Most everyone makes New Year resolutions, and many of those resolutions are to exercise. But goals are best met when you write up a plan, figure out exactly what you want, what you need, what is possible, what you can push yourself to doing better. Like saving money for retirement. Saying, “I’ll spend less,” is too open-ended, too generalized, too easy to dismiss when push comes to shove.
Fitness experts say we need a routine. Buying the bike wasn’t good enough if I tell myself that I’ll get to it tomorrow. Tomorrow always sounds like a good idea, and easier than doing it today. The problem with exercise is that if you put it off, it gets harder.
We went on vacation for a week between Christmas and New Years, to a farmhouse in the woods. The weather was supposed to be snowy and perfect for hikes. Instead it was cold, wet and dreary, and we stayed inside, in front of a cast iron stove, reading. Delightful, but now, one week later, my legs feel weak. I missed that bike.
So while I was away, I wrote up an exercise plan. For an entire month. Day by day. I put the times down in my book the same way I’d jot down my hours at work, so I wouldn’t plan on other things. It took a while to figure this all out–what days it would be best to fit in my workout before I headed to my job, what days it would be best to work out after I got home. What days I would ride the bike, what days I would do weight training, which I need to do for my bones. I even figured out how many calories I wanted to burn per week. I put the list on the fridge. I know this isn’t a new idea—putting this kind of list on a fridge so you have to look at it often, but it was new to me. I have to begin here. Maybe you’re already past this, have a routine, a map, a plan, something specific, placed somewhere you can’t miss it, and if so, good for you. And, now, good for me.
