Achieve Your Fitness Goals with these 6 Mental Hacks

I always find myself creating some kind of "physical" goal at the turn of a new year. I think it's something about surrendering to a little Christmas cheer over the holiday period as well as what always feels like a palpable shift in energy - replacing the old with the new somehow. Either way I thought it was a good opportunity to touch on the importance of movement in maintaining health and well-being as well as some hacks for making movement a daily habit.

I appreciate lockdown measures might put a damper on motivation for this but even the strictest lockdowns seem to allow for at least an hour outside per day and there is a wealth of online options to explore now too. Of course another option still is to go for creativity.

What items in your home could you use to make a circuit for instance? Cans of soup for hand weights, tricep dips using a chair, use of a small stool for stepping, tea towels on the floor for some sliding ab work. You're only limited by your imagination. Make a game of it!

Towards the end of 2020, I spoke to an EventWell audience about "The Importance of Movement". We all know movement is beneficial to cardiovascular health but what else can it provide us?

The benefits of physical movement

Movement can provide the following physical benefits:

• increase bone density and body strength

• help us maintain a healthy body weight

• improve our sleep

• slow down the ageing process

• improve our metabolism and digestion

• improve circulation

• prevent disease

• promote healthy joints

• improve our immunity

• aid in management of pain and rehabilitation after injury

Indeed the Paralympic Movement, something near and dear to my heart, evolved out of Sir Ludwig Guttman’s understanding (in 1948) that sports competition could assist those with spinal cord injuries in their recovery.

And those are just some of the physical benefits. On the mental health side, movement can:

• reduce stress

• improve our relationships

• improve our mood with the flow of endorphins (those feel-good hormones)

• cultivate a sense of empowerment

• improve our memory

• slow age-related mental decline

• improve confidence

• boost our energy

• improve concentration

Studies have even shown an increase in productivity of 15% in those who are more active (employers take note!) and improved learning skills to the order of 10-15% in school children who exercise (Innervative Therapies). So who’s not buying into this yet?!

How to set a clear intention and goals

Often, it’s starting and maintaining the habit of daily exercise that can be the most difficult. So here’s how to overcome this hurdle. One way to set an intention or goal related to movement is to create a mantra which clarifies your “why”. Here’s how:

1. Identify your biggest perceived roadblock to participation e.g. “I don’t have time” or “I’m always too tired” – then rephrase it in the affirmative e.g. “I have plenty of time” or “this will help me with tiredness”.

2. Clarify your goal. Use the SMART methodology to craft a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. For goals related to movement, using a Garmin, FitBit, Apple Watch or similar, can greatly increase your motivation by providing a measurement tool which helps to track your progress e.g. my SMART goal for next month might be “I will increase my steps to 10,000 a day for the month of February”.

3. Choose one physical benefit and one mental health benefit (identified above) that particularly resonate with you so you can further align with your “why” e.g. “Movement helps me to sleep better and improves my concentration”.

4. Then use your mantra as a daily affirmation e.g. “I have plenty of time to move in my day. I will increase my steps to 10,000 a day for the month of February. This will help me to sleep better and improve my concentration”. Repeat often, and perhaps even throw it on a post-it note to remind yourself throughout the day.

6 Mental hacks for effective habit formation

Another step to sustaining a new habit like this is to understand a little of the psychology related to habit formation. Shout out here to Dr. Gina Cleo and Carlii Lyon for their masterclass on habit change in 2020 which clarified the following:

1. Focus on only ever having 1-3 goals (any more and your success rate will start to diminish).

2. Start small (remember the SMART methodology – it needs to be realistic and achievable – if you’re shooting for a marathon and starting from scratch, you’ll likely be starting with an initial goal of 5km, not 42km).

3. Research shows that a new habit can take an average of 66 days to integrate but can take between 18 and 254 days for some people (so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results quickly – remind yourself of your “why” for motivation, repeat your affirmation – and remember that consistency is key).

4. New habits are most likely to stick when paired with a routine cue e.g. after breakfast I brush my teeth. Perhaps as soon as I wake up I can get those steps in? (Consider what and when in your daily routine might provide the best cue to pair with your new goal so the habit becomes embedded).

5. Tracking your progress will help to reinforce the new habit and provide motivation. So try to keep some kind of calendar, diary or electronic record of your progress.

6. Consider defining a reward for added motivation (this might be a new item of clothing, a dinner out, a new book etc. Try to pick something that will most resonate with you).

Dr. Kelly McGonigal, health psychologist, suggests taking actions which will bring into play the variables of ease, environment and enjoyment.

• How can we create conditions which will facilitate an ease of leaning into the new habit? e.g. starting small.

• How can we manipulate our environment to make us more inclined to pursue the new habit? e.g. leaving our shoes and running gear beside the bed for the morning.

• And how, importantly, can we bring a sense of enjoyment to the new habit? Would it be more fun to run with someone else perhaps?

Using a mindful approach to habit formation means there is no failure - only learning opportunities to discover what we can adjust to move us closer in alignment with our values and goals.

And I’m going to add a note here about self-compassion. There will inevitably be days where you miss your target. In those moments, as best as you can, try to be kind to yourself. Perhaps reflect on whether something might need to change moving forward or otherwise simply chalk it up as a minor setback. Tomorrow is a new day.

If you need help starting or maintaining healthy habits to get to your goals, schedule a free discovery call to create a custom coaching programme to help you feel your best!