September's My Mighty Month Challenge Is Staying Active

For someone with not one athletic bone in their body, I’m extremely competitive. I love a good challenge, but I’m also a perfectionist. So every time I see a fitness challenge (a la “This 30-Day Challenge Will Give You the Buns of Your Dreams”), I have to take it. The problem is I never succeed.

That’s partially because:

1. If I can’t do something perfectly, rather than cut myself slack, I force myself to go back to “Day 1” and am perpetually stuck in what becomes a 900-day squat challenge where I only make it to “Day 12.”

2. These challenges aren’t designed with my health limitations in mind. (And yes, I can, and often do, adapt them to fit my needs. But the real challenge is finding 30 days in a row where I feel healthy enough to achieve those dream buns.)

When we first started our My Mighty Month challenge series back in January the idea was to make challenges you’d see in lifestyle publications more accessible. Unsurprisingly, one of the most difficult challenges to make inclusive is exercise.

Being in pain, feeling depressed or having limited mobility can all make it difficult to get out and move. Not to mention, living with a health challenge can make completing a 30-day or eight-week exercise program difficult. What if you have a flare on day 15, or depression makes getting out of bed during week three impossible? Should you give up on all physical activity because you can’t be consistent?

No. No, is obviously the answer to that question. But it can be hard not to beat yourself up if all of the sudden you are making progress and then… BAM. Life and your health gets in the way, and would you look at that? It’s been three months since you set foot in the gym.

That’s why this month’s challenge is staying active. For 30 days, we’re challenging you to move. How much you move, however, is up to you. If you are feeling up to it, go for a stroll or a roll down the block. If you can’t get out of bed, try and do some stretches either lying or sitting down. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you dedicate some time every single day to physical activity.

To give you an idea of different ways to stay active, we spoke to some experts. Click below for more information on how to:

• Exercise in a wheelchair or sitting down
• Exercise on a bad mental health day
• Exercises with chronic pain

If you want to keep track of the progress you’ve made, simply download our monthly habit tracker. And if you are too sick or in the hospital and miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. It happens to all of us.

Want to make September a Mighty Month? Join us on Facebook at My Mighty Month, and don’t forget to tag any social media posts with #MyMightyMonth. You can also sign up for our weekly email, (select “Mighty Monthly Challenges” from the newsletter options), which includes tips and reminders designed to keep you motivated. 

Header image via Rogotanie.