Whether as a part of your career or as a personal growth exercise, many of you have probably written a mission statement before. A mission statement is designed to identify core values and offer purpose and direction.
In this blog post, we invite you to write a workout mission statement. We’ll walk you through a step-by-step process of identifying your core values related to exercise and offering yourself purpose and direction in your workouts. We encourage you to re-visit this workout mission statement every year or two and revise it according to your changing goals and values.
It is important to lead with why you choose to workout. Of course, there may be many different reasons, but try to identify the top two to three reasons.
Dig deep to find your true why. You can start by thinking about your health and fitness goals, but do not stop there. Often in goal setting, we leave our goals vague and do not delineate the why. For example, if your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight or to drop a certain number of clothing sizes, dig deep and identify why you want to work to make those changes.
Ask yourself these questions, and go through three or four layers of asking WHY before you stop.
Example:
Why do I choose to workout? Because I want to drop three pants sizes in the next six months. Why? Because my friend is getting married and I am in his wedding and I want to look good and feel fit. Why? Because I am nervous to see a bunch of friends I have not seen in years and I want to feel confident. Why? Because I know I will interact more positively and enjoy myself if I am more confident.
After you have done the work of exploring your why, see if you can condense it into a sentence or two.
Example:
"I choose to workout because it makes me feel and look fit and healthy, and I highly value feeling and looking fit and healthy. My self-confidence is highest when I feel and look fit and healthy, and when I am more self-confident, I interact more positively with myself, my family, and my friends."
Research has demonstrated repeatedly that we are more likely to stick with a behavioral habit if we enjoy it and can find a way of integrating it into their values. Do the work of identifying the type of workouts you enjoy and get the most out of so that you are more likely to commit to a routine.
As you go through your next few weeks, make sure you rate and label your workouts in the MYZONE App and wear your chest strap. You can then go back and see which types of workouts you enjoyed the most and which types of workouts offered you progress toward your goals (i.e. intensity, MEPs, and calories burned).
Write out a list of your top two to three preferred workouts and how many times per week you will complete them.
Example:
"I really enjoy running, circuit training, and yoga. I’ll run two times per week, perform circuit training once or twice per week, and do yoga at least once per week to hit my MEPs goal."
As you think about yourself as an exerciser, where would you like that to go? Where do you see your health and fitness level in six months from now? A year from now? Five years from now?
Map out where you would like to take your fitness. Identify if you are training for anything specific or if you are targeting a specific goal.
Offer yourself a long-term goal, and then provide yourself with a few short-term goals along the way. Use the MYZONE chest strap to assist you in tracking progress by entering in your body metrics via the App and/or by tracking your MYZONE status.
Examples:
Now that you have gone through all three steps, see if you can combine your responses into one fluid workout mission statement.
Example:
"I choose to workout because it makes me feel and look fit and healthy, and I highly value feeling and looking fit and healthy. My self-confidence is highest when I feel and look fit and healthy, and when I am more self-confident, I interact more positively with myself, my family, and my friends.
In order to feel and look fit, I’ll run two times per week, perform circuit training once or twice per week, and do yoga at least once per week to hit my MEPs goal. I will reduce my body fat percentage to 30% within the next six months (I’m currently at 37% body fat). I will do this by dropping my body fat by around 1% each month for the next six months. I will commit to my workout routine and will measure my body fat % monthly with my trainer."
Choose wording that will inspire and motivate you each time you look at your workout mission statement! Place your workout mission in a highly visible location (or several) so that you see it frequently.
We wish you the best in your workout mission! May it drive you forward in your fitness journey! Show us how you are achieving your workout mission by using the hashtags #effortrewarded and #myzonemoves when you post to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
For more tips on how to use the MYZONE chest strap, follow us during Fitness Fridays on Facebook Live (subscribe on MYZONE’s Facebook Page) – 8 am PT, 11 am ET, and check out our MYZONE® Moves Podcast on iTunes or Google Play.
Keep moving forward!