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That’s a wrap for another year of the Elevation Place 30/30 Challenge!  Congratulations to everyone who was able to get 30 days worth of physical activity in at Elevation Place over the last month and a half.  You won’t find my name in the grand prize draw; my punch card only goes up to 21.  Still, I’m pretty happy with this result!

I always knew it would be a challenge to complete this challenge because of the expected arrival of this guy.

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William Joseph Murray came into the world at the Canmore Hospital on February 10th.  Being a supportive dad during labour and having a newborn baby around the house is just a minor time commitment!  Also, getting the flu the previous week didn’t help efforts.  But an average of 3 days a week at the gym is a lot better than the 0 days I was averaging before taking on the challenge!

My wrap-up blog post for this year’s 30/30 Challenge may be a little anticlimactic.  I had grand plans to try more of the core classes and broaden my fitness equipment horizons but most days I really just felt like keeping up the interval training-type workout I was doing on the treadmill while listening to my new workout mix on my headphones.  I was surprised how much I was enjoying it and the things I was learning about exercise:

  • ENERGY.  I always figured that working out would make a person tired but I found it quite the opposite.  Some days I’d have to drag my exhausted butt to Elevation Place and force myself to start running but by the end of it I always felt rejuvenated and ready to take on the rest of the day.
  • STRESS.  Working out is a great stress reliever.  I’m prone to occasional bouts of anxiety and heading to the cardio room when I was feeling antsy seems to keep me on an even keel.
  • SLEEP.  I’m also prone to occasional bouts of insomnia but I’ve been sleeping deeply ever since starting this challenge.  It’s something I noticed as well when I was riding my bike this summer.  Exercise = great quality of sleep!
  • DIET.  After a workout I tend to crave healthier foods than I would typically eat.  The idea of drinking a coke or root beer, which I’d normally have for lunch, seemed somewhat unappealing compared to the prospect of water or a tasty fruit smoothie.  Potato chips are still my vice but I’m working on it 🙂
  • BACK HEALTH.  As I mentioned in a previous post I have scoliosis, a moderate curvature of the spine which often results in being out of alignment and in pain.  The exercise I was doing was giving the muscles around my back and hips strength and keeping my alignment in check.  It’s something the various health professionals I’ve seen over the years have encouraged me to do and for whatever reason it never clicked before.  To be honest, the prospect of being walker or wheelchair-bound 30 years from now due to my deteriorating back is something that’s always scared me so it’s been great to take some positive steps to hopefully prevent that from happening.

Most of all I learned that everyone’s fitness journey is an individual one.  The group of muscle-bound guys in tank tops pumping iron and judging everyone who walks past is something you’ll only find in a bad 80s college movie.  During my month and a half at Elevation place not once did I feel looked down upon for not being ‘Canmore fit’.  The intimidation I felt during my first day was entirely in my own mind.  I’ve seen and met people from all walks of life and all levels of fitness at Elevation Place and while everyone may be there at different points in their fitness journey they’re all there for the same reason – to do something positive for their physical health.  I learned it doesn’t matter to anybody else whether you can run 1K or 6K in 30 minutes on the treadmill, or if your tension level is set at 5 or 15 on the bike during spin class.  As long as you’re doing it at a pace that’s comfortable for you, while pushing yourself just a little bit, you’re going to end up in a better place than you were before making fitness a part of your life.

The slogan for the Elevation Place 30/30 Challenge is ‘Create the habit in 30 days’ and on that front…mission accomplished.  My eyes have been opened to the numerous benefits of regular physical activity and I’ll definitely be keeping the momentum going, challenge or not!