Keep Movin’ Need some motivation to keep you moving? (Who doesn’t?) Read this list every time you feel like you’re tired of moving and want to go eat a cookie instead: A long term goal can be to move for at least an hour a day, five days a week. Once you have your goals in place, it’ll give you some motivation to actually get them done. It’s VERY important that you create in-between goals that get you from your short term goals to your long-term goal. A good rule of thumb is to increase 10% a week, so if you walk 10 minutes at a time in your first week, try to walk for 11 the second week, 12 in the third week, etc…you get the idea. And hey, it may not hurt to bake in a little competition in your goals. Between you and your friends, who can get to their short term goal first? Anything to help fuel the fire… Support
The best way to make a goal real is to share it. Tell your friends about your plan to start moving more and to eat healthy. Tell your mom, your brother or sister, or even that cute science teacher you really respect! Talking about your goals will encourage others to join you, support you, and be part of your change. Track Your Progress Build Up To It Have Fun
By February 24
Goals!
What are your goals? Try to set up both short term and long term goals, so that you can feel both the immediate and long term results. An example of a short term goal may be to walk 10 minutes a day for five days a week.
Besides competition, your friends and family can really help for motivation and support. Have your friend take a walk with you. Ask your mom to take a class at the gym. Moving together gives you an excuse to hang out and get stuff done.
If you keep a journal or track your progress in a way that works for you (on your Me Page, perhaps?) you can look back at where you started and feel proud of how far you’ve come!
Like we said in the Ramp Up section, you have to build up activity gradually, if you’re going to keep doing this in the long term. Just remember that ANY physical activity is better than none, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t exercise the full 60 minutes the first time you ever try. You also can split up your workout minutes in order to get to 60. Just 10 minutes of activity is enough to make a difference, so space out your workouts and activities.
Yes, we understand this sounds a little ridiculous, but really if you’re having fun, you won’t even notice that you’re moving. If you do things you really enjoy, and involve the people you already like to hang out with, you might even end up feeling like you don’t want to stop (and how nice is that?)Need a NEW EXERCISE? Check out the MOVE MENU.
