Did The Dubai Fitness Challenge 30x30 Get You Off The Couch?
The 30 days Fitness Challenge finally came to an end this weekend. What started as another ambitious enterprise by the Dubai Government has proven to be one of its most accessible initiatives that truly touched the lives of many Dubaians.
We all know about the importance of daily exercise and eating healthy. Your GP has probably recommended it to you many times. Instagram pictures of super fit guys and gals makes you green with envy. The YouTube exercise videos look doable, yet you cannot get yourself off this couch for 30mins of exercise.
In came Dubai Fitness Challenge. An entire city mobilised to get you off this couch. Morning and evening radio shows updating you on the progress of people around the city. A super cool mobile app. that cost you nothing to track your progress. Free group exercise sessions at every corner from gentle yoga stretching poses to daring skydive stunts. And the big hit; your company dedicated a 30mins session during your lunch break to get you moving.
Indeed, enterprises across the city have embraced the Challenge realising that not only is it a fantastic opportunity to ensure good health for their employees, it was a wonderful opportunity to build team spirit and recharge the batteries. Schools and universities, advertising agencies and packaging manufacturers, financial institutions and charity organisations have all participated in the Challenge. The Movement also hit the chord with housewives, freelancers and entrepreneurs working alone.
Meet Razan, a travel enthusiast, a blogger and a challenge-taker. Razan learnt one valuable lesson before Dubai Fitness Challenge was launched: “The Mind Rules and it Always Wins”. Razan was no runner. Slim but not fit, she challenged herself and completed the Jan 2017 42km Dubai Marathon. from start to finish. How? She told herself:
“Ignore people who don’t dream big. I will finish the marathon even if I am forced to crawl to the finish line. Mind over body. What is physical pain but a silly discomfort! If I go through hell, I will keep going … If this old man can do it, I can do it. If I think I can’t do it anymore, remember your body has another 30% to give … No such thing as giving up … I am not allowed to stop. I can walk for 1 min every 5 mins … triumph is worth all this pain.”
And now over to you. How do you continue to challenge your mind and body? Are you still lying down on the couch eating popcorn? Will you let the small physical discomfort win over your most powerful organ; the mind? Are you actually still sitting down and reading this!
