Reflecting on Your 2021 Fitness Goals
Many of us set personal health and fitness goals back in January 2021, with aspirations to achieve our New Year’s resolutions by the end of December. As we transition into fall and approach the holidays, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your progress and how you are going to finish the year strong. If you want a jump start, we’ve got you covered with our fitness tracker which you can download below!
REFLECTING ON YOUR FITNESS GOALS
If you have already achieved your goals or are on track to do so, great job! Are you thinking about what might come next? Do you want to focus on maintenance? Or, are you thinking about what your next stretch goal might be so that you keep the momentum going? Trying a new studio class, increasing your running duration or speed, or steadily increasing the weight / reps while strength training are great ways to challenge yourself if you are looking to take it up a notch.
If you aren’t yet where you want to be, don’t beat yourself up! We have been living in unprecedented times, stress has been high, and we’ve been dealing with challenges some of us have never had to face. However, a good reminder is that sometimes it takes just small micro-changes to get back on track or kick start your goals.
Often when faced with a challenge that feels too difficult, an initial reaction may be to give up, because we take an “all or nothing” approach. Sometimes all we need is to make small, intentional “micro-changes” which are essentially changes to our daily habits. The benefits of these changes add up over time, and the idea is to continue to build on these as you progress. A few examples of these changes are below:
You may typically drink wine 4-5 nights a week on average and have been thinking about scaling back so that you can reduce your overall caloric intake.
Rather than set a goal to cut out alcohol completely, try to scale back to no more than 3 days a week for a couple weeks, and eventually 2 days. It’s important to remember it is okay to indulge in moderation, especially if it is something you enjoy!
You would like to increase your running speed, but feel intimidated at the thought of going much faster than 6 mph.
Rather than focusing only on your long term goal of 8 mph, take an interval based approach and increase your speed to 6.1 mph for one minute, and lower back to 6 mph for one minute. In your next workout try to take your speed to 6.2 mph for one minute, then back to 6.1 mph, etc. Interval options are endless, but the idea is to not get too aggressive right out of the gate and work toward your goal over time.
The micro-changes are specific to each individual, but the overarching point is that it is helpful to not put too much pressure on yourself or take an “all or nothing” approach. If you continue to integrate small changes to your daily habits, continue to maintain consistency and build on these over time, you will eventually realize the benefits and see results.
If you get off track, don’t give up. Life happens, and the most important thing is to just get right back at it the next day. Below is a printable PDF to help you stay on track and get your goals down in writing. Finally, don’t forget to celebrate your progress and success along the way!
Download it here – Back on Track Health and Fitness Tracker
Set goals, create micro-changes, track your progress, and document your successes, all in one easy to use planner.
