Getting fit is all about building and maintaining good habits. The repetition of successful workouts and meals brings you success. It is not easy. Every day you have a choice to practice good habits or not. It helps to keep the momentum on your side.
Momentum is a law of motion. It is the force created by a moving object. Applying the concept of momentum to fitness is about building up multiple choices, behaviors, and activities to create positive actions. As you build momentum you see your goals as reachable and your willpower strong. You acknowledge your achievements and choose to build upon them. By building your momentum you are more productive, efficient, and effective.
For example, if you are in a rut your good habits are waning. You are not doing your workouts consistently and you are eating more junk food. You already know where these behaviors lead. You gain weight and then you feel bad. You eat more junk food and exercise less and begin a downward spiral. How can momentum help you? First, build some positive momentum by changing one major behavior that can make a significant impact. This week make all your workouts. Your goal is 100% attendance for all your workouts. If you do this, you can start building momentum.
The week goes by and you make it to all your workouts. You achieve 100% attendance. Congratulations! You are feeling more positive about yourself and you are practicing a great habit you know works. Your goal next week is to make your workouts and have 3 days where you consume no junk food or alcohol. You are combining a workout goal with a nutrition goal.
The second week goes by and you make all your workouts again. That is now 2 weeks in a row for your workouts. Excellent! You also have 3 days where you have no junk food or alcohol. It was challenging, but worth it. You wanted the sweets, but you stuck to your goal. You are feeling better about your fitness activities and you are starting to feel better.
For the third week you are going to make your workouts, go 4 days with no junk food or alcohol and monitor your sleep. Sleep is important for recovery and energy for activities. Write down the hours of sleep you are getting a night. Your goal is 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
The third week goes by. You make your workouts, go 4 days without junk food or alcohol and you monitored your sleeping. You are only getting 7-8 hours of sleep on the weekends. During your busy work week, you are only sleeping 6-7 hours. Ask yourself why? Why are you sleeping less during the week? What can you do about it? What choices do you have to ensure 7-8 hours of sleep?
Your goals for your fourth week are to make your workouts, go 4 days without junk food or alcohol and get 7-8 hours of sleep at least 4 nights a week. Do you see the pattern of how you build your positive fitness momentum? You started with one achievable goal and each week you built on that goal. You slowly added more achievable goals in different areas of fitness. When you start achieving the group of goals you are building your momentum. The success of one week feeds the momentum of the next week. Every day you make choices to achieve your goals and build you momentum. Go out and build your fitness momentum and reach your goals!
