Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

People find their way to fitness in many ways. Some started playing sports in their schools or travel programs at a young age; others do not feel the need to enter a gym or add cardio sessions to their regimen until their doctor suggests it, well into adulthood. I am a believer that in fitness, any plan works, if you stick to it.

Many miss the opportunities entirely. They never start because they are busy crafting the perfect plan for their end goal; in short, stop trying to refine your AI prompt, in fitness, the first step is starting, above all. The search for the “correct” pair of shoes or the newest gear is a stalling technique (you know it). And that is where our small goals that lead to big results begin. Put on the shoes you have been wearing for months and walk, ride your bike, or hike. Step one must be to start, immediately after visiting your doctor, to make sure they agree that it is a good choice of course.

While personalization is important (specificity is still my favorite training principle), determination is the real key to long-term success. And, we have found, through study and real-world evidence, the most effective way to complete a big goal is to break it up into smaller pieces and create ‘smaller’ goals that offer reward along the way.

When I have a new potential client come into the office, I have a few questions that I always ask. Ask yourself these questions as you read:

Why? I ask this simple question to get to the root of the desire to reach a fitness goal. Sometimes, they are well into late life. Usually, I find an emotional foundation, and that is generally good. We call it a fitness journey because it is not fast. Nothing that requires perseverance on this level should be called easy, though many in the industry make it look effortless after 20 plus years of athletics. Whatever your reason, let the seed take root and hold on to it. It will keep you going when it is tough.

How much sleep do you get, on average, each night? If the answer to that question is less than seven hours, I make a note and intend to set that goal. This is a baseline need for your body; all your recovery processes are happening while you sleep. If you are in that club, stop telling yourself you are one of the tiny percentage of humans that can live on 2 hours of sleep per night and accept that your telomeres are being run ragged by inflammation that adequate sleep can remedy.

How many minutes of zone II cardiovascular exercise do you get each week? Do not let “zone II” scare you away; this is exercise that you can do while still holding a conversation, and you should be getting at least 180 minutes of it each week. This is a baseline need for your heart, lungs, and circulatory system.

And then I ask about their goal.

So, what is your goal? Have you started already or are you still trying to find the perfect prompt, fit, or gym?

Here are my little wins list that will have you enjoying the long-term adherence phase of your journey before you know it.

1. Be honest with yourself about your sleeping habits and fix them, if needed. Reward yourself for getting this where it should be. Shoot for 7 hours per night, minimum, and stop the late-night food and drink.

2. Find your “zone II.” Here is the equation:

3. Get a fitness assessment, preferably with a professional. You cannot see results without data.

4. Journal your journey. Your brain will not always give you an honest take in the mirror. Measure, weigh-in at regular intervals (do not do this every day, once per week is plenty. At the same time each week), and write down all your successes. The rewards for this step are built in; you will see what I mean when you fill up your first notebook.

5. When you reach your 180 minutes of zone II cardio goal, add strength training.

6. Unless your goal is to put up the gold medal winning total in the Olympics, or run a marathon in a specific time, take a step back from intensive planning. Allow fitness to be integrated into your life; long-term is the goal, it is not the cabbage soup diet (don’t). Have fun, try new things, and keep going.

7. There will be bumps. Settling back into poor habits because we missed a day of planned cardio or ate poorly over one weekend is a common trap. The key is to get up the next morning and get back to the business of your goal. No hard feelings, no punishing workouts. Just get back to the plan.

Lower limit = 220 - your age (in years) x 0.6

Upper limit = 220 – your age (in years) x 0.7

Then, honestly assess the amount of time you spend in that zone each week. If that number is less than 180 minutes, start increasing your activity level as soon as possible. Add thirty minutes each week until you hit this threshold. Reward yourself when you achieve the goal and keep this new standard moving forward.

Set up an appointment with one of our professional NIFS staff to see where you stand. Get started. Take it slow. Give yourself some grace when it feels tough and remember, it is never too late.

Why use a GPS on a road trip? Why follow the instructions when putting together a dresser? I know California is south-west, I’m sure I could get there eventually. I also know what a dresser looks like. This line of thinking gets us stuck in New Mexico with a dresser that’s wobbly and, strangely, has extra screws. Changing a habit is a lot like taking a trip or building a dresser; sure, maybe you’ll stumble into success. But wouldn’t you rather have a GPS or step-by-step instructions? It seems like that would make everything simpler. Goal setting is our step-by-step guide to making lasting changes.

Goal-setting’s impact has been defined in two ways; the first is the indirect thought-process view which states that “outcome, performance, and process goals influence behavior indirectly by affecting important psychological factors such as confidence and anxiety” (1). A study of swimmers found that those with high goal-setting ability exhibited higher confidence, less anxiety and improved performance compared to their peers with low goal-setting ability (2).

The second is the direct mechanistic view and this view “specifies that goals influence performance in one of four direct ways; goals direct attention to important elements of the skill being performed, goals mobilize performer efforts, goals prolong performer persistence, and goals foster the development of new learning strategies” (1,3). Let’s say an individual wants to lose 50 pounds in 1 year. That’s a very big goal and a very long time frame; so, for example, we would break it down to 1 pound per week. Making the goal more manageable “mobilizes effort” because the progress is much easier to see than it was prior. If the individual kept staring at 50 pounds every day, they could eventually get discouraged and their effort could diminish; comparatively, 1 pound a week doesn’t seem too bad. During this process they were also exercising for the first time and learning the skills that go along with that, skills that wouldn’t have been learned unless they set their original goal. Setting a good goal is just as important as acting on it. To set a good goal we need to go over what makes a good goal and the steps required to get there.

We define good goals with the acronym SMARTS. Specific, goals should indicate exactly what wants to be achieved; Measurable, goals need to be quantifiable to track progression; Action-oriented, goals should indicate specific actions to achieve the stated goal; Realistic, the has to be achievable in the first place, if we shoot to high we just get discouraged; Timely, goals shouldn’t continue indefinitely, they should have a set time-table; Self-determined, goals need to be set by, or with input from, the individual themself.

Let’s continue with our earlier example of losing 50 pounds in a year, or 1 pound a week. The goal meets all the criteria except “action-oriented”; to improve upon this goal we must come up with a plan of action to ensure we reach the goal. A plan of action for this goal might be as simple as walking for 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. The action plan is part also gives us sub-goals to meet along the way.

Think of a long-term goal like a staircase, we start at the bottom and our goal – losing 50 pounds in a year – is at the top. We must approach our goal one step at a time, just as we would the stairs. So, we break the goal into smaller parts to make it more manageable, but in the earlier example we only talked about outcome goals – losing 1 pound a week – there are two other types of goals that are just as important, process and performance goals.

Process goals are important because they teach us to value the process, so we don’t get discouraged if we miss our outcome. In our example the individuals process goals would be to walk 3 days a week for 30 minutes (the action plan). Every week they walk 3 days a week is a victory and should be treated as such. Process goals, like all goals, are fluid and should be adjusted as we progress. Say, for example, walking 3 days a week is no longer challenging. At this point we should adjust our goal and make it more challenging – the best goals are moderately difficult - by adding strength sessions, increasing frequency (days being walked) or intensity (hills/stairs, jogging or time walked).

Performance goals are about competing against yourself. In this instance a performance goal might be to walk more miles than you did last month. Our individual walked 12 miles in August; so, their goal for September is to walk 14 miles. Similarly to process goals, performance goals give us something else to focus on to reduce any anxiety we may be feeling about our desired outcome. It goes back to mobilizing effort; sub-goals like these give us something to strive for day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month. They help us focus on the habit we’re building regardless of the result.

Goal setting is a skill; it takes practice to set good goals and be able to follow through. It is a universal skill that can be applied to your career or personal life, we’ve just chosen to talk about it through the lens of exercise today. Hopefully, you’ll take the skills mentioned here to heart because, I’d hate for you to wind up in New Mexico with a wobbly dresser and some extra screws.

Sources:

1. Weinberg, Robert S., and Daniel Gould. Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Sixth ed., Human Kinetics, 2015.
2. Burton, D. (1989). Winning isn’t everything: Examining the impact of performance goals on collegiate swimmers’ cognitions and performance. The Sport Psychologist, 3, 105–132.
3. Locke, E.A., & Latham, G.P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.

As the festive season draws near, the anticipation of joy, celebration, and connection fills the air. Yet, for many of us committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the holidays can also bring a sense of unease. The abundance of indulgent feasts, tempting treats, and busy schedules can pose challenges to our well-established routines.

But fear not! Setting healthy goals can be the compass that leads us through the festivities with balance, mindfulness, and a genuine sense of well-being.

What are goals and why should we set them?

Goals help us envision what our future will look like, it’s an intentional plan or activity we set out to achieve. We can use our goals to decide where our priorities lie. Goal setting provides focus and increases motivation. It is also important to limit the number of goals we have at one time, so we do not get overwhelmed. If this is something you are struggling with, it can be helpful to set smaller or short-term goals leading up to a larger or long-term goal.

Adjust behaviors to meet your goals.

For every goal you set, you will need to change your behavior to achieve the goal. It may help to think about the consequences of not changing the behavior vs. changing the behavior to keep motivation to continue working towards the goal at hand.

SMART goals and getting started.

People are more likely to achieve goals that meet the SMART criteria: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. We can use this information to get started setting our next goal. Start with writing the goal and what makes this goal specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Once you have all these answers, you can put it all together and begin working towards achieving this new goal!

Transform this holiday season into a time of self-discovery, growth, and joy. Are you ready to set sail on a path that honors your well-being? Let's embark on this adventure together and emerge from the holidays not just unscathed, but stronger and more connected to our health goals than ever before.

Share your healthy focus this holiday season in the comments! 

It is almost that time of year where people set goals for themselves but have a hard time following through with the goals or accomplishing them as time goes on. We have all been there before or know someone that struggles with executing their goals during this part of the year. Managing your time, being realistic when setting goals and supporting those goals can get tough as we go into the holidays. Here are a few ways you can avoid becoming stagnant and set your self up for success while finishing this year.

Schedule Time: We all have busy lives which makes it easier for us to lose track of time during the day. This causes us to lose the opportunity to progress towards reaching personal goals daily. A great way to manage your time better is by creating a planner or using a scheduler. Whether it is a daily, weekly or monthly planner, it allows you to visually see what you must get done in that time stand. Another strategy for better time management could be giving each task a time limit. Avoiding becoming burnt out or stagnant by revisiting the task later in the day or on another day, could help you refresh mentally and save time in you day. Establishing a routine could also benefit you when considering time management. By creating a routine, you can avoid time of confusion allowing you to dive right into the task at hand.

Set Realistic Goals: While it is good that we set high expectations and push ourselves, it is even more beneficial to be realistic when setting goals during the holiday season. It has been seen that physically writing down the goal, helps people hold themselves accountable when setting goals. No one wants to look back at something they wrote themselves and think they sold themselves short. It can also be helpful to identify the challenges you may face when in the process of accomplishing your goals. By identifying your obstacles, naturally the next step would be finding ways to eliminate them or finding ways to work around them. Another way of being realistic when setting goals could be to block time out of your day to work towards your goal. While you might have to cut some things out of your normal daily or weekly schedule, it could be beneficial to prioritize time to be productive when trying to accomplish a goal.

Establish a Support System: Yes, even your goals need a support system. An easy way to create a support system for your goals is to get an accountability partner. These are people that are there to push you when you need the confidence and reassurance to keep working towards accomplishing your goals. Not being afraid of starting with a small workload and working your way up is another way of supporting your goals. This is a great way to build your confidence while being realistic when trying to find a place to start. While being realistic is necessary, it is very important that you celebrate your wins whether small or big. Remaining confident when seeing results that are small is a huge obstacle many people struggle to get pass. It is necessary to understand any positive outcome or result, are step towards reaching you long-term goals. By implementing some of these strategies and approaches, you might find yourself accomplishing goals and finishing this year off better than you expected.

How do you maintain your habits through the holidays?

Have you wanted to create a healthier lifestyle, but don’t quite know how to get there? Maybe you have tried before, but haven’t been able to stick to your goals? Or life has thrown you a curveball (hello COVID-19 lockdowns) and you got knocked off track. It can be hard to keep yourself motivated to make good decisions every single day. Instead of relying on self-discipline to make these changes, studies have found that taking those healthy goals and turning them into habits might be the most efficient way to enact the changes you want to see! Do you have any habits you want to add to your routine?

• First things first, start slowly! No matter how good your goal is, no matter how much you want to achieve it, working slowly helps ensure your new habit will stick. All behavior change comes with its highs and lows but working slowly helps keep you from losing your focus when things get hard. Embrace each level of success when developing a new healthy habit!
• Be sure your goal is clearly defined. Did you lose your exercise routine during the COVID-19 pandemic and now want to exercise more? Exercising more is a vague goal. You’re more likely to make progress towards your goal if you have a clear goal post. Think about how often and what kind of exercising you want to do.
• Break goals into smaller, more actionable steps. Creating a new habit can be intimidating. See if there is way to reduce your goal into smaller pieces. Maybe exercising more means you need to start with staying hydrated. Start carrying a water bottle around with you, so you’re reminded to drink water throughout the day. I like to make a pitcher of fruit infused water and leave it in my fridge, so I always have a refreshing drink at hand! As you adjust to these new, small habits, you can move on to the next step towards your goal.
• Try to make it easy for yourself! Decrease the barriers that slow you down, so good habits can become automatic. Do you find it hard to get up and go to a morning exercise class? Try lying out your workout clothes before you go to sleep. When you wake up, you know you’ve already committed to going to your exercise class, so it’s easier to get up and go.
• Give yourself cues to remind you of your new healthy behavior. Are you trying to add lateral exercises to your daily routine? Habit stacking is a great way to incorporate new behaviors. If you make coffee every morning, you can stand at the counter and take lateral steps back and forth while your coffee brews. That way you are working towards your larger goal of exercising more without even having to think about it.
• Get a friend on it with you. Having a partner to help encourage you to reach your goals can help them become that much easier to reach.

New habits are hard to form; that’s a part of life. Keep going and set yourself up for success. Healthy behaviors don’t have to be about will power. Take the effort out of healthy living and make healthy lifestyle decisions into habits. What new healthy choices are you working towards making a habit?

As a fitness manager, people frequently ask me how they can lose “this” as they aggressively squeeze their belly. In response with a smile, I ask them if they have a minute to talk about it. As common as this question is, it’s very hard to give an answer that satisfies. It’s a concern most of us have because we associate a trim belly with health. There’s no single magic pill, exercise, food, or ritual that will help bring back the desired abdominal aesthetic. Fortunately, there are several simple steps that can be taken to reach a healthier body composition. Here are three ways older adults can fight belly fat as they stay safe at home:

1. Substitute Whole Grains for Sweet Treats

Up until recently, I was never much for sweets. Brownies, cookies, and chocolate really had no appeal to me. Unfortunately, spending more time at home has made their siren song grow louder. Here are some healthy substitutes. Whole grains like quinoa, barley, and oats are naturally very filling. Filled with complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, they are a little more challenging for our bodies to digest quickly. This is a good thing! Sugary treats are okay once in a while, but we should turn our attention to more complete alternatives when our bellies and brains are in the mood for a quick fix. This can be really challenging at first, but it does get easier for most people after a week or two. In the long run, your belly will thank you!

2. Substitute Water, Seltzer, or Diet Soda for Alcoholic Beverages

I might get some dirty looks for this one, but I’m okay with it! Alcoholic beverages are a delight for most of us, but drinking too much alcohol is a sure-fire way to gain some poundage. Fortunately, there are some tasty, although buzz-less, alternatives. Cold water can be surprisingly satisfying, and adding some bubbly, lightly flavored seltzer to the mix might just do the trick. Diet soda is not without its controversy, and I see it as a personal choice very much like alcohol consumption. From a purely belly fat fighting perspective, I think most people would be better off having a drink of diet soda compared to an alcoholic beverage. Whatever it may be, the takeaway is to consider substituting some of your alcohol intake with a lighter alternative.

3. Set a Fitness Goal

If you’re not interested in moving up in pant size, you may want to set a fitness goal that you can achieve while staying home. I’m keeping this vague because sometimes doing anything is better than doing nothing at all. The previous two ways to fight belly fat were focused on controlling the caloric energy you consume. This part is about controlling the caloric energy you put out. A great goal to work up to is getting at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity on most days of the week. Combine this with two or three strength training sessions per week, and you’re well on your way toward a trimmer waistline! If you’re ready for that goal, great! If not, work on creating a goal that’s right for your personality, experience level, and abilities. The important thing is that you set some kind of fitness goal that you can achieve. Remember, you’ll probably feel better reaching an easy goal than failing to reach a hard one.

I’ve said it before, staying home is challenging. In many ways, it is harder than ever to fight fat and weight gain at home. In a time of apparent helplessness, we can enjoy control over aspects of our health. If you’re like me and sweets are calling your name, consider replying with a hearty meal that includes whole grains and vegetables. If alcohol has been flowing with ease, think about replacing a drink or two with a lower calorie choice. If 2020 so far has left you feeling powerless, take the power back by achieving a simple fitness goal! These suggestions are meant to be encouraging, not restrictive.

As winter approaches, many of us tend to slack on our workouts. I don’t know about you but on dreary, cold days all I want to do is put on a good movie and lay on the couch. The weather gets colder and there is less daylight available during the winter months, making it difficult to find time to get a workout in. Ever heard of the Winter Blues? Feeling down can contribute to decreased motivation as well. The happy feel-good hormone tends to decrease with the lack of sunlight and warm air.

 When winter starts to approach, I try to find new activities around the city to keep me moving and to give me a little motivation. Now is also a great time to start thinking about weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly goals. Setting small weekly goals that will lead up to a larger goal typically work best for me. One great way to stay motivated is to sign up for a race or trying a new fitness class. Whether it be a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon, having something to work towards could be just what you need to keep you inspired through the winter. I plan for a race by deciding what an achievable goal time should be; I am my own biggest competitor so this approach works best for me. Another way to keep that motivation would be to try a new group exercise class or fitness trend. There are unique fitness classes that are very efficient ways to burn calories. Who knows, a yoga class or exercise DVD might get you hooked and keep you coming back for more.

[Read more: Don't Wait Until You Feel Motivated to Make Healthy Changes]

One popular fitness trend right now is high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. I really enjoy these quick high intensity workouts because they are easy to fit in during those shorter days of the year. These workouts can be done virtually anywhere and you only need a short amount of time. These classes usually consist of a little competition mixed with an intense cardio session.

There’s no shortage of options for continuing workouts even if you have to move them inside for the winter. So before the winter months hit, I encourage you to find a new fitness class or to set some new goals to keep you motivated this winter season. Don’t let the cold days and holiday treats keep you from your goals.

Part 2 of this blog series focused on the importance of scheduling time to exercise and practice healthy eating. This scheduling involves setting aside time not only to exercise but also to prepare healthy meals. I also stressed how important it is to stick to the schedule as often as humanly possible.

But what do you do if you are simply dreading exercise? Or if you are dying to take a nap on Sunday afternoon instead of doing meal prep?

TIP: Write Out the Advantages and Disadvantages of Taking a Healthy Action

Contemplating the advantages and disadvantages of a decision is a cognitive-behavioral therapy technique that serves as a great reminder of why you were motivated to make healthy changes in the first place. The following represents an advantage/disadvantage square. In my experience, people who fill these out often decide to make positive, healthy choices. And with practice, you can easily do these in your head!

As you can see, the advantages of exercising before work far outweigh the disadvantages. Sometimes, simple reminders like this are all you need to feel a bit more motivated. And if you happen to have a day where your disadvantages are greater than the advantages, this is a sign that you may need to take the day off to focus on other things (which is okay…it happens to EVERYONE).

The Bottom Line

You have the power to influence your motivation levels, so don’t wait until you feel motivated to make a positive change.  

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In part 1 of this blog series, I emphasized the following points:

• It’s natural to feel unmotivated. Many of us are juggling complex family and work lives, making it even harder to find motivation to exercise and eat healthy.
• Don’t berate yourself for not feeling motivated. This type of negative self-talk can be counterproductive; Saying you are “lazy” or “bad” can decrease motivation.
• Don’t wait until you feel motivated to make healthy changes. You could be waiting for a very long time.

If lack of motivation is the most common barrier to healthy eating and exercising regularly, then lack of time is a very close second. My next blog emphasizes the importance of having a consistent schedule when it comes to making healthy choices about exercising and eating.

TIP: Make a Schedule That Makes Your Goals a Reality

Someone once told me, “The difference between success and failure is your schedule. You need a schedule that makes your goal a reality.” Orienting your goals around your schedule is key to achieving success, primarily because the more consistently you exercise and eat healthy, the more results you will see. And the more results you see, the easier it will be to stay motivated.

Here are some tips on how you can maximize your schedule.

• Identify the time of day that you are most consistently able to schedule exercise. This might be 5am before work or during your lunch break. Or perhaps the only extra time you have is while you wait for your kids to finish soccer practice. Regardless of the time, make it a point to schedule exercise on those days and STICK TO IT. Even if you can only fit in 20 minutes of exercise, those 20 minutes are better than no exercise at all.
• Make time to do meal prep. I think this is THE most important factor when it comes to weight loss. After all, weight loss is achieved in the kitchen, not through exercise. Set aside time to prepare your meals for the week. Pre-preparing meals allows you to control portion sizes and have options readily available for days when you can’t control your schedule (like when your child gets sick or when there is a work-related emergency). It also makes it less likely that you order takeout.
• Figure out what you are willing to sacrifice. You may need to shuffle your priorities to find time in your schedule to exercise. For example, how much time do you spend watching TV or surfing the internet? According to a recent report by Nielsen, the average American spends 4.5 hours watching live TV (not DVR-recorded shows) per DAY. If you have time to watch TV or surf the internet, you have time to exercise or do meal prep.

The Bottom Line

Create a schedule that will promote your success and stick to it as often as possible.

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When I ask people what prevents them from exercising and practicing healthy eating, one of the most common responses is, “I just don’t feel motivated.”

I’m here to tell you that you will never see the results you want to see if you wait to “feel” motivation.

I’m not saying this to be cruel or insensitive. I’m saying this because—in my experience—this is the reality of living a healthy lifestyle. Eating right and exercising on a regular basis is HARD. It’s even harder when you factor in how much time and energy you already dedicate to your family, work, and other personal pursuits (like educational or volunteer efforts). If you wait to feel motivated to make these healthy changes, you’ll be waiting for a long, long time.

Are there people out there who naturally feel motivated to eat healthily and exercise? Of course, but I’d be willing to bet that most of them had to learn to motivate themselves. How do you teach yourself to feel motivated? In this blog series, I share my thoughts about the links between motivation and healthy lifestyle choices. I also share a few tips and tricks on how to teach yourself to feel more motivated. Here is my first tip:

TIP: Give Yourself Permission to Feel Unmotivated

That’s right, it’s okay to feel unmotivated! After all, it’s a natural feeling that extends to many aspects of our lives. How many of us really feel motivated to fold that last load of laundry? Or make our beds in the morning? Or write that last report of the month? At some point, we all struggle with motivation.

Many of my clients have expressed guilt or shame because they don’t feel motivated to exercise or eat healthy. I can’t stress enough that you shouldn’t berate yourself for feeling this way. Most of us aren’t skipping gleefully up to the front doors of the gym, bursting with excitement at the opportunity to sweat and push ourselves to our physical limits for a 60-minute spin class. Most of us are thinking about how tired we are, how we’re going to get our kids to finish their homework without a fight, how the house is a mess, or any of the five million other things that need to be done in any given day.

The same can be said for eating healthy: Most of us aren’t drooling in anticipation when we order plain grilled chicken breast and steamed broccoli, especially when there are other savory options like hamburgers and pizza and French fries.

The Bottom Line

It’s natural to feel unmotivated, but you are not “lazy” or “bad” for feeling that way. What matters is how you address that unmotivated feeling. Watch for part 2 for more tips on how a schedule can help you feel more motivated.

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