Are you as excited for The Oxygen Challenge 8 as we are!?

Oxygen fam both new and old, we've got some great workouts in store for you. This year, two phenomenal coaches — Sohee Lee and Carmel Rodriguez — have put together exclusive plans to help you live your fittest life as you take on The Oxygen Challenge 8.

As the May 2 launch day approaches, make sure you (and all your friends!) are signed up for Outside+ so you can access OC8 on our new online education hub, Outside Learn, once the courses launch.

Find out all you need to know about the challenge, the digital cover contest and the all-new Outside Learn platform here!

— Rose McNulty, Senior Digital Editor

5 Mistakes I Made at the Beginning of My Fitness Journey

By Sohee Lee, Oxygen Challenge 8 Coach

I’ve been lifting weights for over 14 years and I’ve been a fitness professional for over 10 years. Throughout this time, I cannot tell you the number of mistakes I’ve made along the way. I like to think of all of them as valuable learning lessons, though, and I’m happy I know better now.

Today, I’m sharing with you five mistakes I made at the beginning of my fitness journey — hopefully so you don’t have to!

1. I thought fitness was all about self-control.

In fitness, we tend to glorify strict, rigid protocols, and we admire those who are able to maintain a robot-like adherence to these rigorous plans. Do 45 minutes of fasted cardio every morning? Check. Lift 6 times a week? Check. Carry around your own meals in Tupperware and never eat out at restaurants? Check.

We typically try to follow programs that necessarily require extremely high levels of self-control due to how demanding they are. Unfortunately, relying primarily on self-control to elicit lasting change is a losing strategy.

Find out why, and read the rest here »

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