I'm not training for
anything specific right now, which is harder than I thought. After the last
half marathon, I thought I'd enjoy a break from focused training and revel in
being able to just workout without any specific goal in mind.
Whatever. Who was I kidding when I came up with
that crazy idea? I must have been on some kind of endorphin high or something. No, me
without a goal is like a fish out of water. I just flop around and make other
people uncomfortable.
So, carrot, meet stick. I have my big overall goal
of running a half marathon in under two hours, but that's a year away. My
workouts are kind of lame without
some kind of carrot, so I've been making some bite-sized goals to shake things
up and keep my morning runs interesting.
This week, I set a goal to run through either two
or three (depending on what I did the day before) of my 1-minute walk intervals
during my stroller runs. It's not that big a deal, not too intimidating, and very achievable. The result is that I am building
my endurance running with the stroller and picking up a little bit of speed.
Next week, I'll probably work on speed exclusively and shave off a few seconds
every day. Just a few, no need to get all crazy. After all, I'm supposed to be
enjoying a training break, right?
You can apply this to your everyday workouts or
nutrition goals too. Just set a bite-sized goal that
you can achieve each day and make sure it is SMART: Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Other examples of bite-sized goals I've set for
myself lately:
Big goal: stop
drive-by nibbling. Bite-sized goal: I
will not eat a spoonful of my son's cereal before I put it on the table today.
No. I will not. Bad mommy!
Big goal: stretch
and recover from exercise more consistently. Bite-sized
goal: I will spend two minutes after my yoga workout stretching my
hamstrings.
Big goal: improve
my explosive strength. Bite-sized goal: when
doing my morning Exercise TV workout, I will start the burpees during
the explanation of how to do a burpee instead of standing there panting and
watching the explanation of how to do a burpee when I know full well how to do
it. The result so far: I'm doing more burpees and doing them a lot faster too!
The key is to make it something easy that you can
do TODAY. Then, you're able to take little bites out of
that big goal, and before you know it you're halfway there.
Get out there and get healthy today, even if
you just take one bite. :)
2 comments:
Such good points - I am VERY goal-driven, so I often do little ones. Last week I also decided it was wimpy to wait while my DVD-instructor explained the exercise, and that I could get in a few more reps while she is explaining it . . . so I too started squat-thrusts, etc. earlier. Anything to boost my enthusiasm & fitness! And yeah, those nibbles, tastes and licks of your kid's food really add up. Chewing gum helps me get around that when my willpower is low (which is often!).
LOL! yeah, that little voice in my head was all, "why are you just standing here? Get going!" Good idea with the gum! I find that brushing my teeth stops my nibbling. :) So far none today. :)
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