The WCCG 30 day challenge

On August 17, 2017 I took up a challenge by the Chennai Cyclists, Annanagar Chapter. I took up the challenge because I was desperate to get out of my extended spell of lethargy and do something about my shape which had started resembling a menhir of Obelix. The challenge was quite simple – a physical activity from walking, running, cycling, yoga, core workouts for a minimum of 30 minutes for 30 consecutive days.

Today after Day 17 when I am sitting nursing a blistered feet after a brisk 3km walk after 9 pm I looked back at what I have rediscovered after a long time:

-          You become disciplined: this is by far the first step to any fitness regimen. Self- discipline is the start of many good things that follows. It takes discipline to set a routine and stick at it

-          You become aware of yourself: you are now aware of your heart beat, your breathing patterns and you discover yourself. You realize what a miracle it is to simply breathe

-          You become responsible with your food: once you start a fitness routine you become responsible for all that you eat and all that you do not eat anymore.

-          You start to feel one with nature: you hear the sound of the birds, the cool breeze, the drizzle, things that you usually ignore

-          You enjoy your aches and pains: Instead of a painkiller that you usually pop in for a small head ache, you revel in the aches and pains from muscles that your barely knew existed, because you know that you are a little better than yesterday

-          You feel incomplete when you miss your work out: you find out that the day is not complete because you miss that adrenaline that kicks in each time you pushed yourself for the next step and the high at the end of it all

-          You realize that time and distance are incidental: despite all the physics lessons of years ago, after you get into a fitness routine both time and distance become incidental

-          You realize that the journey is more important than the destination: initially you may worry about small targets like weight loss, speed, mileage etc but after some time you delight in the process where all these are incidental

-          You realize that life is worth living: does it need to be explained?

Wish we luck for the next 12 days.