The holiday season is a great time to add some holiday cheer for your community. And what’s more cheerful than a challenge? By creating a holiday-themed challenge for your community, they can get in a few virtual workouts before the yule log is served, and you can give them an online workout program before the New Year even arrives.
It’s a win-win for all. Plus, who doesn’t love jamming out to Holiday carols during a particularly hard HIIT session? In this article, we’re going to dish out our best tips so you can create a holiday challenge with ease.
1. Pick a Theme
Retro. Highlighter. Costume. Themed parties just have a way of spicing up the evening. The same can be said about a themed challenge. Instead of making it a normal “Build Your Butt in 30 Days” type challenge, give it a little holiday twist.
Try naming it “12 Days of Tree Pose” or “Under the MistleFlow” to give it some holiday cheer. If coming up with names isn’t your forte (you’re welcome to steal ours), then you can always encourage your students to dress in ugly Christmas sweaters during your warm-up or treat themselves to a snickerdoodle after class. There are so many options when it comes to bringing a holiday theme to your challenge.
2. Build Hype
Sure, this challenge is about to be pure gold for your current community...but it’s also a great opportunity to bring new members into your world. The new year is a rush for online fitness programs, and it’s great if they already know you before fitness resolutions are in full swing.
Make some fun graphics for your challenge (we love Canva) and market it to everyone you know. Tell friends, post it on Instagram, and email it out to your list. If you want to increase your reach even more, you can run boost and Instagram posts. Don’t be afraid to market your class until you're blue in the face.
3. Plan Out the Details
Now that your challenge is on-brand, it’s time to actually plan it out. How long will the challenge be? What’s the difficulty of each day? Which workouts best suit your theme? Are these quick virtual workouts, or will major gains be made by the end? How will it begin? What will the last day look like?
As you can see, it’s time to pull out the sticky notes and a Trello board, because you have a lot to plan out. If you can get everything on paper in advance, you’ll be nice and relaxed while the challenge is going on. Don’t feel like you have to build a new workout for every day of the challenge. Re-using old video content from your library is a great way to create less work and bring back some of your customers favorite workouts. Supplement some of your workouts with rest days and journaling is great too!
4. Add a “Gift” for Those Who Finish It
You know why challenges are fun? Because participants get a huge sense of accomplishment if they stick to it. You can add a little extra holiday cheer by offering a gift to those who show up every day, send you their results, or participate in sharing a sweaty selfie in their stories
Some gift ideas are a gift card, a free month of membership, or a discounted personal training session with you--or even just a simple email of congratulations!
To Wrap Up
Challenges are a great way to keep your community engaged, and a holiday challenge is perfect when you want to spread a bit more cheer. Head on over to your laptop and start planning a challenge that’ll make Fitmas a holiday to remember. Building a 30-day challenge on arketa is as easy as clicking a few buttons.
