Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for both your physical health and increasing productivity. The past 18 months has been a time of change and refocusing on important aspects of life, including physical health. Addressing parts of physical health by maintaining a consistent workout schedule, healthy eating, and consistent sleep habits are keys to creating a healthy lifestyle. The ability to reach physical wellness goals is extremely important.
Creating short-term goals can be challenging to create, and it is important to remember to make them specific, manageable, achievable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals. An example of a smart goal could be participating in one of Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital’s upcoming 5Ks. It is specific because it is a specific race, and measurable, as you can set a time goal, or even have a goal of finishing the race! Achievable and realistic will be accomplished through training and could come in the form of walking or jogging and a healthy eating plan. 5K run/walks are not only good for your health, but they are also fun and some raise money for a good cause.
Maintaining motivation can often be tough, especially when tackling goals on your own. Finding a partner that can train with you and or participate in a 5K with you will help provide encouragement and accountability and is a great way to provide motivation for both parties. Individual accountability is important as well, detailing starting points and allowing for comments along the way. A great resource is to use a phone application to track your progress. Applications such as MyFitnessPal allow you to track both your daily meals and calories, along with your fitness making it quick and easy to stick to your fitness routine. For others that want to pursue a non-digital tracking routine, having a journal to write your progress can be extremely helpful.
Finally, the most important thing about preparing for and participating in a 5K is to have fun! Living a healthy lifestyle and setting goals are important, but neither one will be accomplished without fun. Don’t be hard on yourself and understand that everyone has “off” days. This will lead to success in the end.
Currently, Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Weston, has four races planned – the Gobble Gallop, November 26, the Cocoa/Cookies Walk Run, December 11, the January 8 Snowball Run, and the Ground Hog Day Walk/Run on February 5.
https://www.wvnews.com/westondemocrat/sports/run-a-5k-as-part-of-your-healthy-lifestyle/article_aa6bc6f4-0fcc-11ec-bfc4-d73e5e4d3f01.html
