When I first set my fitness goals, I could only think ahead one week at a time. Now, several years later, I’m looking to forward to the rest of my life, and I need to make long-term goals.
Recently I’ve been listing this as my main fitness goal:
To regain strength after a debilitating illness so that I can live a healthy, active life with my family.
What does that mean? I would like to be strong and healthy enough to do whatever I want to, physically. I want to be able to swim with my kids, open jars by myself, scrub and paint my own house, play badminton, skidoo with my husband if he ever gets his dream snowmobile, cross-country ski with Miss 9, bike long distance with Mr. 16, finish hiking the Rideau Trail with the kids and my friends, canoe, garden, and so much more.
I would like to have enough energy reserves to be able to attend evening Bible studies, commit to volunteer opportunities without wondering if that will be a ‘good day,’ and participate in historical re-enactments with Miss 14. I want my eyesight to stop deterioriating. I want to feel that old familiar flow of energy through my body.
And I want to be able to race with Miss 11 who runs like the wind, even faster than I used to.
So, specifically, what do I need to do?
1. Increase my average daily steps to 8000 by July.
I need to: Increase by 100 steps/week.
2. Increase my physiotherapy exercises to the full number of repetitions, 5 times a week, by July.
I need to: Do them 5 times a week, adding one daily repetition each week.
3. Work up to half repetitions of the T-Tapp basic workout 3x a week by July.
I need to: Learn 2-3 pages of moves a week, and practice what I already know daily.
4. Work up to the full repetitions of eye exercises by July.
I need to: Do them 5 days a week adding one daily repetition per week.
5. Eat super-nutritiously.
I need to: Sprout one batch of food per week. Learn to ferment food by March and do one batch per week. Make yoghurt 2-3 times per week. Continue minimizing sugar and emphasizing vegetables.
6. Relax
I need to: Rest, play with the children, go outside, laugh, give thanks, trust God, spend quality time with my husband, and sleep enough.
The eating and relaxing goals are not quantitative, but if I do something about them every day, the effect will be positive. Maybe later I will set quantitative goals in these areas.
And, of course, I need to keep on being accountable to my Fit Mommy friends.
