Try it for Instagram.
Everything is glorified on social media, even exercise. People constantly post amazing gym selfies, inspiring weight loss stories, and interesting tidbits from their everyday workouts to our accounts. But frequently, they have lighting-quick popping muscles, and it takes them sixteen tries to get the ideal handstand. This brand-new workout trend aims to wow. Trending fitness challenges, which are often reels or quick movies displaying a very peculiar talent, are one method that tries to do this.
Do you still recall the rhythm plank, bottle cap, and shuffle skipping challenges? According to Avinash Mansukhani, the founder of Fight The Sunrise (FTS Fitness), “These fitness challenges tend to be a little complicated to draw attention in order to trend.”
Despite being more common, fitness challenges truly took off during the lockdown. People resorted to social media for fitness inspiration since they had no access to gyms or offline personal trainers. What better way to break up the routine than with a satisfying challenge, you could ask? No, not always. Social media fitness challenges have their own unique mix of benefits and drawbacks. While they’re often safe and serve to encourage individuals to follow exercise regimens, they can also be risky if carried out without adult supervision, according to Pranit Shilimkar, a health and fitness entrepreneur.
A catastrophe waiting to happen
Finding a shortcut to talents that typically take months or even years to acquire is a common theme in online fitness contests. Attempting the handstand T-shirt challenge in the hopes of creating a kickass IG reel or narrative is a recipe for disaster if you’ve never done inversions before. “The inclination is to imitate or follow without conducting an appropriate investigation. People frequently push themselves past the point of no return in such situations by ignoring their own health requirements and limitations, according to Shilimkar. He discusses how these difficulties may cause physical and psychological harm to you, pressuring you to adopt extreme measures like depriving yourself of rest, recuperation, and other crucial components of a healthy lifestyle.
Injury is a very, very real possibility. “While the creator may be skilled at doing a challenging manoeuvre, the general public isn’t very often. For individuals who wish to follow the trend or participate in the challenge, this might result in injury, says Mansukhani.
Just for the likes
Nothing is more infuriating than someone using up all of the deadlift station time to attempt to lift a weight that is obviously too heavy for them. You lose sight of your long-term fitness objectives when fitness difficulties take centre stage during your workouts, whether you work out in a gym or as part of a group exercise class. It’s okay to document your travels, but try not to allow the pressure to produce distract you from them.
One piece of advice
By all means, get out your camera and give a trending challenge a go if you discover one that appeals to you and that you think would be fun. Just be careful not to jeopardise your health in the process. Before committing to such challenges, Shilimkar suggests speaking with a fitness specialist and conducting your own study. He adds that while taking part in these activities might keep you motivated, you should weigh the benefits and drawbacks beforehand.
