How SMART are you?
How SMART are you?
January is typically a reflective time of year, especially around our health. If you’ve ever been to a gym in January, pre-Covid of course, you know what I’m talking about. You cannot get a bench to save your life, but come March, there are some serious tumbleweeds blowing across the gym floor.
January is a month with heavy expectations and dreams! People are buckling down and making big plans. The goal-setting usually happens Friday after a glass of wine or beer. You are for SURE starting Monday!
Monday comes and it’s workout time. You get dressed, grab your workout you downloaded from YouTube and you are absolutely crushing it, for about a week! Next Monday rolls around but you find yourself kind of busy. You tell yourself you will definitely do it tomorrow. For sure. Days pass and you find yourself back at square one and feeling kind of defeated. So why the breakdown? What happened to your plan? This was your year!
If this sounds at all familiar, just know that you are NOT ALONE. So how do you reach your fitness goals, and more importantly, sustain them?
Its not easy, but it is absolutely possible if you put these 5 steps into practice.
Reaching Your Fitness Goals
#1 Figure out your WHY – what is driving you to make healthy changes. Write it down.
#2 Build your accountability army, and it starts with you. Tell the people in your life whom you spend time with, your family, friends, and co-workers. Tell them you are making some health changes and you would love their support. You may be surprised how your attitude inspires those around you!
#3 Create a plan. Use SMART goals (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and timely). For example;
Specific: I want to complete a 10k in May.
Measurable: I will track my activity on my smartphone and take measurements.
Attainable: I will commit to 4 exercise sessions per week. I will go to the gym nearby, or down to the Basement. I have the ability to arrange my schedule to put this amount of time in.
Realistic: I will workout in the mornings before work. I will go for a workout on my lunch break. I will workout straight after work. And I will commit to a workout support group.
Timely: I will complete my goal of 10K in 4 months.
I recommend booking yourself into your calendar just like you would for any scheduled appointment. Make yourself a priority. after all, the best version of you is the one that is loved and valued by YOU!
Create a goals list and break it down into:
- daily goals
- weekly goals
- monthly goals.
Daily goals – action steps you can take on a daily basis, like taking the stairs, walking the dog, parking farther away. following the recommended daily added sugar allowance, completing scheduled workouts, drinking water, tracking your daily accomplishments, making a step/day goal etc.
Weekly goals – Meal prep on Sunday, taking one day for body maintenance such as fascial release, completing all your daily workouts for the week, Walking or running to complete a certain km distance for the week.
Monthly goals – Muscle mass increase, inches lost, you can do 10 pushups, you are able to move better and you have more energy.
Now write down where you would like to be in a year. What do you see? What does your body feel like? What’s your state of mind?
#4 Take action = START. Be like NIKE and “Just Do It”
There may be days where you would rather clean the toilet with a toothbrush than a workout but I will tell you this, there has NEVER been a day that I have ever said, “Ugh… I wish I didn’t do that workout”. NEVER. In fact, it’s the opposite. It lifts the spirits, creates discipline and forms habits! I can assure you some workouts will be awesome and some you may just be going through the motions, but if you are consistent, you’ll get there.
#5 Never stop setting mini-goals
Keep a fire lit under your butt. Continually challenge yourself. It may not always be comfortable but it will be worth it.
Remember – you CAN do this! Be consistent, be ok with being uncomfortable and remember you are worth it!
