So I completed The Lean Berets 30X30 Challenge for the third year in a row! The "NO EXCUSES" strategy has truly changed my life and pushed me back into daily exercise. I'm a better man for it. I could talk for hours about all the benefits and the psychology behind it, but I'd like to just make one major point this year in summary regarding psychological "mood enhancement" in relation to America's growing problem with depression and prescription drugs to deal with it.
After three years and 30 days (1125 total days of exercise in a row for at least 30 minutes per day), I learned at least one important lesson. Most of these workouts I did NOT want to do, yet I did not regret even one single workout after it was completed. I had MANY days of personal struggle to put it mildly. The crap is life was still there after my workout, but I ALWAYS felt better and more able to cope after even a simple walk. The psychological benefits alone were worth the effort! Show me a drug with 100% success rate for 1125 days without any negative or unhealthy side effects! There isn't one. NOTHING out there can even come close to the mood enhancement or "anti-depression" benefits of daily exercise--nothing. And if you want even more benefit, go exercise outside instead of inside on a machine. A walk on a trail or through the neighborhood is second to none for a simple "attitude adjustment."
I hope this helps you. MOVE. GET OUTSIDE. FEEL BETTER. Do this and you will. I promise.
In MOVEment, Coach RJ!