Physical activity challenges: the fast route to mastering motivation

Challenges such as putting the work in to earn more Myzone Effort Points within a group of friends create exercise habits that last.

More than just motivation, a Myzone Challenge instils a genuine sense of discipline that gets you up and active at those times when your enthusiasm would otherwise fade.

These challenges can be set up so that for anything from solo all-against-all to team-based competitions, with every participant gathering as many Myzone Effort Points (MEPs) as possible through heart rate training.

Here’s why more communities around the world can embrace any challenge to reward effort and achieve so much more than they originally thought.

Inspire people to push past their limits and achieve any goal

Displayed in the Myzone app, challenges provide a structured and competitive environment that encourages participants to push their limits and achieve their fitness goals.

This is the main contributor to why they have emerged as a popular tool to motivate individuals towards a healthier lifestyle in the long term.

Further to the overall benefit to behaviour change that lasts, fitness challenges that incorporate incentives significantly increase physical activity among participants.

This can be anything from a value incentive such as gym membership discounts, restaurant meals, branded merchandise, or a new heart rate monitor.

It doesn’t have to be intense activity, either. Challenges in the Myzone app can be tailored to be all inclusive as part of a community campaign, or set to suit people that prefer to work out in specified zones, whether they’re in the region of HIIT training or a simple walk with the dog.

When motivation fades, find your “why” and get moving

The great thing about challenges that welcome all abilities is that they’re closely linked with social support. Even if you’re competing with other participants, the nature of community and shared experiences mean that you can always offer workout ideas or motivation tips between each other that bring every individual closer together.

Motivation doesn’t come easy at times. From playing tennis for over a decade, and as head of sports development at BADU Sports, Zeniece Hall knows what it takes to reveal the real reason that gets her moving.

“When it comes to motivation for the long term, I would say ‘find your why’,” she explains. “Don’t do it because it’s a trend or just because your friend’s doing it. If you’re not moving for your own reason then it’s not going to last very long.

“Music helps me a lot as well. I’m just trying to find that time for myself. We have a lot of pressures in the world, whether that’s work or for sport, so just try and zone out, find your time, and keep going.”

Working together for communal benefit

“Physical activity contributes to overall mental health for me,” continues Zeniece. “Any time I’m doing some sort of activity – in the gym, doing yoga, or playing tennis – I zone out and I don’t think about anything else apart from what I’m doing.

“That’s important, especially in today’s world with everything that’s going on, you just want that time to have your own moment. That’s definitely how it helps me.”

Challenges offer a focus to movement that far exceeds any single activity alone. Whether it’s team goals or individual MEP counts, a Myzone challenge will gamify exercise and accelerate the sense of community within a collection of people, no matter how they want to move.