Hi Warriors! I’m not entirely sure what happened to August, but here we are firmly ensconsed in September. As we settle into our fall schedules and routines, I wanted to take some time and talk about doing something a bit different when planning workouts.
Intentions are something that are usually mentioned with respect to Mental Health practices. Meditation in particular; but intentions can be used in other ways. Some people like to set intentions for the year or month. And some like to use these as part of goal setting.
It’s the idea of using intentions in symphony with goal setting that I want to dive into. Having goals for workouts or exercise is important and something that I often encourage. Exercise is more purposeful when you know what direction you are trying to head. I mean, you can get from point A to B if you meander but it sure is simpler to go in a straight line.
These goals are almost always based on physical wants. Weight loss/gain, size changes, and the like. And because of this, many are pushing through workouts they dislike. Or workouts that cause physical pain (both acute and chronic injuries). To say nothing of the mental load of trying to constantly hype up for something untenable.
What if we also set intentions? What if we linked exercise and movement to how we want to feel both in terms of our physical body but also our mental and emotional selves?
I can guarantee that the first thing that would happen is we would stop engaging in movement we dislike. Which would have the two-birds-one-stone effect of lifting previously mentioned mental load and encouraging consistency as we would choose exercise we enjoy more.
In addition, we would be forced to consider the other benefits of movement. As I mention a lot, movement has so many Mental, Emotional, Social, and Environmental Health benefits. When we take these into account for planning, then we can make improvements in more areas than just our Physical Health.
So how do we go about setting intentions for exercise? Start the same way as with the goal. Set a goal that is about 3-4 months out. For this overarching goal, set an overarching intention. For an individual who wants to gain muscle mass, maybe an intention for the overall goal might be to feel strong. For an individual who wants to lose weight, perhaps the intention relates to regaining the ability to play and connect with their kids or grandkids.
Then, break the goal down into smaller steps. Set intentions for each of the smaller steps. In our muscle gains example, the smaller steps could be strength train consistently 5 days per week and increase protein intake. The intentions might be to learn the ins and outs of proper lifting technique and to learn different ways of preparing protein. These intentions are Mental Health focused and support both the smaller steps needed to get moving and the overarching goal/intention.
In our weight loss example, the smaller steps might be to walk in the neighborhood 4 days per week consistently and to start strength training. The intentions to support these could be to take the time to connect with nature and to feel their body’s ability to move in many different ways. These intentions are Emotional and Social Health focused, but just as in the previous example, they support the Physical steps and goals.
As you set your Physical Health goal, set your intention. Ask yourself how do you want to feel at the end of the 3-4 months. These feelings should be focused on something other than the physical body. In other words, feeling better in clothing would still be a physical goal, not an intention.
Do the same thing as you break down the bigger picture goal. Set your steps. Then think about mental, emotional, social, or environmental skills you might need to support the actual goals. Knowing how to prepare protein that you find tasty is a huge step in consuming the amount of protein necessary to encourage muscle growth. This is a mental skill – learning something new – that supports the physical goal.
Tying the physical goals with these less tangible skills builds problem solving into the planning. Knowing that strength training is helping you feel your body move in ways it may not have can reduce the fear of starting. This is a key that helps movement and exercise become more consistent. More consistent movement leads to us reaching our goals.
Physical goals are important and will help you make decisions about what type of exercise and how much. Setting intentions can help create a more meaningful experience and one that you are likely to continue.
Tell us in the comments, what is an intention you might set for exercise?
