In the ninth of new series of blog posts to help you make the choice to walk more often for health, wellbeing or to get fit, through sharing tips and tricks and providing the motivation and support to do so.
Up to date guidance on Covid 19 is available here. Please be responsible and follow social distancing guidelines.
Thinking about and setting goals can help with motivation to go walking more often. People who write down their physical activity or exercise related goals are more likely to meet them.
When we set goals for ourselves it is important to follow the SMART goal setting principles. SMART stands for:
Specific: Be as specific as you can in your goal.
Measurable: It is important that your goals are measurable. For example the number of minutes walked in a week is measurable, so this is a good goal.
Attainable: Your goal needs to be attainable or achievable. It is disheartening if you set yourself a goal that is not achievable,
Realistic: Be realistic about your goal. Aim for an attainable and realistic target,
Time Based: Your goal needs to have a specific time frame. There is no point setting a goal and not having a time you aim to achieve it by, this isn't specific enough. For example, if you set yourself the goal of walking 60 minutes in one week this is "time based".
Ask yourself:
What will I do to build more walking into my day? (e.g. get off bus a stop earlier and walk the rest of the way)
Write it out!
My goal is to walk for X minutes each week.
Think of something to reward yourself with once you have achieved your goals.
I will reward myself with:
Date:
Read the rest of the Get Walking series - Finding Walks, looking at Physical Wellbeing and Mental Wellbeing, Being Active during Covid19. Do you need specific Gear? Look at Warm Up & Posture and Are you doing enough?How to deal with Excuses ! Read some Top Tips and think about Setting up a Walking Group and useful sample Walking Programmes you can use.