Have you wanted to make fitness, exercise, or movement part of your daily routine? Then this month is for you!
Benefits of Daily Exercise
We already know, right? Regular exercise is good for us on all levels—physical, emotional, mental, spiritual—it’s so good all around.
So why have we veered away from regular movement? Let’s spend the month figuring out what is keeping us from our fitness goals—Time? Schedule? Motivation? Injury? Overdoing it? Boredom? Self consciousness? Let’s figure it out while we show up anyway!
Goals
We usually list off our goals for the month on day one, but this time around we’re waiting for Day 2 to get specific…you’ll see why on February 2nd.
The general goal is to SHOW UP EVERY DAY. Each journal prompt will include a space to record that day’s movement as well as a space to preplan the next day’s exercise.
Disclaimer
This Guided Journal is not intended to be medical advice. You should absolutely consult medical professionals about your health status and goals before taking up any exercise or starting any programs. It’s sad that I have to say this out loud, but it’s the world we live in. I could have shied away from the topic altogether, but I chose to bring it up because I know exercise weighs on the minds of many moms. Thank you for taking your health and well-being seriously enough to look into it more. Approach this month at your own risk with personalized support and guidance that is tailored to you by professionals.
Weekly Breakdown
Week One: YOU
Week Two: Community Support
Week Three: Family Support
Week Four: Solidifying The Habit
Where You Are
Write about where you are…what is your body like? What parts are strong? What parts do you want to make stronger? How is your body serving you at the moment? How would you like it to serve you more? What are you grateful for when it comes to your body?
Today is all about acknowledging where you are. Try not to move ahead too much. Today is today. Your body is what it is right now. Write about what is.
Remember to note today’s movement/exercise/fitness (whatever you want to call it!) and plan ahead for tomorrow. Set the intention to move your body again tomorrow.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Where You Want To Be: Describe Your Goals
Get clear on what you want your body goals to be—weight loss, stronger arms, the ability to do longer hikes, to be able to carry your kids more easily, to be more flexible, strengthen your pelvic floor post childbirth, combat aging, etc.
List your intentions and then add details—how much weight you plan to lose, what you would like to be able to lift easily to measure your strength, how far you would like to be able to walk or hike comfortably, etc.
And now write about why—why did you create these goals?
Set your goals, make them measureable, and be specific about your “why.”
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Mindset
Describe how you your mindset when it comes to your body? Body positive? Struggling? Supportive? Kind? Degrading? Frustrated? Obsessive? A combo of these? Something else? Can you easily talk yourself into or out of exercising?
Write it down with the intention of figuring out how your thoughts are supporting or sabotaging your body goals. Do you feel like you need help changing a negative mindset? Do you need words of encouragement to keep you in a good headspace?
At the end of this month, what would you like your mindset to look like? (More positive, almost automatic, etc.?)
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Clothes & Location
What do these things have to do with fitness goals? Well, in our society, it turns out a lot. Not having the “right clothes” to workout in or wearing the “wrong thing” keeps many of us from exercising. And our view of exercise is that it “has to” take place in a gym or workout class in order to “count.” Does this ring true to you? Write about it.
Do you feel like you have to be wearing certain clothes in order to exercise? Do you feel pressure to be “pulled together” from head to toe in order to move your body in front of other people?
What about location? Do you feel like in home workouts are as effective for you as gym visits or group classes? Write about how location effects how much you do or don’t move.
A potential resolution for clothing and location hang-ups is: Snacking. Not eating, but exercise snacking—incorporating movement throughout the entire day. For example: taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking around the block at lunch, running in the yard with your kids, stretching when you wake up or before going to sleep, doing kegals or bracing your abs while waiting in line, etc. Do you feel like exercise snacking could work for you? Write about it. Include what “snacks” you could fit into your lifestyle.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Overdoing It
A common way people sabotage their fitness goals is by overdoing exercise as soon as they try to get back into it. It’s not intentional, but it happens very frequently: you go from couch to running and push hard to “make up for” not having run in a while. Then you get sore or injured and quit…sound familiar? Have you overdone it in the past?
Time to emphasize that we are NOT trying to overcorrect for past behavior. The past is in the past, hindsight is 20/20, and we can learn from looking into our past instead of using it to fuel a current fire. So you haven’t moved your body as much as you’ve wanted to or feel you “should” have. So what? We do not need to push ourselves now to make up for past decisions. Show up right where you are, as you are.
Write about overdoing it. How do you feel about overdoing it? Are you? Did you? Do you tend to? What do you need to tell yourself to move forward now without overcorrecting?
[How to avoid overdoing it: Remind yourself that you don’t need to come out of the gate swinging. You have nothing to prove, you have only to show up. Improvement will come with the showing up. Give yourself time to adjust and plenty of room to grow.]
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Show Up
Your daily goal this month is to show up. How do you feel about showing up? Do you make it a production by coming up with reasons not to? Do you create drama around the simple task of showing up? Or do you just show up? How much are your thoughts getting in the way? How much are you getting in your own way? Write about it. Work through it on paper. Write about how the month is going so far.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
New Game Plan
It’s tempting to focus on what has worked for us in the past before we were moms. But what if we scrapped all of that and moved into the now? What if we look at ourselves as different from our past? What if we honored the fact that people change, tastes change, preferences change—really that change is constant.
How have you changed since becoming a mom? What did you used to do for movement? What sounds fun to you now? Are you holding on to past interests? Do you need to? Can you explore old interests as well as new ones? How does the season of life you’re in NOW affect what you’re able to do? Write about the changes and challenges…then brainstorm about how you can work around them.
New season, new challenges, new goals, new game plan.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Is a Group For You?
Group exercise classes—how do you feel about them? Have you ever been to one? Is so, what do you love about them? What do you dislike about them? If you haven’t, what do you imagine them to be like? Are any of your thoughts keeping you from trying one?
Are you afraid of comparison from others? Do you think you’d be able to show up to a class and not judge yourself or others? What if you went with the intention of being a supportive class member—do you think you could do that?
My personal challenge for you: try a group class this month. I encourage you to do this because I avoided going for years. I was afraid of judgment, I can’t stand the fact that I make weird faces when I concentrate on the moves, and I was always afraid I wouldn’t like the moves or a teacher would be too harsh. I finally started going again in preparation for this month—I got out of my own way and showed up to a group aerobic class where I knew nobody. You know what I found? A group of highly motivated, encouraging women who were showing up for themselves and their friends. They were prioritizing self care. They were nothing but encouraging, enthusiastic, and inviting. I found camaraderie in women with similar goals who were showing up. Their energy made me want to return…and I did. So let me lovingly suggest that you quit allowing your thoughts about what a class *might* be like stop you from meeting what might be the motivation you need to keep going.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Class Options
What exercise class options are local to you? When was the last time you looked? Classes can change on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis. What options are close to you?
Today’s challenge: research what classes are currently near you. Write down dates, times, and locations that sound appealing. Bonus challenge: sign up for one and put it on the schedule.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Competitive Mindset
Do you have a competitive mindset? Do you compete with yourself? With others? Is competition positive motivation for you? Or does it foster judgment? Does it not come into play for you when exercising? Write about the role of competition in your movement goals, if applicable.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
What’s Fun For You?
Yoga may have been fun pre-kids, but maybe it doesn’t seem appealing now. Maybe you were a runner in your teens and 20s and now in your 30s and 40s it isn’t for you. So what is fun for you in the season you are in? If you know, write about it—what it is, the joy it brings you, etc. If you aren’t sure what’s fun, give it some thought today—what sounds fun? Write about it!
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Try Something New
Today’s challenge is to try something new—a new fitness class (aerial yoga or bungee bounce, anyone?), a new workout video (i.e. Fitness Marshall on YouTube!), or choose a new walking route for a change of scenery. If you can’t do it today, plan for it. Stretch your body, mind, and routine by switching it up! Write about what you’re going to try and plan for it!
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Online-Social Media Resources
Do you follow any fitness, gym, class, or instructor accounts online? How do they make you feel? Inspired? Defeated? Write about it.
If they put you in a positive mindset, send those resources a message and let them know! Share your fitness journey with them—they are people, too!
If you find that you’re comparing yourself to them or your thoughts about them bring you down in any way, delete them! Take a social media break. Or find resources that do inspire you. There is no one resource for everyone. Find the one that builds you up! Or none if that sets you free!
How I Showed Up Today:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Video Resources
While I’m a huge fan of in-person classes for personalized inspiration, there are many, many resources online to help you on your movement journey. I want you to seek out who and what motivates you.
Do you feel like workout videos or online tutorials are right for you? Write about it. Have you ever tried any? Which ones did you like/not like? Which are your favorite? Which have you wanted to try? What genres do you like or want to explore? Online access to fitness instructors has brought a ton of variety to the fitness world! Write about if and what you’d like to explore and then do your research—find what works for you!
Take Note: Fitness involves correct form to avoid injury. Please work with a trained professional on correct form if you have any questions. Safety first.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Do You Feel Supported?
Sometimes it is easier to get support from outsiders because of complicated interpersonal relationships with relatives, including spouses, partners, siblings, and even our children. We often don’t want to appear weak or undesirable (among other things) around family.
Write about how you do or do not feel supported by your family. Write about your confidence level around your family as it relates to fitness. What do you need from family to feel supported? Be specific.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Family Goals
The guided journals are very personal and individual. We often pursue one of the topics because we personally want to make changes for ourselves. Sometimes families have group goals and sometimes they remain personal.
Do you have family fitness goals? Who created them? Was everyone involved? Do you feel it’s fair to have family goals when it comes to health or do you believe they should be individual? How do your other family members feel about these ideas? Start a conversation and write down what you learn.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Exercise & Our Children
Do you currently model movement for your children? Have you in the past? How important is it to you that your children value exercise? Do you value it enough to model it for your children?
Write about what fitness related values you hope your children will have when they are older and/or as they grow up. Are you modeling those goals and values for them now? If yes, how? If not, what do you need to change to start modeling your movement values? What do you need to do to model those values now?
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Individuals
A family is made up of individuals. You are the individual from your family who started the guided journal and created your own personal fitness goals. When you choose goals and pursue them, you become a model for your children. Your kids learn by watching you. Your actions convey your goals, values, and beliefs.
Would you consider yourself accepting of the idea that everyone in a family has individual beliefs, motivations, etc. that need support? If not, why? If so, how do you support the individual goals of your family members?
Forcing someone to have the same goals as you may cause resentment. Do you feel your fitness goals are creating resentment from others? If so, how? How do you feel like you can find the balance between meeting your own goals while being a role model for others through your actions?
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Conversations
What do your conversations about fitness look like? Are they lighthearted? One sided? Defeated? Non-existent? Write about it.
Conversations are one thing, expectations are another. Do you ever feel like other people’s beliefs about fitness or their expectations creep into your conversations about exercise? Do your conversations feel peer-to-peer or more like someone telling you what you should be doing? Write about how past and present conversations about fitness have affected your choice to work out.
Who do you feel like you can talk with about exercise and feel inspired? Who’s in your canoe? Make a list of people you feel comfortable talking with or who build you up. Bonus: acknowledge their support by sending them a thank you!
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Boundaries
Looking back over the topic of support, do you feel like you need to set any boundaries with anyone about your fitness journey? Do you need to stop talking about the topic with anyone who is bringing you down or shaming you (either on purpose or inadvertently)? What do you need to say or do to create a healthy boundary and maintain it? Are you able to draw them openly and clearly? Write about it.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Back to You
We are surrounded by other people constantly on our journeys, including this fitness one. But at the end of the day, we are each responsible for our own health & well being. You show up for you. This is your journey. You can’t make decisions for other family members, they can’t make decisions for you. Modeling and leading by example are powerful tools that can influence others—but others aren’t always the reason we show up.
Do you show up for you? Do you feel strong in your resolution to strengthen your body and your self for you? Write about it. Make today about you.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
February Week 4: Solidifying The Habit
Part of being able to maintain a life change is your ability to look at yourself and identify what is working and what isn’t. Easier said than done. Hindsight is 20/20 and it’s always easier to identify other people’s “things” from the outside. But we’re going to use hindsight to our advantage and actively look for clarity from the inside.
Be kind to yourself during this process. If you didn’t show up everyday, it’s not the end of this journey. No need to beat yourself up. We’re looking for what we need—what we need more of, what we need less of, etc.—to help shift our mindset and continue to grow.
What’s Working?
Look back over the month—what worked well for you? A time of day? A specific video or class? Was there someone who was very supportive? Write down what worked well this month and brainstorm ideas about how you could incorporate more of those things into your every day life.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
What’s Not Working?
Look back over the month—what didn’t work well? A time of day? A certain exercise? Did you over-do it? What got in your way? Was there anything that was said or done that brought you down? What do you need to do to let that go? Write about it…including how you can use this information to make changes that serve you.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
What Do You Need More Of?
You’ve looked at what’s working and what isn’t. With a few days worth of perspective, write more specifically about what you need more of to make daily movement, showing up, and self care for your body part of a life long commitment. Reflecting more than one can strengthen your resolve.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Mindset – Self Talk
How has your self talk changed this month? Were you kind to yourself? Are you more kind now than when you first began? Do you find that you can easily talk yourself out of working out? Or into it? How much of your daily movement is influenced by your inner dialogue about with yourself? Write about it. Note what’s working and what could use a shift.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan
Mindset – Body Beliefs
Do you believe your body is capable? Do you trust it to move the way you need it to? Do you see beauty in your body? Are you able to pause and see the growth that can and has been happening?
Our bodies are not set in stone. How it is now and what it’s capable of in this moment are not how it’s going to be forever. Our mindset plays a big role in that change and growth. We can choose to see our body as strong and capable of growing stronger.
Champion your body’s ability to grow and change. See it, recognize it, honor it, and move forward from that growth mindset. Challenge your mindset today. Grow your thoughts to include growth, capability, & strength so that your body can follow suit.
Write about it. Include positive, supportive thoughts, words, or quotes you can draw from as you move forward with more movement past the end of the month.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Life Long Goals
With one more day left, there are two paths we can choose from: one is finishing the month and letting it go, the other is choosing daily movement, exercise, fitness, and strengthening our bodies as a life long commitment.
Write about which path you’re going to choose and why. Write about how the season of life you’re in is influencing that decision. There is no one right answer for everyone. No shame in either choice. You came, you committed, and that’s to be commended.
Include gratitude in today’s journal entry—gratitude for your body and your spirit. See what life long goals spring from a space of gratitude.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
See What Sticks
Moving forward, a plan of action is more likely to stick if you include details.
Write about what you would like to keep from this month’s journey. Be specific. Was there an exercise class you loved and want to commit to? Are walks going to be your new thing? Is it positive self talk? An exercise buddy? Write about what you’re going to use moving forward.
Today’s Daily Movement:
Tomorrow’s Plan:
Thank you for showing up this month, yayas! You spent 28 days working on yourself, supporting other mamas, and growing your body and mind—that is no small task while parenting! I’m proud of you and hope that you’re proud of yourself. Small steps can lead to big changes!
I’m 100% sure this month wasn’t “perfect” for any of us and that life got in the way more than once. But you know what? That’s okay. Even acknowledging the desire for more is a step in the right direction. So be sure to thank yourself for showing up at all! Change can be slow or quick, but it’s always constant.
Join us for next month’s topic: Food! Have you had food goals that you’ve wanted to start and haven’t? Do you want to try to encourage your kids to eat more vegetables? Have you been wanting to try the keto diet or complete a Whole 30? Do you suspect a gluten allergy but aren’t sure how to remove it from your diet? Have you wanted to master a recipe but never took the time? Then March 2019 is for you! Join us back here at yayamamas for another Guided Journal adventure together…because life, motherhood, and reaching our goals are always easier along side our sisters!