if I continue to enjoy these challenges. One additional perk of Conqueror is that they commit to planting trees or helping to clean the ocean for each person who purchases a challenge, and it has a very active and supportive Facebook community.
If you decide to try these let me know! We can be virtual fitness buddies!
