Fitness challenges are trending on social media, with countless influencers urging viewers to elevate their game. September is Self-Improvement Month, so now is a good time to set out on your own journey toward better wellness, fitness, and well-being.
While forming a new habit takes from 18 days to nine months or more, peer-reviewed research shows that 30 days is often long enough to initiate a significant behavior change. Here are three elements that distinguish successful self- improvement challenges from those that fail.
SET SMART GOALS
Pick your pain point and work toward resolving it by setting SMART goals — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. For example, perhaps you want to burn more calories without spending more time at the gym. Set a goal of increasing the time spent in high- intensity interval training. During at least half of your workouts, spend 10 minutes each on the stair stepper, rowing machine, and treadmill, and work toward completing each sequence twice. As you reach this goal more often, you will almost certainly see results.
TRACK YOUR BEHAVIOR
Recording your progress daily can fuel feelings of accomplishment. Your method should sync with your personal preferences and style. Let’s say you aim to improve your balance by doing balance- training exercises at least twice a day for 30 days.
A secondary goal might be to increase the time you can stand on one leg by at least 10% to 50%. Create a daily tracking tool using the design, format, and color scheme that most appeal to you, from a paper journal or wall chart to a digital app or spreadsheet. One determined fitness fan drew a chain on a long chart and added a link for every day he successfully met his exercise goals. The headline: “Don’t break the chain!”
ASK FOR SUPPORT
Most people make better progress toward personal goals if they have support from family members, friends, or a coach or physical therapist willing to help assess their progress. Set an appointment today for an assessment with one of our skilled physical therapists. We will help you identify areas for potential improvement and design an exercise program to meet your most valued goals. And we’ll celebrate with you when you achieve them!
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