Two years ago, I wrote an article about how I set a personal goal to return to a fitness routine after the birth of my son and subsequent return to work. I set a SMART goal for myself: I wanted to re-stablish a fitness routine by attending at least one group fitness class every week for a month. My previous fitness routine of attending two classes a week had been disrupted by my pregnancy, and I was eager to return to it.
In the summer and fall months of 2019, I met my initial goal and began to attend classes more frequently, returning to a routine similar to what had been my old normal. I kept that routine until mid-March of 2020 when the global coronavirus pandemic shut down my gym and I found my routine disrupted once again!
In the early months of the pandemic, I adapted by doing at-home workouts in place of group fitness classes, and I continued those for many months. However, I discovered that while those at-home workouts provided me with regular strength-training, my daily step count was depressingly low since I didn’t have much space at home to move around or engage in moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity. I knew this was problematic as the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week for substantial health benefits, though they do also state that any activity is better than none.
At that point in time, I set a goal for myself to reach at least 7,000 steps each day. My husband and I purchased a treadmill desk which helped tremendously! I began to reach my step goal regularly and increased it to 10,000 steps per day. But then, eventually, I had to start returning to my office for work and did not have the treadmill available for use during the workday. My husband is still working from home and making use of the treadmill desk, and while I tried to order one for my office, it was (and is still) on backorder!
So, what to do now? Despite the challenges and excuses I am tempted to claim, I know it is time once again to reclaim a “normal” fitness routine that meets my needs. My gym is open once again and I am fully vaccinated, so I believe it is time for me to rejoin and start attending group fitness classes to get strength-training AND moderate-intensity exercise on a regular basis. I called my gym to rejoin last week and my SMART goal is the same as it was two years ago: to reestablish a fitness routine by attending at least one group fitness class every week for a month. In some ways it may seem like I have regressed, but when I step back and look at the whole picture, I am reminded that we often grow in fits and spurts, even when we encounter setbacks in our life. The most important lesson is to not give up on our goals and to remember that it’s never too late to start again. We owe it to ourselves and to our health.
Sources:
Lobb, J. (2019). Reclaiming fitness. Live Healthy Live Well. https://livehealthyosu.com/2019/08/22/reclaiming-fitness
Stanford BeWell (2021). Achieving your SMART health goal. https://bewell.stanford.edu/achieving-your-smart-health-goal
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018). Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/pdf/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf
Written by: Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension, Franklin County, lobb.3@osu.edu
Reviewed by: Laura Stanton, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, OSU Extension, Warren County, stanton.60@osu.edu
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