With reality television shows featuring everyday people losing weight through proper diet and exercise, it is no surprise that weight loss competitions have gained in popularity in recent years. This type of competition has proven to be an effective means for people of any size, age and physical activity level to succeed in getting fit.

Weight loss competitions help inspire and motivate people to do their best. These competitions often feature a coach or referee who keeps track of the participants’ activities and logs them as a way to keep focusing on the goal at hand. Because physical activity is recorded, it is easy for participants to see results beyond the scale. Weight loss competitions often involve taking each participant’s vitals, like blood pressure and heart rate. When these things improve, then results are much more tangible for those in the competition.

It also is much simpler to get motivated to exercise when other people near you are doing the same. With weight loss competitions, losing weight tends to be easier because people are in groups, working toward the same goal. It is much easier to get off the couch and exercise when others are depending on you.

Weight loss competitions also feature more fun ways to lose weight, like group exercise. A group might get together for a tug-of-war competition. The group also might race to the top of a hill, or have a contest to see how many jumping jacks they can do. The goal is fun as well as fitness. The idea behind weight loss competitions is to provide a different venue in which to lose weight. If you are unmotivated on your own, then this type of fitness regimen might work better for you. If you are tired of running on the treadmill, logging miles on the elliptical or bicycle machine, or have worn out your exercise DVDs but are not seeing the exact results you want, then it might be time to make a change. In this case, this type of fitness regimen might work for you.

There are certain types of people who need no outside inspiration. Weight loss competitions can work for these people as well. People who are fit often run 5ks for this reason; to challenge themselves to do better, run faster, climb higher, do more. The same goes in this realm. It is a way to inspire and further motivate.