Setting Effective Travel Fitness Goals
For even the most dedicated among us, finding time for
fitness on a schedule like this is extremely challenging.
I, however, convinced myself that I would set and achieve
some specific goals despite this itinerary.
With this hectic schedule, I decided to focus on maintenance:
making sure that my fitness didn't decline during the
week. For me personally, this equated to: (1) maintaining
my cardiovascular fitness, (2) not eating a lot of junk,
and (3) staying flexible.
SMART Goals
These are rather vague goals, but the B-school graduates
among our readers will remember SMART
goal setting: Specific,
Measurable, Attainable,
Realistic, and Timely.
These are great guidelines to apply to your travel fitness,
with a special emphasis on attainable and realistic, given
the many constraints that we face when traveling.
Applying SMART, I came up with the following goals:
1. Get at least 60 minutes of
cardiovascular exercise during the trip.
I have to admit that this sounds wimpy. But realistically,
60 minutes is the most time that I will have. I have already
blocked out this time, literally entering it into my MS
Outlook calendar. If someone asks me to attend a meeting
or call, I'll know whether it is going to conflict with
my personal time.
2. Eat no more than two cookies
during the trip.
You know how these all day meetings go. They inevitably
bring in the cookie tray at 3:00. I know that I will not
be able to forgo all of the goodies, so I resolve to eat
no more than two.
It drives me crazy to not be eating when others are, so
I will pack a bunch of healthy snacks in single serving
sizes. I'll take along peanuts, soy nuts, raisins, protein
bars, and dry cereal. I hope that by having healthy snacks
on hand, I won't be as tempted to dive into the cookies.
3. Do at least 15 minutes of stretching
per day.
Chances are, there is something that you need to do on
a regular basis to maintain your fitness. For me, it's
stretching. If I don't stretch for a few days (especially
days when I am on airplanes and stuck sitting in meetings),
it sets me back several weeks on my regular workouts.
Perhaps for you, it's getting 15 minutes of cardiovascular
exercise each day or remembering to do sit-ups.
Achieving Your Goals
Commitments to ourselves are always easy to make and difficult
to keep, but I find the more that I document and advertise
my commitments; the more likely I am to keep them. I guess
my "type A" personality doesn't react well to
public failures. So I decided to write my goals down on
paper, which I tucked into the front pocket of my notebook.
They'll be staring up at me every time I open the notebook,
which I'll be carrying to all of my meetings.
You might want to write your goals in your journal, email
them to yourself, put them on your PDA, or carry them
in your purse, wallet or notebook.
Next month, I'll let you know whether I achieved my goals
or not, and share lessons learned. In the meantime, remember
these tips for your goal setting:
1.
Set SMART goals, taking into account constraints imposed
by schedules and logistics.
2. If you made time-based goals, schedule appointments
with yourself on your calendar.
3. Develop mitigation strategies for dealing with people,
things, and circumstances that may prevent you from
reaching your goals. For example, I know I will be very
tempted to eat lots of junk food, so I am bringing my
own healthy snacks to eat instead.
4. Write your goals down in a journal or email them
to yourself. Review your goals on the plane ride.
5. Celebrate your success with a family member, friend,
or co-worker.
Until
next month, healthy travels!
(Source: healtytravelernetwork) |