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Congratulations!
You’re getting substantial health benefits from the amount of aerobic activity you do. But don’t miss out on the special health benefits that you can gain from including muscle-strengthening exercises! Use your I-SSEE self-coaching skills to reset your level of activity to reap the substantial health benefits of muscle-strengthening activity.
(This page is a follow-up link from the article 2018 Physical Activity Recommendations. It will make the most sense if you start there. That is where you will find Step 1 of I-SSEE self-coaching)
Step 2: Seek reliable information
The 2018 Guidelines for Physical Activity are themselves a reliable source of information. You can read the complete document here.
What do the guidelines say about when it’s necessary to consult a physican before increasing your habitual activity level?
For people with no chronic health conditions or symptoms:
“No evidence is available to indicate that people who consult with their health care provider receive more
benefts and suffer fewer adverse events than people who do not. People without diagnosed chronic conditions (such as diabetes, heart disease, or osteoarthritis) and who do not have symptoms (such as chest pain or pressure, dizziness, or joint pain) most likely do not need to consult with a health care provider about physical activity….” p 93
Obviously then, people who do have diagnosed chronic conditions or symptoms should consult a health care provider before increasing their habitual activity level.
A useful tool to help you think through when it is important to contact your physician before changing your activity level is the 2018 Par-Q+ Questionaire
Ease into it!
Inactive people who gradually progress over time to relatively moderate-intensity activity have no known risk of sudden cardiac events and very low risk of bone, muscle, or joint injuries. A person who is habitually active with moderate intensity activity can gradually increase to vigorous intensity without needing to consult a health care provider. People who develop new symptoms when increasing their levels of activity should consult a health care provider.” p. 93 2018 Guidelines for Physical Activity
Bolding added for emphasis.
When in doubt, consult your health care provider.
Do you know the specific benefits of muscle-building activities?
Step 3: Set some SMART goals!
Plan 1 or 2 SMART goals and start to improve your health today!
Examples of SMART goals for this step:
- I will continue getting in 150 minutes per week of aerobic activity
- I will research types of muscle strengthening possibilities such as bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, exercise ball, dumbbell, or barbell exercises on the internet and decide what I want to try
- I will do 10 bodyweight squats MWF
- I will do 10 push-ups (wall, counter-top, on knees, full length) T Th Sat
- By Friday, I will call to make an appointment to go to the gym and have a staff member how me how the machines work and which settings are right for me
- I will work on machines two times per week for 20 minutes each time
Remember: these are just examples to get your own thinking flowing! You know what is right for you!
Step 4 Experiment with the 5 categories of strategies
- What are some ways I can keep my motivation to change at the front of my mind?
- What are some cues I can use to remind myself to engage in the actions I’ve chosen?
- What are some ways I can eliminate– or at least minimize—obstacles that could get in the way of my goal? (Examples: you feel tired, you are going out to eat, other things in your schedule may crowd it out)
- What are ways that I can increase my sense of reward for achieving my goal? (Examples: noticing how I feel during or after doing the action, remembering how this action ties into my greater goals, something concrete such as a new piece of athletic wear)
- What is the best way for me to track my efforts and practice self- accountability? Tracking will give you an extra “pop” of reward when you meet a goal and the possibility to tweak your strategies when you don’t. How will you track your efforts ? Will you write it down, keep up a spreadsheet, or use an app, etc.?
Examples of strategies for this level:
- Keeping your most important reasons at the front of your mind: I will remind myself of why I really want to renew my health by incorporating muscle-strengthening activities by__________________ (post-it note where I will see it, repeating it to myself, creating a vision board, journaling about it)
- I will cue myself to do my muscle-strengthening exercises at home by linking it with another activity I already do habitually. “I will do bodyweight squats while I am waiting for the water for my tea to boil.”
- I will cue myself to do my muscle-strengthening activities at home or at the gym by putting them on my calendar at a certain time, then setting an alarm on my phone to remind me.
- I will minimize the obstacle of being too tired by packing a bag with exercise clothes and changing before I leave work (whether I am going to do muscle-strengthening activites at home or elsewhere)
- I will minimize the obstacle of being too tired by sleeping in my workout clothes and leaving my shoes by the bed
- I will ask friends or a family member if they would like to join me during exercise to increase my sense of reward for the exercise I choose.
- I will pay attention to the reward of feeling of energy or feeling strong after exercising.
- I will track my goal by ____________________ (keeping a notebook, using a spreadsheet, using an app)
Step 5 Evaluate how well your strategies worked to accomplish your goal; Revise as needed.
Some goals need to be evaluated at the end of a day, and others at the end of a week or month.
For each time you accomplished your goal, ask yourself:
- How did I do at keeping in mind the WHY for this activity?
- What strategies did I use for cueing that were successful?
- What strategies did I use to reward myself? Is there anything I can do to strengthen my internal sense of reward or to increase external reward?
- What strategies did I use to overcome any obstacles that threatened to get in the way? Is there anything I can do to make those strategies even more effective?
- Did I record/track my accomplishment?
- What can I do to make sure I remember these strategies in case I could apply similar strategies to another health goal?
If you were not able to accomplish your goal, ask yourself:
- Am I sure my goal is reasonable? Do I need to take a smaller step?
- If my goal is reasonable, did I have my WHY at the front of my mind? If not, what can I do to keep myself tuned into why I want to achieve this goal?
- Do I need a cueing strategy to achieve this goal? If I used cueing, was it effective in getting me to remember to do the activity?
- If I remembered to do an activity, did an obstacle interfere with my goal? What strategies to get around that did I try? How could I revise those to make it more likely that I am successful tomorrow? (or next week)
- Do I need to add a strategy to help increase my sense of reward ?
- Did I record the fact that
- Are there strategies that I have used for another goal that I could possibly apply to this one?
