Jackie The challenge
Consistency is key and finding habits that you want to keep will make you successful in creating a routine for moving your body. My dad used to say that if you could keep up a routine for a week it’ll stick. I’m not so sure that’s entirely accurate, and perhaps fairly optimistic. However, there is some truth to pushing yourself to stick to something for a set amount of days to find your routine. That’s what the basis of Whole30 is. Its foundation is sticking with something for 30 days, building good habits that make you feel your best and that you want to maintain; not because you have to, but because you see and feel the difference. You need that long to reset your brain, rid your body and mind of old habits and ways of thinking. So let’s apply that to building and finding a routine for moving your body that you’ll want to stick to.
I challenge you to a 30 day move challenge.
30 days sounds daunting, I know, but if you’ve done a Whole30 you know there are a whole lot of emotions and changes that can happen in that time that you need to ride through to see the benefits. You have tough days, you have fantastic days, but in the end you stick with what you’ve committed to and that is some serious mental strength you’re building! So, accept the challenge and tell yourself you’re going to do it, no matter what. By pushing yourself to stick to it, know you’re building a foundation that will be a lifelong change.
Set your goal for the 30 days, write it down, tell someone and stick to it
Set yourself up for success, be realistic but don’t sell yourself short. If exercise is new to you, or you’re just getting back into it your initial goal can be to move, in some fashion for 30 minutes every day for 30 days. That 30 minutes can range from intense workouts to slow flowing yoga and you’ll still feel the benefits of moving your body every day. Don’t have 30 consecutive minutes? Who cares. Find 10 minutes 3 times a day, do some squats, some yoga, and walk. Anything to hit that goal. If working out isn’t new to you, and you just want to build a routine, your goal may be running three times a week and yoga 2 times a week, with rest days twice a week.
Everyone’s challenge will be personal to them.
Once you decide what your challenge will be for 30 days, write it down, tell someone and stick to it. Writing it down just makes it more real, it’s concrete, you can see it and remember challenging yourself in that moment you wrote it. Telling someone is a form of accountability. Not that anyone is responsible for you completing your goal, only you are; but telling people what you’re doing will form a support system and perhaps someone else will join you. It’s always better to do a challenge with someone else!
Whatever you set as your parameter, set it and don’t change it, you’re only cheating yourself mentally if you continuously move your goal. The point is to stick to something for 30 days to build that lasting habit.
Track it and keep going
Keep track of your progress. Days you complete your goals and how you feel that day and the following days. Use this journal on days you’re struggling to find the motivation, reminding yourself how good you feel even when you don’t want to. Big difference here from Whole30, if you miss a day or two, I don’t want you to start over. I want you to keep going. Track that day, and again how you feel that day and the days around it. Perhaps that day or two you missed, you really needed it to feel your best. Maybe you needed that extra rest and your body responded with a better workout the next day. This journal will help you at the end of the 30 days to find that routine that’s lasting and works for you. Find your balance.
Give yourself some grace
This is so important. You’re embarking on something new. Whatever your challenge is, you won’t be perfect. You can’t be. Otherwise this wouldn’t be a challenge. So give yourself some grace. There is no punishing in this process. This challenge is focused on building positive results that make you feel your best. At the end, take a moment to reflect on the past 30 days. What served you well, what didn’t. Leave that behind and build on what worked best for you.
Rinse & Repeat
There’s no end to this, try and try again to find what works for you. That’ll change with time as you find new activities or old ones no longer serve you. Routines change and evolve with us. If you lose your routine, reset, start again and build a new one. There’s never a wrong time to get going or to start again. If not now, when?
Leave me a comment, let me know how you made this challenge yours.