FAMILY FITNESS - LET’S SET OUR 2022 GOALS!
Nice Article about Goals, Fitness and Children! https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/fitness-6-12.html
Our goal is for families to learn to make fitness routine, fun and enjoyable for lifelong health - strong and healthy. If you are concerned about weight gain or specific nutritional needs for your children, please consult your physician.
7 Tips to Reach your Fitness Goals - adapted from https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/reach-your-fitness-goals-in-7-easy-steps.html
What are your Long-Term Goals?
Think about the future and what you want to accomplish. Perhaps you want to lose weight, gain muscle, feel better, eat healthier over the next 12 months. Write it down. Hold yourself responsible and accountable for reaching that goal. Putting it down on paper is like creating a covenant you have to stick to. Put that paper on a refrigerator or mirror—anywhere you look on a daily basis. This is a constant reminder of the pact you made with yourself to reach your goal. After completing the form below it will be forward to you so you can print it.
Set Short-Term Goals
While writing long-term goals is a great start, achieving them requires detailing a number of steps to help get you there. After all, losing 50 pounds doesn't just happen because you write it down. Create weekly and monthly goals. For instance, you can reasonably lose 1-2 pounds per week in a healthy way, you can add vegetables to dinner and lunches 5x a week, you can walk or jog 3x a week.
Make Your Goals Measurable
How do you think you can ensure you're on the right path if you have no way of measuring the results? It's easy with weight because you can simply jump on the scale. Most health goals are measurable - strength, endurance, speed, reducing sugar intake... Goals for your children should be simple and encourage a challenge. They may have various short term goals with the long term goal of making health fun and enjoyable.
Keep yourself accountable by utilizing these measurable goals to see how you are progressing. If you see you aren't on track to meet a short-term goal, then you know you'll need to make some adjustments to get back on track. Keep a calendar and mark progress!
Make Your Goals Attainable
Unrealistic goals set the stage for failure. You'll quickly get frustrated, and ultimately you'll derail from your long-term goal. Setting an aggressive long-term goal can be counterproductive; you'll have a better chance of success of actually reaching your target goal if you give yourself the time you need. You're not going to get there overnight, no matter how badly you want something. It takes patience and persistence, and that has to be your approach.
Goals and Success require Discipline
Next you'll need to create an action plan for your short-term goals. Following with our example, put in place a workout and nutrition plan that allows you to lose 1-2 pounds per week. The plan should fit your schedule and allow you to work out a certain amount of days a week for a given period of time. Be specific about your training plans, detailing how many days and how much time you can commit to. In terms of your nutrition, start by referencing a few Bodybuilding.com articles on tips and meal plans for fat loss, or consult a nutritionist to help. By recording your calories and macros each day, you'll know if you're on track or not.
For Adults trying to lose or maintain weight I highly recommend Noom. The education, psychology, accountability and tracking is very valuable even for those who consider themselves new or very adept at nutrition.
Find Intrinsic Motivation
Based on the criteria listed so far, some goals are more likely to be achieved than others. A big player in this is called intrinsic motivation. That is, is your long-term goal something you really want, or is it for someone else?
It turns out that if you're working toward a goal for any other reason than yourself, you're far less likely to succeed. It's that simple. Don't set goals if your personal interests and heart aren't into it.
Reward Yourself And Have Fun
The process is a journey, and quite possibly a long one. If you drudge through every day miserable because you hate what you have to do and you see no light at the end of the tunnel, you're far less likely to ultimately succeed. Find activities you enjoy, and that will help you reach your short- and long-term goals. If you despise running but enjoy playing basketball, then by all means use basketball as a source of cardio.
Everyone hits those same plateaus and forks in the road where they have to overcome obstacles. You might feel as if you'll never surpass some of those challenges—but you can. Stick with it, stay consistent, and keep pushing onward.
It's also a great idea to reward yourself for achieving goals. This can be as simple as buying a new workout shirt or a pair of shoes. Enjoying the process of reaching your goals and looking back on what you have accomplished is one of the best feelings you can ever experience.
The time and effort you put into something you personally wanted to accomplish and the feeling you get when you achieve it is something no one can ever take away from you. So stand proud and know you did something for yourself to better your life. Our bodies were made to move and feel best when we find activities that challenge them!
There are lots of ways to track fitness - here are some printable calendar options: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/workout-calendar/
Children who want a prize at the celebration party in August need to complete a goal sheet before February 1st and then check in monthly with their progress. I’ll send out email reminders! Adults who complete the goals and monthly updates will receive an ‘Ohana shirt. Let get moving!
INITIAL GOALS:
MONTHLY UPDATES: