Strategic Planning for Health Success

It's nice to be successful at the things we put time into, right?  We create plans for travel, plans for our education, plans for our career or our businesses, but we often think our health is a byproduct of doing a few things here and there when we finally get around to it. Not so.

Leaving your health to chance is disaster.  The best way to have success at living a healthy life is by planning for it!  We love to set SMART (specific, measurable, applicable, realistic, and timely) goals here at Restoration Fitness, but if you don't have a plan for how you can make step by step progress toward achieving that goal, the likelihood of you getting there is pretty slim.

So here are some steps to help you start the process of planning you health!

1) Get a clear vision of what health means to you.  Why is being healthy important to you?  What is the purpose of doing things that support your health?  What do you hope to be able to do by focusing on your health?  What will your daily life look and feel like when you have your health in check?

2) Find an inspiring quote or phrase.  This is sort of like choosing a mission statement.  Something that wakes you up and reminds you of why you have committed to your goal and vision.  Mine has always been "I am the Bomb".  It's just a little mantra, but it has helped me countless times when I was in the dumps and didn't want to do what I said I would do.

3) Pick a date.  When you set a goal, we obviously expect it to be timely.   But even more importantly, we want you to know how you are going to celebrate your acheivement one you have reached your goal.  Get specific and then put reminders all over the place of that date.

4) Work your way back.  Once you have a date, you can start walking backwards to set smaller steps for the tangible things that need to be done to get you there.  For instance, say you want to eat 5 vegetables a day in the next month.  Well, every week you just need to add about 1 extra serving a day.  What are the strategies that you will need to implement:  getting to the grocery store, keeping fruits and veggies on hand at all times, ways to improve their pizzazz so you won't get bored of them, people who can support you, etc.

5) For bigger goals, especially as it concerns the bigger vision of your health picture, start with 1-year goals and then break it down into 3 month and 1 month goals.  REview your strategies and objectives on a weekly basis and then commit to what that means for how you need to structure your day to day life.

This stuff really works! It is exactly how running coaches plan their training programs for the year.  They look at each race and work their way back in intensity and mileage.  Here's a sample 5k Run/Walk Guide to help you get your steps in motion for your next race this summer!!  Enjoy!!