SMART GOALS for 2022

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Happy 2022. Can you believe we are entering our 3rd year of this crazy alternative universe, aka the Covid Pandemic? Many of us have made adaptations to our “new” way of living and learned a lot about ourselves, what makes us happy, what fulfills us, what our priorities are. The beginning of a new year always makes me reflective of the past year and entertain the possibilities of the new year. While I am not a person who makes resolutions, I do LOVE goals. I spent my little “staycation” these past three days setting my goals for this year. I have a few on my list, like running the NYC Half Marathon with my daughter in March and beginning to clean out the boxes and boxes of photos that I have stored away, organizing and tossing out bad or duplicate pictures. I have my training plan in place for the race and I have a goal of 1/2 a box every weekend from now until the end of April. Do you have any goals for this new year? I know you know this already, but when setting goals, make sure that they are SMART.

Our last half marathon, 3 years ago!

Specific.  Specific refers to what you are going to do.  Use action words such as exercise, eat, and coordinate.  Think about why you are choosing this particular goal.  A good idea of a SPECIFIC goal is: I am going to walk 3 miles in 45 minutes by March 1st.

Measurable.  If you can measure it, you can’t manage it.  Choose a goal with measurable progress.  You may have a long-term goal, but have smaller measurable steps along the way.  For example, if you want to run a 6-mile race in the spring, you should set your training program to build your mileage each week.  

Achievable.  Set goals that are achievable for YOU and you only.  Your friend may want to run a marathon in May.  This may not be important or attainable for you.  You may need to set a goal of running a 5k in September!

Realistic.  This does not mean easy.  It means Do-able.  Set the bar high enough to feel satisfied when you attain your goal, but not so high that the thought of your goal is overwhelming.  For example, rather than setting a goal not to eat sweets all month, it may be more realistic to set a goal to eat only one sweet per week.

Timely.  Set a time frame for your goal.  Next week, next month, by spring.  Putting a clear target in front of you gives you something to work toward and allows you start on it right away.  Remember though, if your time is more than a few weeks in the distance, set interim goals to get you there.

 I would love to hear from you about your goals for YOU in 2022. Good luck and let us know how we can help.

We Made it Through Two Months

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Happy Monday!

We have made it through two months of quarantine. Wow. Can you believe it? Over half way through May! As some parts of the country begin to ease quarantine restrictions we may start to feel a sense of need to return to normalcy and yet many of us are still fearful about even returning to a modified “normal” routine. APF is yet not ready to think about in person training, so we will continue with our virtual workouts and encouraging every one to participate in one way or another.

If you are feeling that your workouts are a bit harder as time creeps on do not be surprised. You are NOT alone and you are NOT losing fitness. Warmer weather and the state of mental fatigue you may be experiencing can make your workouts seem harder and slower. Stress is stress, regardless of where it comes from. Always listen to your body and give yourself grace for taking it a little easier now and then.

That being said, there has been some VERY good news about exercise research recently. Maybe some of these highlights will give you encouragement to keep up with your routine!

  1. Research encourages intermittent workouts. Intermittent exercise means small workouts periodically during the day. The new research shows that these intermittent workouts provide benefits both mentally and physically. Aim to be active at least every hour. Do a few pushups on the counter, a few squats during your phone calls, get down and up off the floor a few times between zoom meetings! You decide your exercises, weights and reps, just a few minutes at a time. By doing this you can also start to change the perception your brain has of gym sessions being painful and make an association with them being normal instead. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/with-gyms-closed-try-intermittent-workouts-you-might-even-get-more-out-of-them/2020/04/22/8e7f6f4e-84cd-11ea-878a-86477a724bdb_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_lean_and_fit&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_lean)

  2. A new study (and this is timely right?) finds that in a generally healthy, yet sedentary group of adults, working out lowers levels of depression, hostility and other negative feelings.

    “The study also finds that the mood benefits of exercise can linger for weeks after people stop working out, offering another compelling reason for us to try to move”. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/well/move/coronavirus-exercise-depression-anxiety-mood.html?campaign_id=18&emc=edit_hh_20200511&instance_id=18378&nl=well&regi_id=77041091&segment_id=27203&te=1&user_id=d3e5008daea1eb59b2226a9588150b5b)

  3. This research ties into this next cool study that shows walking increases creativity whether outdoors OR indoors on a treadmill. A new study by Stanford found that people generated far more creative ideas while walking than sitting and that walking indoors or outdoors similarly boosted creative inspiration. "A person walking indoors—on a treadmill in a room facing a blank wall—or walking outdoors in the fresh air produced twice as many creative responses compared to a person sitting down.” So if you need some fresh ideas for that work project, for homeschooling your kids or redesign your garden, start walking! (https://news.stanford.edu/2014/04/24/walking-vs-sitting-042414/)

In summary, give yourself a break if your workouts seem additionally hard right now and just MOVE!

Strength Training is Crucial for Women Over 50 (and under but that is not my topic!)    

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When I was a young mom, people asked me why I lifted weights.  My answer was “so I can carry both my children up the stairs at the same time!” My reason now?  I still want to be a strong, independent woman!”  I love introducing my clients to the feeling of accomplishment they have as they get stronger and can do more and more without asking for help!

My friend in California recently contacted me to help her get back in the gym…WHY? I mean she is a triathlete for heavens sake!  She has run marathon upon marathon! She is fit!  She is strong!  So I asked her!  Her answer:  “Because my arms are getting jiggly!”

Seriously! Then she followed it up with this: “I was an athlete my whole life, naturally strong upper body, but even I didn't think the words of my 7th grade health teacher "muscle starts to decline after 30" would ever apply to me.”  In her words, “there's only so much you can do to your face to remain young... put that time, money & effort on your body and you'll start to FEEL like you're turning back clock as well as look it. “

As we age, we lose muscle mass, we lose bone density, our metabolism slows down.  Strength training can combat all of that, with the additional benefits of increasing flexibility, reducing joint pain, reducing peri and post menopausal symptoms, sleeping better, and if that isn’t enough, being more mentally fit, (NYT: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/lifting-weights-twice-a-week-may-aid-the-brain/).

Luckily, strength training (also known as resistance training) does not necessarily mean joining the muscle heads at the local Gold’s Gym!  You can start to build muscle with your own body weight and slowly adding resistance as your strength increases.  Things around your house, such as cans, milk cartons and dirt bags  can be used to add weight and resistance.

My caveat?  I do recommend consulting a fitness professional for guidance on technique if you have never done resistance training before.