Defence

Work Life

Resolving to find your fitness

Has the festive season left you feeling a little sluggish? Louise Butcher gives you some tips on safely starting your new fitness routine for 2005.

Stretching for success... Fit team members have fewer sick days, are generally more productive, perform better and are more positive. Photos by Louise Butcher, Defence magazine

The Christmas holidays usually mean plenty of food, family and fun. During this period, maintaining a healthy diet and fitness regime can sometimes go by the wayside.

The danger with having a "slack period" is that you may slip in to some bad habits that can become difficult to break. Many people decide that the new year is a good time to resolve to lead a more active lifestyle and get fit and healthy. Once you are active on a regular basis, you will enjoy many benefits, both mentally and physically.

Regular exercise will help reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, developing colon cancer, osteoporosis, feelings of depression and stress as well as decreasing your resting heart rate (your heart won't have to work as hard).

It will also increase your lung capacity, help control blood pressure and weight, increase the amount of blood your heart can pump to your body in a single beat, aid in building muscle tissue, healthy bones and flexible joints, increase your balance and coordination and decrease your total blood cholesterol.

Having staff who are fit and healthy can have huge benefits. Encouraging members of your team to incorporate fitness into their everyday routine can be good from an individual and team perspective.

Fit team members have fewer sick days, are generally more productive, perform better and are more positive.

If you are serious about your desire to achieve your fitness goals, and to encourage your staff, the following tips may help you:

Make a realistic plan

Will your fitness action plan fit in well with your lifestyle? The idea is that you incorporate fitness in to your life, not your life into your fitness. If the only time you get to exercise is during lunchtime, try and fit in a half hour walk then. Make sure any changes you make are convenient and easy so you can accommodate them.

Be specific

Instead of saying something like "I want to lose 10 kilos" as your goal, determine how, specifically, you are going to do it. The key is to make your plan well-defined. If necessary, write a plan of when you are going to do the exercise and what that exercise will be. For example, your plan may be to do an aerobics class at 5.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Making the change

Making a change to your behaviour needs to be something that you decide to do for yourself and not to make someone else happy. If you don't really want to do it, then chances are, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Deciding to make a change for yourself and getting closer to achieving your goals will boost your confidence and inspire you. Knowing your reasons for doing this will increase your chances of success and aid you in your progress.

Measure your progress

When setting your goals and writing your plan, keep in mind that you need to be able to measure your ongoing success. You goals need to be measurable. Using a journal to jot down your progress gives you a record and acts as a reality check because you can refer back to it.

If you feel that your goals need to be redefined or adjusted as you go, do it. Celebrate when you attain specific goals.

Your journal can be a great source of inspiration and motivation, especially if you feel like you are in a slump about your fitness achievements.

Mix up your activity

Exercise doesn't have to be boring. You don't have to live in a gym or spend a huge amount of money in order to get fit. Getting fit is a goal that can be incorporated into other areas of your life such as going for a bike ride or kicking a football with your children. You could try something like roller-blading or take the dog on a longer walk to increase your stamina.

Try putting one of your favourite CDs on and cleaning the house (wild dancing while cleaning is also strongly encouraged) or get out into the garden and pull up some weeds - this will do wonders for your muscles.

The aim is to get moving and get active. Any additional activity you do is bound to lead to better fitness overall.

Expect the occasional setback

No-one is perfect and sometimes the unexpected happens. Sometimes things may pop up that might interrupt your progress such as sickness, stress, shortage of time or lack of motivation. Don't let this discourage you.

Know that these things may happen and keep motivated when they do happen. What is important is how you deal with the situation. Encountering an obstacle to your success is not an indication of failure. You have just got to keep on striving for your goal.

Keep learning

Reading books and talking to people for information on fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle will keep you motivated and arm you with sound advice. Knowledge gives you the power to make informed decisions about your healthy lifestyle.

Get an exercise buddy

Having someone else to exercise with you can keep you really motivated. Finding someone to exercise with, with similar fitness goals, will support you in your goal of a healthier lifestyle.

Check with professionals

If you have not been very active in the past, starting slowly and increasing activity as you go is the best way to begin your new exercise regime. You should talk with your GP before you embark on a new fitness regime, especially if you have done very little exercise in the past or have had a long period of inactivity.

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