Pages

Monday, October 21, 2013

Personal Best and a New "21" for the 21st

What a great way to start out the week! I went for a run this morning, and I decided to run the whole "5k+" distance.  I managed to do my personal best (PB), and I couldn't be more happy!  I am really motivated to make sure I can keep up with DD8 at her Girls On The Run 5k in November.

Now that I've told you my exciting news for the day, I want to invite you to start something else that's exciting for you!  I noticed that today is the 21st of October.  The 21st reminds me that I need to begin a new "21" Challenge!  I would love for readers to take this opportunity to challenge themselves to pick one BABY STEP toward Superwoman Status!

When I say baby step, I mean, teeny. tiny. baby.  I am talking about this:  If you are thinking about incorporating fitness into your life, start by making this commitment: "I will touch my toes when I put my feet on the ground in the morning!." This simple, tiny little thing helps shift your brain. just a little. tiny. bit.

The idea for "21" came from my trainer, Ian.  He, too, advises taking very small steps to help yourself succeed.

DO NOT say, "Oh, yes, I'll do that! I'm giving up sweets!" arrgh!  That's such a slippery slope, don't you think??  How about "I'm going to eat one piece of fruit before noon every day." Are you supposed to have more than that? Yep. But, if you're not getting a piece of fruit now, isn't one piece before noon better than zero pieces all day?

I hope you can see where I'm going with this "21" challenge!  I LOVE them.

Oh, before I share my challenge with you, I want to hand down one more rule:  If you mess up- I mean, if you mess up at all- you start over at Day #1.  I'm really not a total meanie. The reason is not for punishment.  The reason is because you are committing to 21 consecutive days of meeting your challenge.  These are habits to change your life for the better, right?  There's no hurry- if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right! :)

After the challenge- after you have completed 21 consecutive days in a row, the expectation is that you will want to incorporate this habit into your life at least 80% of the time.  We all make mistakes or have an "off" day- shoot for changes that will become second nature, and things that you will want to continue to do daily (at least 80% of the time!)

If you're curious about my own "21"Challenge, here it is for everyone to see:

The Slacker (that's me!) will do a minimum of 10 minutes of exercise each and every day.  I try to "work out" in some way at least 3 times per week, but I'm guilty of being pretty sloth-like on the other days.  I want to build a habit of having exercise in my daily life- not a "workout", but some kind of something that will elevate my heart rate for just a few minutes!

Here's how I reward myself (oh, you KNOW I have to have instant gratification!):
I put a shiny star or smiley face on the wall calendar after my challenge is met each day!  Simple, sweet, and oh-so-satisfying!

Then, once I complete my "21", I will offer myself a bigger reward.  This time, I believe it will be a new sports bra and workout pants!

Please, leave your own "21" Challenge, comments, ideas, concerns, and questions in the comments section :)  I can't wait to work with you!


  • Today's exercise is done!  I ran today. One shiny sticker is on the calendar :)


No comments:

Post a Comment