Personal Trainer Coppell & Boot Camp Tip of the week
Finding it Hard to Adopt Healthy Behaviors? Try Making the Change Fun …
I stumbled across this YouTube video that inspired my Health and Fitness tip for this week. It is actually one of a series of videos based on an initiative launched by Volkswagen called “The Fun Theory.” (Go to TheFunTheory.com to view them all). It is an initiative that is “dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”
After watching the video, I asked myself “how does one go about making the process of changing to healthy behaviors fun?” We all know that change doesn’t happen overnight and that to create a new behavior or habit, you must do it on a repeated basis. However, by making the process of changing fun, based on the theory and evidence in these videos, it might very well be easier to adopt new and better behaviors.
As part of this tip, I would like to challenge you to review the healthy habits recommended by the GetYouInShape program that each of you (if you are Get You In Shape Fitness Boot Camp particpant) got when you start the program. Below are the healthy habits and the challenge is to find a way to adopt one or more of them through some fun way. Then, share it with us so others can learn by your success!
- Think positive
- Drink more water
- Eat breakfast
- Eat 5 to 6 times per day
- Exercise 6 days a week
- Eat slower or chew each bite
- Add a good multi-vitamin
- Get enough sleep
- Plan ahead
- Use the tools
- Write down your goals
For example, let’s look at “exercise 6 days a week.” Typically, if you are a current Fitness Boot Camp participant, 3 to 4 day per week, you are exercising with us – which in itself can be fun, but of course it is what you make out of it. However, I know that for many of you, doing cardio workouts on your off days isn’t something you do consistently – so take the challenge to figure out how to make it fun so you can change this behavior.
One approach is to think back when you were having fun as a kid running around with friends, riding bikes, jumping rope and playing hop scotch… before you called these things exercise! Maybe it will spark some ideas for doing similar cardio in fun ways. Maybe doing cardio with family and friends will help with the “fun” time so it becomes a time you look forward to and don’t dread. Guess what? It may even become a habit!
You could also check out the free cardio workouts from your cable provider that are “On Demand.” My daughter told me about “Cardioke” created Billy Banks, the son of the famed creator of “Tae Bo.” I checked it out and did a few minutes and guess what, I was singing, smiling, dancing, and having fun… AND I was also getting a pretty good workout.
Challenge yourself by reviewing the Healthy Habits list; choose one or two that you are having trouble adapting into your lifestyle. Then, start looking at it differently and try to figure out how you could instill some fun while trying to adapt this habit. If you create a fun way to adopt a new, healthy habit, please… share it with us so others can benefit from your success.
Julie McCan is on the team of personal trainers in the Dallas area at www.GetYouInShape.com
She is one of the lead trainers at the Coppell Boot Camp.
If you live or work in Dallas, Uptown, Lakewood, Downtown Dallas, Highland Park, University Park, Lake Highlands, White Rock Lake, Richardson, Mesquite, Arlington, Grand Prairie and other Dallas cities, the Dallas Boot Camp is minutes away from you. If you live or work in Coppell, Valley Ranch, Irving, Lewisville, Las Colinas, Carrollton, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Addison, Corinth, Highland Village, Dallas, and Famers Branch, the Coppell Boot Camps are just minutes away from you. Get You In Shape Boot Camp.
Get You In Shape’s programs include the Get You In Shape Boot Camp (Dallas and Coppell), 24 and 40 Day Challenge, sports specific training, weight loss programs, Corporate wellness plans, nutrition plans, core fitness training, strength training, toning and more. Clients include
Owner Brad Linder, has been featured in numerous newspapers and even as the fitness expert on the news 8 (ABC). He continues to use the gifts that he has been given to help serve the needs others have when it come to being healthy, losing weight, sports, toning up, and overall fitness.
More information about Get You In Shape at www.getyouinshape.com
