Fitness gear, diet fads, weight loss and new years resolutions; it’s officially January, and everywhere you go, you are hit with yet another new year cliche. On your way to work you see ‘New year, new you’ posted on yet another billboard promoting the next diet fad promising you a perfect body before the summer. If you find yourself rolling your eyes at this, I don’t blame you.
Starting your fitness journey can feel overwhelming. With gym memberships galore, fitness app promos and a thousand voices on the internet telling you what to do, it can be difficult to figure out the best path for you and your journey. Well, I’m here to tell you that the good news is, any kind of movement is beneficial!
Everyone is on a different journey when it comes to fitness so the best thing is to figure out the path that works for you.
Here are four benefits to starting your fitness journey today:
- Exercise can increase your chance of weight loss – In a review done by Niermann et al. (2013), many of the studies that they looked at showed that the more physical activity done, the less weight people gained.
- Exercise can decrease your chance of heart disease – Coronary heart disease is a type of disease where the heart is unable to get enough blood. This can lead to a heart attack or cardiac arrest (definition by NHLBI.gov). According to Niermann et al.’s (2013) review, the more physical activity that was done, the less this type of heart disease occurred.
- Exercise can boost your overall brain health– A study done by Smith et al. (2013) showed that, in the general population, exercise, specifically aerobic exercise like cycling and walking can lead to improved cognitive function as well as overall brain health. Additionally, some studies have shown that physical activity can decrease the risk of cognitive impairment as well as the occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in healthy men and women.
- Exercise can also boost your mental health – Research has shown that increased physical activity has been related to improved mental health. Additionally, research has also shown that physical inactivity is strongly related to a low PMH (or positive mental health).
With all of this evidence explaining the importance of exercise, you might wonder how can you start your own fitness journey today?
One way of doing this would be to set a SMART goal. This framework is an easy way that you can create fitness goals that are achievable and, to bring clarity to the ‘why’ of your fitness journey. With a SMART goal in place, you can increase the likelihood of you sticking to the plan.
SMART GOAL:
A SMART goal is made up of six parts:
- Specific. Your goal can be specific. For example, if you wanted to get more fit, a specific goal you could set could be to be able to run 5km.
- Measurable. Your goal should be able to be measured so that you can see your progress towards that goal. If your goal was to run 5 km, then being able to complete 5k could be the measure by which you know that you have achieved your goal.
- Achievable. Whatever goal you set, you should be able to achieve it. For example, being able to run 5km in three months should be something that you know is achievable for you.
- Relevant. It should be relevant to you and your goal should be something that you want to achieve.
- Time-specific. You should have a certain amount of time by which you would have wanted to achieve your goal. For example, your goal could be that you want to be able to run 5km in three months.
Whatever your goal is, whether you want to improve your fitness by being able to run 5k in 3 months or just want to lose some weight, you can use the framework above to help you start your fitness journey today.
By setting your first goal, you have embarked on your first step to improving your own health and fitness. This is a huge step and you should be proud of yourself!
Remember, improving your fitness takes time! It takes patience and perseverance, but by setting realistic goals and prioritising your health, you are already on your way!
Sources
Long-term health benefits of physical activity – a systematic review of longitudinal studies – BMC Public Health (Niermann et al., 2013)
Impact of aerobic exercise on neurobehavioral outcomes (Smith et al., 2013)
The mental health benefits of regular physical activity, and its role in preventing future depressive illness (Stanton et al., 2014)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175529662030003X#abs0015 (Tamminen et al., 2020)
