YouTuber tested it: 30 days of running: How your body changes

The 30-day challenge by Carolin Matzke, who mainly talks about self-love on social media, is quite simple: go for a run every day for 30 days in a row.

On her YouTube channel, she shares her experiences and explains what's important about the challenge. Above all, don't set unrealistic goals. You don't have to jog for 30-60 minutes right from the start.

Carolin believes that many people fail because their goals are too big: “We often fail at our resolutions not because of the goal itself, but because of the approach.”

Therefore, she advises her followers to ask themselves this one question: "How much time can you devote to your new routine on your busiest days? Start with that." Ten minutes is absolutely realistic to begin with. If you already jog frequently, you can set your time goal higher. She herself always ended up jogging 3 kilometers, which took her around 20 minutes.

The first few days were exhausting – but less because of the jogging itself, but mainly because of the sore thigh muscles , says the influencer.

Carolina quickly realized that her thighs weren't as toned as she would have liked. The reason: she had only jogged occasionally in the past.

Nevertheless, things got better and better after that, and her motivation also increased: "I always wanted to go jogging." Instead of "having to pull myself together," she actually enjoyed her daily runs.

Since she sat at her desk every day, exercise in the evening was just what she needed, and she even looked forward to it. The right music gave her additional motivation.

However, during the challenge she also realized that it has both advantages and disadvantages:

The advantages:

• You strengthen your muscles
• You spend a lot of time outdoors
• Jogging promotes your mental relaxation
• Emotions can be released

The disadvantages

• You run away from your problems
• Too much jogging is not good for your knees
• The body needs rest breaks
• No time for other things

For Carolin, it was a positive experience. Above all, it strengthened her belief that if she sets her mind to something, she'll follow through.

Jogging every day has influenced her mental strength and perseverance. The reason: You step out of your comfort zone to achieve your goals.

Another advantage was that Carolin had significantly more energy and strength during this time, both mentally and physically.

However, she also points out that it is equally important to take breaks and relax.

She advises her followers: "If your body is telling you it's not feeling well and you're low on energy, rest and don't let your thoughts guide you: that you 'have to' complete a certain run. You're still 'good enough' if you take a break."

In the future, Carolin will no longer go jogging every day—once or twice a week is enough for her. She also enjoys running without music sometimes. This allows her to better perceive her surroundings and absorb the energy.

She'll also stop tracking in the future. "It's not good for her." From now on, she'll go jogging whenever her body tells her to.

Her conclusion: Listen to your body and don't overdo it. Only exercise when it feels right, and don't let yourself be guided by the opinions of others. Only you know what your body truly needs.