Back in September, Sam and I started a new workout tactic. Most of 2019 I was working from home and found it difficult to keep up with exercise. The idea was to not make unrealistic goals that we’d have trouble meeting, but to create healthy habits that we could hopefully continue long-term. The secret: stickers.
Each month I make a new schedule that outlines goals for each week (decorated with cute washi tape from Japan!) These goals are purposefully vague, giving us the freedom to go about them in different ways if we’re getting bored. They’re also unqualified - though we’ve kind of made little rules about what counts or not - because the goal is more to get into the habit of fitness, not to be in fantastic shape. The categories are:
Cardio. This could be anything from running to cycling to a good long walk.
Weights. Any kind of strength training - body weight exercises, free weights, etc.
Stretches. Working on flexibility, because neither of us are flexible to start with and that’s only going to get worse as we get older.
If we hit our goal for the week for a category, we get a little sticker. And if we hit all THREE goals, then we get a big sticker.
You’d be surprised at how effective sticker rewards are for adults.
Anyway, we started strong in the fall, and got worse as the fall went on (harder to do cardio in colder weather). December in particular was a bit of a mess for me because I’d started a new job (and had really early mornings for a week and a half), then got sick, and then was out of town for a week. But we started the new year determined to get back on board and January has been much better so far. And the best thing is, it’s starting to feel more like habit and less like a chore.
As a result, I’ve been feeling pretty good lately. I’m in the best shape I’ve been in in awhile - not as good as when I rode 10km each way to work and back multiple times a week, but better than most of 2019. I’m also the strongest I’ve been in awhile - not as strong as when I could do three sets of 25 pushups ten years ago, but I’m getting better. And I’m possibly more flexible than I’ve ever been.
Work is actually helping, now that I’m getting settled in there. It’s a 20-25 minute walk each way, which is great on its own (I’m counting those as mini cardios - I still have to do two REAL cardios in a week). And there’s a guy who comes around every morning and afternoon to rally people for a short workout challenge, so that’s an easy way to get some weights out of the way. And I joined the hockey club, so have played shinny at the rink around the corner at lunchtimes a couple of times now, which is great exercise.
I doubt I’ll ever be like my mother and be running marathons or doing (half-)Ironmans, but I’m pleased that my solution to re-introduce regular exercise into my daily routine after losing my serious bike commute has been working. Feels good. 💪