7 Habits of a
Healthy Lifestyle
(90 day plan
for Success)
All to often in the
fitness industry I witness enthusiastic people make a “choice” to become
healthy just to quickly become discouraged and stop being healthy, truly before
they actually got started. The problem
is, when these people make these choices, which are some times even called
“resolutions” they try to simultaneously change 4 or 5 things at the same time
(exercise, eat better, drink more water, sleep more, stretch). This is like asking somebody that has never
juggled balls before to instantly juggle 5 balls at the same time. What happens next… they drop all of the balls
at the same time and more times than not, they never juggle again.
The trick is, we
must create lifestyle habits. One habit
at a time. Once we create true habits,
they will be a part of our every day activities, just like brushing your teeth
and taking a shower.
Below I have
outlined 7 Habits, based on Stephen Covey’s Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People, and 7 steps that will be completed over
a 90-day period. Each step must be
completed in succession and you must not move on to the next step until the
previous step is completed and a habit is formed. Some of the steps will then be continued for
the entire 90 days and beyond, and some steps will just be completed once and
then you can move to then next step.
Habit 1: Be
proactive- Don’t wait for a serious health concern before you make
changes
·
Step 1 (Days
1-10 )- Take a multi-vitamin or fish oil everyday for 10 days. Do not move on to step 2 until step one has
been accomplished. Continue this step throughout the entire 90 days and beyond.
*Whether
you take a multivitamin or fish oil is really not that important here. You
can choose based on your nutritional deficiencies. What is important is starting simple. Bottom line is, if we cannot perform a simple
task for ten straight days we will not be ready to tackle larger more
challenging habits.
Habit 2: Begin
with the end in mind- Focus on a SMART health/ fitness related goal
·
Step 2 (Day
11- 20)- Drink ½ your body weight in ounces every day for 10 days. Continue this step throughout the entire 90
days and beyond.
*Proper
hydration is key to support our daily functions. Without proper hydration we set ourselves up
behind the 8 ball. Water is the most
critical element for health, growth and development. Water affects body temperature, waste
removal, inflammation, joint lubrication, and in short, every cell in our body
needs proper hydration to function properly
Habit 3: Put first
things first- Priorities must be set
·
Every Sunday sit down and plan out the
following:
o
Specific exercise schedule (day, time and actual
workout)
o
Weekly meals
·
Once the schedule is set, nothing must take the
place of scheduled activities without a cost.
o
If a workout or scheduled event is missed. $5
must be placed in the “pot”.
o
This is your built in accountability
system. What do you do with this money?
We will discuss that soon
·
Step 3 (Day
21- 42)- Exercise 2 days per week
o
Must be documented/ recorded
o
Must last a least 30 min.
o
Must increase heart rate to an “uncomfortable”
level (heart rate monitor is recommended)
o
Must be a full body workout
o
Do not go to step 4 until 3 weeks of consecutive
recorded workouts have been completed. Continue
this step throughout the entire 90 days and beyond
*REWARD Time. After you have successfully completed this step, reward
yourself or somebody. Always recognize
and reward small successes. Take that
money from Step 2 and do something nice for yourself, you have earned it! Or,
take that money and donate it to a charitable cause of your choice.
Habit 4: Think
win/ win- You only win when others win
·
How will these healthy lifestyle changes affect
those you love?
·
Step 4 (Day
43- 53)- First thing in the morning, on your iPhone, write down 1 way that
your healthy lifestyle changes will affect the people you love. Do this every day for 10 days
·
This step
will only be completed for 10 days
Habit 5: Seek
first to understand, then be understood
·
“To know is to teach”
·
Step 5
(Day 54)- Invite a friend or family member to participate in a healthy
activity.
·
Teach them the importance of this activity.
·
Share the gift of health.
·
This step
must be completed at least once and then can be completed as many times as
desired
Habit 6: Synergize-
your mind and body must corporate to be successful
·
Step 6
(day 54- 61)- Sleep- 7-8 hours of sleep is vital for living a healthy
lifestyle
o
Recovery
o
Hormone balance
o
Focus
·
Create a sleep schedule and stick to it for 7
days straight
o
Set a bed time that will allow for 7-8 hours of
sleep
·
Continue
this step throughout the entire 90 days and beyond
Habit 7:
Sharpen your saw
·
Step 7
(Day 62- 90)- Chose a health/ fitness book and read it.
Created by: Scott
Larkin, ATC, CSCS, CPT
