Nothing signifies the start of a new year like the push to get fit. Only a few weeks ago supermarket shelves were crammed with chocolate, now these aisles are full of yoga mats and work out gear. It seems counter intuitive that on a whole we’re only really encouraged to make changes at New Year. I mean, what about the rest of the year? It seems a whole health overhaul at the start of the year is a bit much, and it’s no wonder that 80% of resolutions fall by the wayside by February. (Psychology Today.)
We can’t help but wonder why so many well intentioned resolutions fail in such a short time. According to Psychology Today (in a nutshell) resolutions fail because, often we expect too much from ourselves and set unrealistic goals with no real way to measure progress.
We’ve been on a health kick at Valley House. Our ‘Free fruit Fridays’ are providing staff with healthy fruit snacks every week. We’ve starting training for our ‘Swim-a-thon’, staff, service users and volunteers will training to swim a challenging forty lengths each! This was a hugely successful event, raising £1400 In December 2018. So we’re loving the challenge of becoming better swimmers and raising money.
In order to stick to a resolution, it needs to be SMART (Small, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound). So if you’ve decided that 2020 is the year you’re going to get fit, we’re here to help you stick to it!
Small
Don’t commit to an expensive gym membership straight away, there are loads of free workouts available online. You could also get a running app or join a run club, it will take minutes and you can accomplish this without leaving the house!
Measurable
‘Get fit’ is quite broad, so break it down. ‘I will be able to climb all the stairs in the office without getting out of breath’ or ‘By the end of March, I will complete a park run’. That’s only(!) 5k and we have it on good authority you get a donut at the end.
Attainable
If you’ve never ran for anything other than a bus before, progressing from scratch to a marathon may not be a realistic target. So think smaller. Aim to complete a work out without stopping, exercise for longer or complete a five or ten kilometre run. It’s still a challenge but attainable. If you start feeling like something is impossible, you’ll be less inclined to keep trying.
Realistic
Closely linked with attainable, we’re not saying don’t reach for the stars, but no-one ever got there without building a rocket first. If your stars are ‘to get fit’ , what does your rocket need to get you there?
Time bound
Give yourself a date to work towards. A reason to get out there and work on your resolution. You could sign up for an organised run, swim or cycle. That way you’ve committed to something ‘official’, which may help to motivate you.
And when you smash your goals, set new ones! It’s worth remembering that we started in 1977, in a little house with a small goal to help people in the local area. And we’re still going, over forty years later. Helping more people across the whole of Coventry. Each year we set new goals and targets. We’re extremely proud of our accomplishments and those of our service users and we build on our successes. Every year. For over forty years.
If you’ve set yourself a goal for better health and fitness, there is a way to do yourself good AND help others. How? We hear you cry!
If you sign yourself up for an organised event, (5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon, swim OR cycle) then why not do it for Valley House and get friends and family to sponsor you?
You could do so much good by raising money for the charity that supports vulnerable people in Coventry. What’s more, we’ll supply you with a Valley House running vest to wear whilst you complete your event!
So, if you want you to make a positive change for yourself, and help us support vulnerable people to make positive changes in their lives, just send us a message. We’d love to hear from you!
Some websites you might find useful:
