Are you eating too much and not exercising enough? Do you want to make your new year’s resolutions actually last? Well, so do the guys at Flow Athletic. They offer one of Sydney’s most reputable 30-day challenges, 30-Days Clean, but does it stack up to the URBANSWEAT test? To find out, we sent dietician, exercise physiologist and yoga teacher, Caitlin Reid from Health and the City to test it out.
Event Name: 30 Days Clean
What is it: A 30-day wellness challenge that includes everything from nutrition and exercise to meditation and community involvement. Run by Flow Athletic (134 Oxford Street Paddington), it’s designed to shred kilos, build mental fitness and create a community. It’s run twice a year; the next one starts on 30 Jan 2017.
Cost: $449 non-Flow Athletic members or $199 Flow Athletic Members
What they say: “30-Days Clean is a month of inspired training following our Flow Philosophy. It’s really all about vibing ourselves up through training and mindfulness as opposed to using toxins and stimulants.”
For info: www.flowathletic.com.au
If this 30-day wellness challenge doesn’t inspire you to clean up your diet, get active and give back to the community, then nothing will. But it’s not easy. For 30 days, you’ll ditch the processed foods, caffeine and alcohol, replacing them with fresh wholefoods, herbal tea and coconut water. You’ll train at least five times a week following the “Flow Philosophy” of equal parts strength, cardio and yoga – that’s a minimum of one class of each. You’ll also give up technology for at least one eight-hour block each week, read two inspirational books, meditate daily and donate your time to charity.
When I started the challenge, I was dreading giving up caffeine (I love my daily coffee) and I wasn’t sure how I was fit in all the exercise as I didn’t live near the Flow Athletic studio (luckily you can do some sessions at home though). Also, if you do have special dietary, fitness or health requirements, chat to Flow Athletic staff and they will help you out.
You also track your fitness sessions and eating success on a sticker-filled public noticeboard. Colour-coded stickers mean you’ve attended your exercise classes and skipped the alcohol, caffeine and processed foods – you show up because you just don’t want your column to be empty (or is that just me!).
It’s a challenging month, but at least you’re doing it with other people and most importantly, you’re accountable for your efforts…. or lack of them! My absolute favourite part of the challenge was the motivation provided by the crew and Flow community as a whole. There were weekly events with everything from motivational speakers (Turia Pitt was amazing, and this time round there is a whole new inspirational panel) to cooking demos (Lola Berry took mine).
The challenge wraps up with an after party and you’re left feeling lighter, clearer and more energetic… I’d definitely recommend the it. The 30 days are tough (and rewarding), and you’ll probably want to sneak in a coffee somewhere, but if you make your way through it, you’ll feel amazing … just remember to try and keep up some of your healthy habits post 30 days!
Why not sign up to our newsletter while you’re here? It’s full of fitness events, recipes, class reviews and more! Plus we don’t send it often enough to annoy you… promise.
