It’s Time For Change; Yes, You Can!

Our new President, Barack Obama, said it in his inaugural speech yesterday. I, too, was inspired by his speech, so I’m dedicating the next few blog posts to the themes and values that our new President is asking us to pay attention to. In this post I’m asking you to think about what you want to change in your life or what it is that you’ve been putting off.

We all have it within ourselves to incite change and make things happen. However, the thought of change is very overwhelming for most of us. I am sure many of us will put it off until tomorrow. Then tomorrow comes, and we discover, we don’t have to until tomorrow. Thus, the cycle continues.

People, that cycle is called procrastination! We all suffer from this syndrome every now and again, so there is no need to feel any guilt over it. In fact, a study reported in Psychological Science reports that despite extrinsic motivators (money), one group still put off completing their tasks. This was the group that was given given their task without any “how-tos” or instructions to follow. The group that had the details broken down and instructions to follow actually completed their task early, without a second thought.

Here is your how-to:

1. Identify your goal/what you want to change. (Example 1-Lose 50 pounds; Example 2-Volunteer 5 hours per month to charity)

2. Set a date for accomplishing that change. (Ex. 1-December 31; Ex. 2-May 1)

3. Break it down into manageable chunks. (Ex. 1-Lose 15 pounds by March 31, 10 pounds by June 30, and so on; Ex. 2-Commit to 1 hour every other week in your first 1-2 months, 1 hour per week by month 2-3)

4. Assign yourself tasks for each week or month. (Ex. 1-Week 1-find activities you enjoy, Week 2-find workout buddies, Week 3-Exercise at least, two times per week, etc; Ex. 2-Week 1-Write down all social issues you feel passionate about, Week 2-Identify local charities that are in line with your passion (try asking neighbors, friends, or check the internet), Week 3-Call the local offices to see when and where you might be able to volunteer your time.)

5. Schedule it. Write those tasks into your calendar, as if they were that doctor’s appointment you couldn’t miss.

Try it out and procrastinate, no more. If you need a little extra guidance feel free to contact me by posting below or sending me an email at chriskfit@yahoo.com. You can also find help with your health and fitness goals at http://www.balancedstrength.com/v4fitness/register/. Sign up by February 1, 2009 for a free one-month membership.

Top Tech Tabu for the Fitness Enthusiast

Royalty-free photo found on www.corbis.com

I was on a peaceful hike, in the Santa Monica mountains, when I heard echoes of a telephone conversation. I enjoy chit-chat with friends when I hike with company, but find it a bit perturbing that people would have loud telephone conversations while on their hikes. There are feelings of relief in the reassurance that where we once were unable to get a cell phone signal, we can now reach emergency services if necessary. However, what is a blessing is also a nuisance, since people can now use their phones in the most secluded and peaceful areas to have conversations about their drunken excursions the evening before, which celebrity should not have been wearing a two-piece bathing suit, or how horribly a date went earlier in the week.

In honor of National Cell Phone Etiquette month, my response is to offer you this list of tech tabu in regard to fitness etiquette.

1. When at the gym, do not talk on your cell phones on the fitness floor. After all, you ought to be focusing on your own workout. If absolutely necessary, take your call outdoors.

2. Do not have your phone conversations in the locker room, either. It is disconcerting for others that you are having conversations with other people in the same area that are showering, changing, or in post-exercise bliss.

3. Following up #2, it is especially considerate to leave camera phones inside your bag when in the locker room, as well. There are many people who are incredibly self-conscious and have fear of being photographed at the gym. You may not have this fear, but please be considerate of the people around you who might.

4. Avoid texting and holding phone conversations while on a bike ride or a group workout. It is annoying and unsafe for you and the people around you when you are not attentive to your surroundings.

5. Make sure all of your devices are on silent or turned off when in a group fitness class, especially in yoga or meditation.

6. Also, avoid texting during these classes. Although texting seems silent, it is still distracting to the instructor and the participants around you.

7. When at the spa, leave your phone off or on silent, and inside your locker. The spa is a place for serenity; enjoy it.

8. When exercising outdoors, whether in the mountains, on the track, at the park, please keep your phone conversations very brief and at a minimum, only when necessary. It is very disruptive to those people around you who are trying to exercise. Encourage the person on the other line to join you and become your workout buddy!

Wellness enjoys company. Instead of feeling the need to be in contact, via telephone, while you are exercising, invite these friends, family, and colleagues to join you on your workouts and you can have those conversations while you are both journeying to good health.

If you have any other suggestions for gym etiquette, please feel free to post below.

P.S. This is the first in a series of blog posts dedicated to workout etiquette.