why do a 12 week challenge?

what is all this fuss about?
why do a 12 week challenge?

me doing goblet squats

If you're thinking about a challenge, chances are that you re at a place in your life where you are looking for a change, and a 12 week challenge is he perfect opportunity for such a change.
there is a common misconception that its all about losing weight.
And for most people it is, but it doesn't have to be just about losing weight, for some people it can be too put on weight, it can be about training for a run, it can be about learning to use your body better, it can be about getting stronger, any way you get the picture.

so back to the question, why do a 12 week challenge?.
This is where I would like to share with you what one of my clients wrote about her 12 week challenge experience:
—
The Good to Go 12 week program changed my perception on many things. Jo transformed my daily attitudes and inspired me to achieve more than I thought I could. The program taught me above all that "I am worth it" - a quote I heard weekly and will never forget. Training and diet do not have to be a burden, and whilst following the program I learnt this. It's not about a fad, it's about a lifestyle. A better lifestyle.
From Lauren Byrnes – Melbourne Australia—

When I received this in an email, I was in the middle of a very busy shopping centre, and had to go and sit down, and have shed a little tear. I was so filled with pride and happiness that I was a little overcome. She had gotten the message, and understood the process.

So rather than telling you why you do them let me tell you why I run them.

When I first started out s a trainer, 12 week challenges were all about losing weight.
the company I was working for was running them purely as a money making venture.
They ran this big promotion and got in a bunch of clients base on this advertising.
They went to an info day where they were told you can lose heaps of weigh, look what it did for this girl... insert before and after pictures here, bla bla ba.
needless to say some of these people achieved their goals, but most of them didn't.
There are many reasons for this, but from my own perspective and taking responsibility for my own actions I was a naive instructor who in reality hadn't had much experience, I knew the theory but in practice things are different.
Any way so this program left me wanting. (and a few clients as well)
and yet I persist with them. as a trainer I have grown and matured (only just) and with that so has my ability to help clients through their challenges.
So the reason I still run challenges even after such a rotten start is because they are a great opportunity to start the process of change.
As a trainer it is a time specific frame work within which to work.
I gives me the space to set out specific goals not just for the client but also for me as a trainer.
It gives me the opportunity to really get to know a client so that after the challenge i can continue to support them through their change process.

hello my little friend, want to play?

The 12 week challenge isn't he whole package, it is a start for change.
For most of us we need longer that 12 weeks with which to change our lives, you know old habits die hard...
but within this framework together we can work to identify areas that need work, things that need to be left behind or worked through and new habits that need to be built.

So you see its not just about losing weight, its about real and genuine change.
For me as a trainer its about helping people to reconnect with their bodies.
I find that in this society we are very disconnected from our bodies in various ways, some of us are overweight, some of us are addicted to things - alcohol - drugs  suguar - coffee - carbs - stress.
So we take a whole self approach to the challenge. We look not just at 1 issue but everything that's going on in your life.
We set the goal. and we work towards it in a methodical in intelligent manner.
And then hopefully at the end of your challenge if you have done everything I have asked you to do you will have achieved your goal.
At the start of a challenge I tell my clients my job isn't to do the work, your job is to do the work, my job is to keep you looking in the direction of your goal, and to keep pointing it out. Your job is to move towards it.

I love to watch my clients faces when the reality of this statement sinks in.
And this my friends is the difference between real success in a challenge and failure.
The understanding that:

• You are the one who has to do the work. 
• You are the one who has to come up with the motivation to move.
• You are the one who is responsible for your success in this challenge.

I am responsible for guiding and advising and inspiring, but you must take the steps, you must move and you must decide.

So if you're looking for change I encourage you to take the step. You may find that its not as hard as you first thought, and with the right advice and guidance the journey to real change and self discovery whilst hard is well worth it.

Alex lost 15 Kg over summer this year on his 12 week challenge