As we wind down another year, you may be considering how well your “new year, new you” plan worked out. Were you able to lose the weight you hoped to lose? Do you look and feel healthier? Did the fitness tracker you got as a gift last Christmas pop off your wrist and explode from overuse? Okay, so maybe you aren’t your personal trainer’s model client, but the fact that you set a goal to be healthier was an important first step. Let’s build on that. Perhaps a new approach to physical activity in 2020 will help you get the results you wanted. And we’re not talking about any radical muscle-building or combat-inspired workout you see on social media. What about really taking charge of your life and health, and building your own physical activity plan? Experts say that taking ownership enhances one’s chance for success because of the personal investment made—and there’s nothing more personal than building your own plan. Think of it as being your own fitness boss!
Building Your Own Plan Offers Some Immediate Benefits
It’s easier to manage because you designed the plan, so you can tweak it at any time. You’re in control of how often you wish to mark your progress. So, you don’t have to do the mandatory “check-ins” when an app tells you that you should. You can design to complement, not complicate, your lifestyle.
Getting Started
Before you get moving, get thinking! The success of any plan is determined by your willingness to do it and examining exactly what it is you wish to accomplish. Here’s how to set yourself up for success:
Examine your lifestyle so you can set aside time each day. Ideally, an hour would be great, but if you can only spare 30 minutes, use that as a base to get started. This is key: Be sure to make this time as much of a priority as anything else you do that day.
Make sure you have the proper attire/equipment. Because you are designing the plan yourself, you may (and should!) include various activities. Make sure lack of equipment, such as hiking shoes or a swimsuit, doesn’t hold you back. Having what you need at the ready helps avoid excuses for skipping activity.
Write it down. The National Institute of Health offers a great online tool for individuals who wish to create their own physical activity plan (go4life.nia.nih.gov). The site offers many assessment tools to help you determine what it is that you actually want to achieve. Whether it’s losing weight, building strength, or reducing stress, this website allows you define realistic goals and then helps you track the progress you make. Remember: It’s flexible because you are customizing the plan with the help of trusted health and fitness resources.
Pack your plan with activities you love. Now we’re getting to the fun part. Variety is the spice of life; change up your plan with a plethora of activities. In fact, you should not plan to do the same workout every day. If you’re able to set aside an hour, envision your hour looks like this one day a week: 20-minute morning stretch as a warm-up, 20-minute strength training, 20-minute walk. The next day, perhaps it’s a 10-minute stretch to loosen up, followed by 30-minutes of gardening, and then some slow-flow yoga as a cool down.
Another option—you could just choose a 60-minute online exercise video to get that cardio in; these traditionally include about 10 minutes of warm-up activities and 10 minutes of cool-down. The internet is full of options! Or, how about 30 minutes of cardio and a leisurely 30-minute bike ride? The possibilities are endless, and that hour will pass by quickly!
Keep in mind that adding new activities will help challenge you and keepyou from getting bored. Pick up on a new trend—pickle ball, perhaps?
Easy, real-life hacks. When you consider the many things you do in a day that can be incorporated into your plan, getting in that hour a day can become even easier. Similar to meal planning with healthy food swaps, you can also substitute real-life activity as a means of making sure you get your hour in every day.
Take that dance class you have always wanted to, use part of your lunch break to walk, stroll through every aisle of the grocery store several times, or walk the entire mall while shopping—those all count! As the weather warms back up in the spring, you will find even more ways to get in a workout. Weekend family outings are great places to get in on a game of badminton, cornhole, or play some aqua volleyball in the pool.
Give yourself a day off. Most importantly, give yourself a break. You don’t have to do a complete cheat, but having a day’s worth of downtime is okay—and can even provide the time you need to plan your active week ahead.
