Skip to main content

Jumpstart your new year fitness goals with TikTok’s viral Winter Arc challenge

Now is the season to prioritize and improve your athletic performance

man running wearing hoodie outside two shirts
Mary Taylor / Pexels

It’s the same story every January; the gym is bursting with people eager to fulfill their new year’s fitness resolutions. Before that, in the months leading up to the holidays, people tend to kick back a little and slow down with their training routines. You can start that weekly run, swim, or circuit class after the new year. ‘New year, new you’ is often the echoed phrase. TikTok’s viral Winter Arc challenge is switching things up and encouraging people to pick up the pace sooner. Let’s look at the Winter Arc challenge and top tips to help you get ahead with your fitness goals.

The latest trending TikTok fitness challenge

It’s the same story every January; the gym is bursting with people eager to fulfill their new year’s fitness resolutions. Before that, in the months leading up to the holidays, people tend to kick back a little and slow down with their training routines. You can start that weekly run, swim, or circuit class after the new year. New year, new you is often the echoed phrase. TikTok’s viral Winter Arc challenge is switching things up and encouraging people to change the record and pick up the pace sooner. Let’s look at the Winter Arc challenge and top tips to help you get ahead with your fitness goals. The latest trending TikTok fitness challenge ‘Winter Arc’ is a 90-day challenge trending on TikTok where you use the last three months of the year to focus on health and fitness objectives and personal development, such as joining a running club, improving your nutrition, or starting a five-day workout plan. Instead of the fall being leisurely time off or a time to sink into your couch and hibernate with a warm beverage, this challenge looks at the holidays as a time to jumpstart your health and fitness goals. The only rule is that you must stay consistent and disciplined to make noticeable progress by the new year. The idea behind the Winter Arc On these often colder and shorter days of the winter season, the idea is to use this time to level up your athletic performance so you’re transformed by January instead of just starting out. The Winter Arc TikTok is full of men and women in their hoodies and seasonal workout gear running in the dark or at sunrise or pumping iron in the gym. These videos get millions of views as people motivate each other to get moving. Whether you pick up the pace in October, November, or December, it’s a good idea to invest time and energy into your fitness to see serious changes over time. Rather than slowing down and kicking back, it’s time to kick things up a notch with your workout routine. Celebrity fitness trainer Michael Baah says this concept has been around for decades and that it takes around 66 days to form a habit, so the Winter Arc helps you along that journey ahead of the new year. That being said, some people warn that you shouldn’t get too carried away by trying to hit extreme fitness objectives, which could cause added stress during the holidays. Tips to get started Top tips to get started with your Winter Arc: Be realistic and clear with your goals and write them down. Track your progress with a fitness tracker or write your progress down in your notepad. Try to improve in smaller increments, such as adding an extra 10 minutes to your workout or incorporating manageable, progressive overload with strength training. Stay hydrated. Find an accountability partner to get on board. Do what you enjoy or prefer. Research shows you’re more likely to show up when you stick to the exercise intensities you prefer.
Cotton Bro / Pexels

‘Winter Arc’ is a 90-day challenge trending on TikTok where you use the last three months of the year to focus on health and fitness objectives and personal development, such as joining a running club, improving your nutrition, or starting a five-day workout plan. Instead of the fall being leisurely time off or a time to sink into your couch and hibernate with a warm beverage, this challenge looks at the holidays as a time to jumpstart your health and fitness goals. The only rule is that you must stay consistent and disciplined to make noticeable progress by the new year.

Recommended Videos

The idea behind the Winter Arc

man wearing hoodie sitting on gym machine workout exercise
Styves Exantus / Pexels

On these often colder and shorter days of the winter season, the idea is to use this time to level up your athletic performance, so you’re transformed by January instead of just starting out. The Winter Arc TikTok is full of men and women in their hoodies and seasonal workout gear running in the dark or at sunrise or pumping iron in the gym. These videos get millions of views as people motivate each other to get moving. 

Whether you pick up the pace in October, November, or December, it’s a good idea to invest time and energy into your fitness to see serious changes over time. Rather than slowing down and kicking back, it’s time to kick things up a notch with your workout routine. Celebrity fitness trainer Michael Baah says this concept has been around for decades and that it takes around 66 days to form a habit, so the Winter Arc helps you along that journey ahead of the new year. That being said, some people warn that you shouldn’t get too carried away by trying to hit extreme fitness objectives, which could cause added stress during the holidays.

Tips to get started

man and woman running outdoors in cold working ou
Julia Larson / Pexels

Top tips to get started with your Winter Arc:

  • Be realistic and clear with your goals and write them down.
  • Track your progress with a fitness tracker or write your progress down in your notepad to stay motivated.
  • Try to improve in smaller increments, such as adding an extra 10 minutes to your workout or incorporating manageable, progressive overload with strength training.
  • Stay hydrated.
  • Optimize your nutrition.
  • Find an accountability partner to get on board.
  • Do what you enjoy or prefer. Research shows you’re more likely to show up when you stick to the exercise intensities you prefer.
Steph Green
Steph Green is a content writer specializing in healthcare, wellness, and nutrition. With over ten years of experience, she…
Topics
From chatbot to gym coach: Can ChatGPT-5 streamline your fitness routine?
ChatGPT-5 — A cost-effective intelligent AI fitness coach?
gpt-5

The other day, I was playing with my little three-year-old nephew, and he pointed to the robot vacuum cleaner at the other end of the room in amazement. “Robot?” he inquired, which made me smile. The rapidly advancing technology we have today is pretty impressive when you really think about it. 

OpenAI has launched the new ChatGPT-5 with improved writing, coding, reasoning, and more. The latest intelligence model could change our fitness routines, and many gym buffs are saying it could even replace your coach, providing motivation, meal plans, workout schedules, and beyond. 

Read more
Cycling is fun and good for your health — here’s the research on pedal power
From lowering stress to strengthening your legs, there are plenty of reasons to get on the bike and pedal.
bicycle on path

Cycling is an excellent way to get some exercise in the great outdoors. You can pedal around your city and get your muscles moving. I’ve always loved cycling, and writing this is making me want to fix my tire, so I can get back on the bike again. It’s a fun way to travel around that offers numerous benefits over driving a car. From scenic routes to trips across the country, here are the benefits of this ever-popular childhood pastime.

What are the benefits of cycling?

Read more
10,000 steps? Not anymore — Researchers reveal the new daily step goal
Do we really need to walk 10,000 steps to boost our health? What does this brand-new research show?
Man walking through sunlit trees

Most of us have heard of the daily step goal of 10,000 steps. Personally, I don’t worry about my daily steps; I just focus on regularly walking my dogs and getting my weekly exercise. Plus, does everyone have time for 10,000 steps every day? The good news is that researchers have recently pinpointed a more manageable figure, so we can still feel good about getting those health benefits, even if we don't quite make all 10,000 steps.

The new daily step count

Read more