Who would have thought a clickbait headline could lead to unexpected consequences and a change of lifestyle?

After rereading my finished draft, I nearly stopped at that sentence and pondered trashing what follows. After all, I thought, why bother going into detail about my road-to-Damascus return to yoga and wellbeing via a hardcore fitness challenge lambasted by health ‘experts’?

Well, why not? So back to clickbait and.. [insert eye-catching image pre-story here].

…and so it was, a story flashed up on my phone, curated by the algorithm and courtesy of an online article from The Sun newspaper. Sure, I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but I wanted to elucidate with more depth.

Firstly, clickbait—what is it? Clickbait is online content designed to attract attention with the purpose of encouraging the visitor to click on a link to a particular webpage. The content is often sensationalized, misleading, or exaggerated. I guess the counterargument could be that of perspective, as who decides what is exaggerated or misleading unless they already have sufficient information to challenge or dismiss it? Besides, with the vast sea of information, attention is everything, right?

“Attention is the single most important asset. Where attention goes, money follows.” This quote, from entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, emphasizes the importance of attention in the context of what you view online. He makes further valid points and perhaps provides partial justification for ‘highlighting’ work in its best possible light to reach a global audience. Yet, in an era of fake news, deep fakes, AI-curated grammar, and flawless diction, it’s increasingly difficult to believe that a picture tells a thousand words.

Tim Ferriss, celebrating 10 years of podcasting as I write, regularly cautions listeners, “[Don’t] believe everything you read on the internet,” as his wry battle quip from hours of research combat.

Thankfully, some truth remains, regardless of interpretation. For instance, this draft started during the buildup to the 2024 UK general election. The incumbent chose to announce this pivotal event in world politics while standing miserably in the rain without an umbrella. The footage drew both opinion and derision, as these news cycles often do.

Another televised broadcast from the Prime Minister was filmed with him positioned under an ‘Exit’ sign. Symbolic or serendipitous? Regardless, a snapshot that has certainly evoked more than a thousand words.

But rather than stray into the divisive realm of British politics to labor my point about imagery, I’ll return to the source of my course-corrected lifestyle initiated by the unlikely bedfellow I mentioned at the start—a generally improbable news story.

Surely, I couldn’t be so deluded or naive as to follow a misleading, carefully constructed, and generally unobtainable plan for the beautiful beach body. A couple ‘transforming’ their bodies with the latest fad fitness challenge (or is it a groundbreaking health intervention)?

Maybe…

Ok, so I fell prey to the clickbait headline which led me to an inspirationally plausible video of the couple achieving their radical beach body success…within an unusually short timeframe.

The news article used video and photo diary entries from the couple and highlighted the rules they followed. Unlike numerous reincarnations of restrictive diet purgatory en route to beach body nirvana, this challenge provided no meal plan—just a handful of rules with a blunt, modern-day nod towards stoic maxims of discipline and determination.

I wish I could say the ‘unexpected’ consequences I’ve alluded to is my arrival at middle-aged beach bod nirvana. Instead, the discipline of maintaining two workouts a day has led to a regular asana practice and rediscovery of using yoga sequencing, breathwork, and mindfulness.

I’ve also been more vigilant with my shoulder rehab exercises by maintaining regularity and frequency, incorporating them into one of the daily workouts. This has certainly contributed to my progress and subsequent discharge from the orthopedic team and physiotherapy intervention.

However, there were some negative points which are often interwoven with challenges of this ilk.

Even so, the creator of the challenge, Andy Frisella continues to reiterate that the challenge is not for everyone…

Still, the video below highlights my reasons for stopping or failing the 75 Hard Challenge.

I like to think that I’ve adapted it to sensibly suit my health and family circumstances at this time. So yes, I aim to continue my version, minus the full gallon of water but with daily workouts that I’ve designed to challenge, in the typical workout sense, along with those that restore through the use of yoga practice and mindful walks through nature.

In addition, the rules and discipline of daily reading, no alcohol, no junk food binges, and even the progress shots serve as a form of accountability to help embed my healthy habits and their positive side benefits already observed for myself and my family.

So altogether, not quite the outcome I would have predicted or what I expected from a clickbait headline.