Viewer Mail: MizFits with a MISSION.

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MizFit, Im floundering. I keep stopping and starting workout routines. I know where to begin (I just need to do something) but Im not. I fell like every time to decide Ill try a certain way of exercising I do it for a bit and then get distracted by another way to workout.

I hope this makes sense because I’d love your help.

The first time I read this email my reaction was to urge the writer to choose one mode of exercise (anything. just pick one which sounds fun or which s/hes tried & knows s/he enjoys) and commit to doing only that for six weeks.

To not only give himself enough time to see changes physically (as the email didnt specify what type of goals he has) but to truly find if, for example, Pilates is something he loves or running is a workout that is both good for him and thoroughly enjoyable.

I initially wanted to urge the emailer to just CHOOSE SOMETHING, stick with it, and THEN see if s/he wants to switch activities.

The more I read the email, however, the more I became focused on the word FLOUNDERING.

The more I read the email the more it dawned upon me that this was less of a “eh Im not movtivated. help me” or an “I cant find anything I like to do workoutwise. gimmie some suggestions” and more of a seeking of overall structure.

Which caused me to reflect upon own life & my mission statements.

I have a personal mission statement. We have a family mission statement. And I have a separate personal fitness mission statement.

At other points in my life a blanket personal mission statement, broken down into career/fitness/spiritual etc., would have covered it.

Right now, however, since Im wearing so many different hats bandannas, I decided to address my fitness separately.

life goals? career goals? spiritual goals? those are things I would never neglect even when life is at its most hectic.

The fitness?

I think we all are aware how easily that can be shoved to the bottom of the priority-list. As a result, for now, it gets its own statement and is precisely what I think our emailer might need to help her focus on her fitness priorities *before* she can settle upon a workout routine.

In my opinion the floundering may be less about not being able to stick with a workout and far more about not pinpointing her goals & beliefs with regards to fitness PRIOR to donning any workout gear.

Is it all about stress reduction for you, emailer? perhaps that’s why you so quickly ditched the spinning class in favor of meditation.

Are you working to shed bodyfat? that might be the very reason you veer away from tai chi after a month and zip back to spinning.

Creating a personal fitness mission statement will solve your problem in that once you’ve mapped out for what youre striving you can then plan your routine accordingly.

A few tips on creating this statement:

*shortshortshort Three or four sentences.

*decide what you want to focus on (for example: becoming more flexible) and whom you want to become in the fitness realm of your life. A lean mean machine? A more calm centered you? be specific.

*What would your *ideal* end result of this endeavor be/look like (if by end you mean at life’s end—–which I do because we’re not stopping once we start down this healthy path.)?

*Positive. Positive. Positive. You may not put in your fitness mission statement the things you loathe about yourself currently. PERIOD. Take any negative urge (I hate my fat thighs and stomach) and turn it inside out (Crossfit will give me the long sleek leg muscles I desire).

*Include a sentence regarding how your habits and behaviors in the arena of fitness impact your relationships (By doing yoga five times a week I will be far more calm and far less tempted to rip Renaissance Man or Toddler Tornado a new one.). Both positive and negative.

*Create a statement which you could use as the backdrop to your life (I will do yoga five times a week because it makes me far more calm, lowers my blood pressure and allows me to work on being present at all times throughout my day) and which isnt in opposition to, if you have one, your PERSONAL mission statement (this was an important one for me. I worked to be sure that all my values were/are in alignment)

Be patient. It can take a while to create a statement which resonates & makes you think THAT’S IT!

For me it took writing the statement, putting it away for a week, rereading & editing and *then* I finally had a statement which felt right.

So ‘right’ that I find that not only does it inspire me to stay on track but it’s energizing on the days Id much rather slackoff than work out.

Bumbling Band? Any other thoughts? Any of you have personal fitness mission statements? dont buy into the whole notion? Hit us up in the comments!

Miz? what is your abs routine?! I couldnt believe when you posted those bra pictures. Thanks!!!

First? thanks for your kind words.

Next? what everyone loves to hear (and please to bear in mind I DO NOT have a 6pack and, Im sure, were I to do more crunches I may): in my opinion flat abs are made in the kitchen & when you do cardiovascular workouts to burn off bodyfat.

Id venture to say that 80% of it, at least for me, is what I shove in my piehole and not the specific style or number of crunches.

Speaking of the kitchen—-here’s an abs video explaining the form I use.

By way of full disclosure I dont do crunches very often.

I add em in if my low back aches but that’s really it. I choose to take those five minutes for something else (usually stretching).

Agree? Disagree? Got a better routine (would.not.be.hard.)? Hit us up below.

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Comments

  1. No. I’ve never actually sat down and thought about what I want from my workouts in the long-term. It’s something I purposefully avoid because it raises tricky questions about the moremoremorenownow kind of attitude I have towards exercise. Hmmm.

    I second you on the abs – mine only pop out to say hello when I’m eating healthily and switching up my cardio. I do crunches alllll the time as part of classes at the gym and it’s never made a bean of difference visually (although I do feel more pulled-in and toned).

    TA x

  2. A solid area for support and feedback….something to motivate me helps. I always remember the journey will take various paths. Diet and cardio for abs…..Your tips are fantastic!

  3. I’m all for strengthening the core, but I’m with you completely on the importance of what we eat having a direct effect on the look and feel of our abs. This has been a realization that took me awhile to get to. I used to pound out ab work, see no results, and get frustrated (and then head to the kitchen to drown my frustration in food!). Bad. I’m still not there, but now I realize, the abs might already be there – they are just covered with fat. And, that, is why I need to eat healthy for abs – to lower my body fat.

  4. 0hhh, the whomanity! (Jim Carey, The Grinch)

    I flounder – great word btw – with the food. I LOVE the fitness end of things just can’t resolve myself to eating wisely and well.

    ~~~sigh~~~

    The mission statement thing would apply nicely, eh?

  6. Great tips for your emailer. I love your urging to focus on goals, finding an exercise you love, and making that an integral part of your life. Yes, sometimes we have to try several things before we find what we love, but there is something out there for everyone! I’ll have to take some time to think of mission statements for both my running and my life.

    Abs. I hate crunches and pretty much all ab work. I completely agree, though, that diet and cardio will make a huge difference. Getting back running again, my stomach has gotten flatter and more defined, without adding but 3 or 4 ab workouts to my regimen. Cut down the salt and any foods that cause you to bloat. You’ll immediately look and feel flatter in the tummy.

  7. I think floundering can be a good thing. Why doesn’t your reader try adjusting their routine so they have variety? Perhaps if they were to workout four days a week they could do a different activity each day- day 1- walking in the park, day 2- kickboxing, day 3- yoga, day 4- weights. I think variety truly is the spice of life and keeps us moving and smiling.

  8. Mizfit, did I ever tell you I love your blog and you in general? Why, of course it should be self evident that specifying goals to begin with will help one to choose which form of exercise to engage in, but a mission statement? Get out of here, you’re a genius (that or I have lost every bit of creativity within me and passed it all on to baby boy).
    I am going to have everyone in the family create one for themselves and then we will have our family one.
    I never thought of that and it is such a fantastic idea, I love it.
    Thank you.

  9. TA? The mission statement isn’t for everyone.
    Like food journaling which would make me CRAZYOBSESSED perhaps it’s not your thing to lay out goals in that manner? Might trigger you to strive *too much* for that always elusive perfection?

    Christine? You are.

    Alice. Don’t tell me tell the literary agent world. (Thank you for your kind words)

    Erica? YESYESYES! I get torn between wanting to thank people for BRIEF emails & wondering if I oft miss their question/miss the mark BECAUSE of the brevity.

    Gena? The LIFE mission statement changed my, well LIFE. (As did our couple mission statement pre-Tornado. Such a great way to get insight into your partner, open lines of communication and LEARN more about him/her.)

    HughsMom? Yep (nuff said ;))

    Lance? Rightinthismoment by abs hath a protective shell of OREO.

    Off to visit the World of the DAYJOB.

    Mission? ELIMINATION.

    Miz.

  10. I bet you do have a six-pack! Your little characiture does anyway !

    I never worry about the breathing when doing my crunches (exhale lift, inhale down). Why is this important ?

  12. suzie? You KNOW I beg to differ 😉

    And Andrew? IMO it works better aesthetically to exhale upon contraction and inhale as you slowly lower.

    I do believe that many beg to differ (out yerselves!) but when I did them ‘the other way’ (read: young. exuberant.) I created a curve OUTWARD.

    Could easily just be me/my bodybuilding background with regards to visualizing the muscles ‘etching’ themselves as I contract.

    Great question.

    Miz.

  13. GREAT THOUGHTS.
    I like to think exercise is dependent upon patience and temperance. Ya need both to get any lasting results.
    As for the ‘abs’… uhm CORE. LOL
    I had a great post on your Core Curriculum.
    *wink*wink*
    As always.. luuuuuv visitin!

  14. I AGREE strong one.

    corecorecore

    just saying what *I* do —-off to find yer core link and add it in w/your comment!

    Miz.

  15. I really like this thought. I kinda feel the same way as Hughsmom. I think I need to (re-write) my mission statement for my relationship with food. THANKS!

  16. I whole-heartedly agree with your first assessment. I also find that many times I’m doing this then than then something totally different just because I’m looking to switch it up. This leads me to be in pretty good shape, but not always focused. And sore. A lot. lol.

    My mission is to get some yoga in, running in and two strength training sessions a week. Women on a mission, yo!

  18. “Abs are made in the kitchen” … there couldn’t be a truer statement!! If the diet isn’t right, the abs are going to stay home (behind that nice comfy, warm layer of protection). You need to get enough protein, dietary fat and focus carb intake to your post workout period.

    Getting my stomach ripped is my next goal — shooting for early December which is bootcamp #2.

    Susan
    http://www.catapultfitnessblog.com

  19. Hmmm, you know, this entry really got me to thinking.

    Because I have multiple goals. And the more I think about those goals, the more I realize it can branch out into me needing goals for the other parts of my life as well.

    But how much is too much? How many is too many? (Obviously, any two conflicting goals is too many).

    I mean, my “fitness” goals should ideally support my “body image” goals. And my “food” goals should never directly conflict my “body image goals”.

    But I don’t think that my love of yoga fits in with most of those. It slips in just a smidge on the body image, but only on the flexibility. The calming, relaxing nature fits more with my “personality” goals.

    And by “goals” I mean “mission statement”. The two are similar but not exactly the same. I’m just too lazy to go back and retype them all. Mental word substitution required for true enjoyment of this comment.

    But as simple as it sounds, most of the time we don’t really sit down and make mission statements. Rarely anything beyond “I want to fit in a size 10 again”. That’s not a mission statement. That’s a dream that might become a goal.

    And so many aspects of our life could do with a little bit more contemplation on what exactly we want to achieve.

    I need to think on this. =]

  20. and IM REALLY OFF NOW but, Oh Fabulous Dieting Ninja, your comment brought to mind this fave quote of mine (and Im more a quote LOATHER than lover. but that’s a rant for a different day.):

    GOALS ARE DREAMS WITH TIMELINES.

    Miz.

  21. I have seen mission statements….the family ones are really cool! I think I will work on a fitness one and one for our family. Are you going to share yours? I think what you said about focusing on your goals, etc. will help to stay motivated. Great advice!

    I love the abs video. I love that shirt “Be Present.” Where did you get it? I want one….in fact, I think being present will be part of my mission statement. I do a core training video 3x a week (Joel Harper) and there’s a fabulous ab exercise there in the beginner one( someday I will get to the others!) You are in the crunch position with arms on chest like you showed….you lift your legs off the ground….not straight up pointed in the air….just off the ground…you drop one leg to the ground, then the other….it’s awesome but a tough one.

  22. @Miz

    You win.

    That’s a great quote. And also, I totally am fabulous. I’m thinking of getting it tattooed on my forehead, so people who might otherwise not realize my fabulousness will no longer be racked with doubt and uncertainty with regards to my status.

    Although I must say, I am a huge fan of quotes. I have “The Complete Book of Zingers” and randomly flip pages from time to time. Then again, I also have “The If Book” and do the same. I LIKE WORDS! *flails* DON’T JUDGE ME!

    *winks*

    (Sincerity of anything except the appreciation for the quote is not guaranteed)

  23. Sheesh. The Bag Lady thought floundering was fairly good exercise. Apparently, she needs to re-think her position…. 🙂

    She also needs to come up with a mission statement for herself.

    And her abs are warm and cozy, thankyouverymuch, and quite shy, which is why they need so much protective covering!

  24. I love making goals and mission statements. It had never occurred to me to do this with my fitness tho until I read Tom Venuto’s book. You are so right. If you write it down it becomes so much more powerful. So yeah, I got goals. I have a mission statement that is very long winded and aspirational and I love anyhow.

    As for abs – what you said is exactly what every other person I’ve met with nice abs has said. Although I want to add I think a lot of it is genetic. Some women naturally store more fat in their midsections so they get lovely defined arms and quads and yet the closest they get to abtastic is via airbrushing.

    I fall somewhere in the middle. Even at an ultra-low level of bodyfat, I didn’t have a six pack. You could see some definition but not like those Women’s Health models. But you should have seen my arms and back! 😉

  25. Your “floundering” response can be applied to anything in life. And ab routine? I just hate doing it, but I force myself to do so.

  26. I’m in that genetically lucky group: my abs are the last to fade when I start getting squishy (but they’ll never have “individual” definition, you can just see the “sheet” of muscle).

    I do crunches with my arms stretched up over my head (making it harder to do the crunch), pikes on my exercise ball, and 3 things that torture my obliques (twists with a dumbbell, those things Jane Fonda did, essentially a pike, but to the side, and then I’ll hold a pike on my exercise ball, and roll it to the right and left).

    I also want to be a badass.

  27. i don’t have a personal fitness statement but think it would be a good exercise. Especially if I could use it to reframe my thinking and focus on, as you mentioned, benefits like improved calm or lower BP, versus a tighter butt. Ya think?

  28. Great post, Miz! I will have to think about the mission statement. It sounds like a good idea, but since I tend to get a little obsessy, I need to think about it to see if it would help or hurt.

    Re: abs. I totally agree with you about the kitchen. Makes totaly sense, you know? I also don’t do crunches but often get complimented on my abs (when my food has been good.) I suppose the same could be said about other areas of your body. You can do all the squats in the world but if your food isn’t right, you are still going to be jiggly. So I guess your ass can be made in the kitchen, too! **off to the kitchen**

  29. annette? The tank is from BePresent.com

    Let em know I sent ya 😉 mightcould garner you a discount!

    And dieting ninja? So.My.Issue.
    The quote thing
    I adore words.
    And am *prideful enough* to wanna BE the one quoted…not the one quoting.

    (Please to NOW refer back to my goals are dreams with timelines. It’s a dream ;))

    Charlotte? I 100% agree with yer abstatement. When I competed I had zero sixpack.

    There is *such* a genetic component there as we’ve all see the woman with a stomach to die for who can simultaneously carry some extra weight other places.
    Places where even if we lost it—–we’d never have those fab abs.
    Thanks for the reminder.

    Chris? So true. My things (ahhh vagueness o’the Miz) I’m working on now aren’t fitness related but, at the core (wink), its ALL THE SAME.

    Tricia2? Sheet of muscle. *sigh* color me jealous.

    And I’ve read yer blog.
    You’re already a badass as well.

    (And yep. I know I’ve skipped some of you—-saw the comments come in but couldn’t read as I thumb typed ;))
    Miz.

  30. I can relate to the first e-mailer. My problem comes from wanting everything. I want to lose fat and build muscle mass, and I know I need to do weight lifting and cardio to accomplish this. But I want to do yoga and Pilates because I feel like I get other benefits from those activities, and I enjoy them. But it’s hard to fit it all in.

    I’d say I’m still floundering around a bit, but doing my best to at least get in the workouts – whichever type they may be. Whatever else I want, I guess the number one goal is to be healthy and feel good. I’m hoping that, eventually, the rest of it will fall into place.

  31. I flounder too but I think my problem is motivation. I am fine once I get going but actually getting started is so hard for me.

    I really like your idea on having a mission statement, I could use that in a lot of areas in my life.

  32. My hubby wrote his life mission statement long ago and shared with me. I loved it… yet never did one myself. And REALLY like the fitness mission statement. I’ve always made a race goal my mission; without a race I had no direction. But right now, with no race in sight I need something to pin my effort to. Aha! Doesn’t have to be a race!

  33. Well, at the risk of making my blog name completely inaccurate, I may just have to come up with a fitness mission statement (and maybe some other ones too!).

  34. I don’t usually have an overarching fitness mission statement, but I like to sign up for various races (triathlons mostly) and then set a time goal and train with that in mind, so it changes periodically! A life Mission Statement? Hmm…I think I could use one of those, it’s going to take some thought.

    Wholeheartedly agree that ab definition is directly proportional to the foods that are consumed! At home I like to sit on my exercise ball to watch television or while I am on the computer as it is a great way to subtly work the core without doing crunches!

  35. this is kind of a fitness blog (though I like to think of it as greater than that. In that fitness impacts our WHOLE self.) & the emailer was asking a *fitness* question but, again in my opinion, the life mission statement is a key piece to doing the fitness.

    Identifying your overarching goals is *crucial* to being able to identify the smaller pieces (fitness, spirituality etc) which contribute to that goal or mission.

    M.

  36. I think Erica already hit on what I wanted to say. As long as you know what you’re long term goals are (losing weight & gaining peace for example) then variety can be a great thing! Especially since most of us are going to get bored with the same ‘ol routine (not to mention that your muscles get “bored” as well, right?). I think the person just needs to take a deep breath and realize that doing different (even vastly different) can be ok. You just need to challange yourself (although not too much) and move your body! (now I picture my terrible version of dancing aka flailing around the room….hehe).

    Why can’t we have these insights when we look at our own lives and routines by the way? 🙂

  37. Making a mission statement is a great idea for me! I’m struggling with the transition from training hard for a marathon and focusing on performance goals to training to maintain what I have and stay healthy for the baby. It’s a whole different mindset, and I’m having a hard time with it. Time will tell, I suppose…

  38. I keep going back and rereading these lines:

    What would your *ideal* end result of this endeavor be/look like (if by end you mean at life’s end—–which I do because we’re not stopping once we start down this healthy path.)?

    I need them. “At life’s end” is going to be what I whisper to myself whenever I become too focused on the trees (no, I’m not referring to you, thighs o’ mine, it’s metaphorical).

  39. What a fantastic idea! I definitely need to do a fitness mission statement, because I do let my work-outs slide off the priority list when things get crazy.

  41. This has me thinking. I do have running goals but I don’t have a fitness — or anything, really — mission statement.

    Reading your response and all of these comments has made me think that this is something I can and would like to do!

  42. Thanks for the ab video- I’ll link to it for all of the Ab Challenge participants. It goes along nicely with the tips I posted yesterday. Luckily I am one of those genetically blessed in that I don’t carry extra weight in my midsection, so it doesn’t take much for me to gain definition. Which is why I’m not motivated to work my abs. So my mission statement for the Challenge has unofficially been to work my abs to have a stronger core that will improve my lower back pain, and help me in my running.

    I will definitely have to think more about an actual fitness mission statement, though. I’ve thought about why I run, but never in an official “something to fall back on when times are rough” kind of way. I’m all about focusing on behaviors as goals, rather than numbers or sizes (example- I will work out 4 times per week, and eat 5 fruits and veggies daily, rather than I want to lose XX pounds or wear a size YY). It’s easier to “achieve” or check off the behaviors; the rest can be a desired end result, but I don’t think of it as a goal. Does that make any sense at all?

  43. felice, life can feel so overwhelming (ok, mine. I won’t drag you into this) and while in the SHORT TERM writing mission statements can feel like another item on an already lengthy to-do list in the LONG TERM it makes day to day living so much LESS OVERWHELMING.

    Simply less stressful when you’re living with a purpose & a plan.

    A backdrop to your life if you will….

    Miz., who, yes, was once a career counselor 😉

  45. I am with you 100% in regards to the abs. I never do them unless it is right before a vacation where I will be in a bathing suit 90% of the time. It isn’t that I don’t want to or don’t see any benefit to it, I just simply think I have better things to do with my time. I honestly feel that my abs are getting worked out when I am on the elliptical, doing pushups, swimming, cycling, etc. To get to the point of having closer to 6-pack-abs, I need to mainly shed a pound (or 5) not do more crunches. And even then, if I want major definition, I have to put in at least 3 10-20 minute ab sessions a week. On top of all the exercising I already do, I just do not feel like taking on another 30-60 minute task of working out.

    but that is just me. 🙂

    sweets&sweats.wordpress.com

  46. I love the idea of a personal fitness mission statement. AWESOME. I love reading your blog and all the great advice you have. I’m going to forward this on to a few people who I know could benefit from this as well.

    I’ve missed ya, but I’m back! 🙂

    IzzyBeth

  48. I’ve never considered a fitness mission statement. But your post had gotten me to think about what motivates me to regularly work out and fight (and some times lose) the food battle. I must confess I’m not as deep and thoughtful as some of the Bumbling Band.

    My missions/goals/motivations are to fight the family genetics — super sized thighs, AMPLE arses and back meat; and to not look (or act, some would say) my biological age — oh, and to have the ex-hub kick himself when our paths cross. Shallow end of the pool?? Probably, yes. But it gets me out of the bed every morning.

    Maybe the life mission statement is the one that needs my immediate consideration….

  49. and can it be, Kellie?

    The shallow end, I mean.

    Or is it simply and end if it’s *your* pool?

    (Um, if by pool you mean fitness mission statement which this braindeadMizFit does)

    Miz.

  50. What amazing advice to the emailer. I never would have dreamed of putting a personal fitness mission statement together. Brilliant.

    My advice to the emailer would be to BE REALISTIC. There is nothing worse than saying “I will do X number of workouts per week” and then failing to hit that number the 2nd or 3rd week, and then you feel like a failure. Goals are fine–being rigid and feeling like you blew your week b/c you only made 4 of your 5 planned workouts is whacked.

    And I can say this because I’ve put myself in exactly that position. And promptly popped myself in the head with a DOH! at how stupid it is to bemoan 4 workouts in one week.

    Also? Agree with the consensus of your rockstar abs. Yes indeed, if my body fat were reduced to below 20%, I’m certain muscles would appear in my stomach region. As it is, they are under a layer of mommy fat right now. I’m working on it.

    And finally, thank you Miz for checking in on me. It made me feel all warm & fuzzy seeing your comment this morning. =)

  51. I agree with Erica (#7) and Diana (#36). Change the word “floundering” to “planned variety”.

    Every day of the week is different for me, all with the goal of maintaining my tough-broad credentials. My week looks like this:

    Monday: day off scheduled exercise, but I walk and bike my errands.

    Tues: Spin class

    Wed: Weight room. Combo of strength training and conditioning exercises; includes med ball slams, gymnastics, pull-up burpees.

    Th: Bootcamp, which is whatever our evil leader makes us do that day:sprints, bearcrawls, etc.

    Fri: Weight room; emphasis on bodyweight exercises such as pull-ups, glute-ham raises, etc.

    Sat: Bootcamp with kids, which is more fun than the Thursday “hardcore” bootcamp. We do fireman drags, jumprope, crab walks with the kids sitting on us, etc.

    Sun: Maximum effort strength training; deadlifts, squats, etc. I totally exhaust myself, knowing that I have Mondays off to recuperate.

    I do lots of biking and walking throughout the week as well, not really to exercise, but as a form of transportation.

  52. Golly what a great post, Miz!!! I’m totally down with the mission statement thing, and I intend to try it. Except mine would probably end up being: “Just do SOMETHING.”

    It’s all reminding me of a special “card game” my husband plays with clients: he played it with me almost a decade ago and really focused my life. It didn’t result in a mission statement so much as a strategic plan, which got me see how to get where I wanted to go and to take the steps, some risky, that I needed to take to get there.

    I think I’ll post about the card game soon over at my place. It would take up to much of your valuable comment space!!!


  53. rockstar, laura? youre kind. the Toddler Tornado does, however, ADORE that Im a living Star Bellied Sneech.

    (we HEART the Seuss up in herre)

    Thanks Dragonmama! I love your wordswitch suggestion (and am waiting to see if our emailer shall out herself as you/erica/diana may be on to something far more than I)

    Melissa? LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU POST THE GAME—I wanna link it.

    Miz.

  54. I love this post.

    I love my running, but I’m finding that training for a marathon is renewing my interest. Also, my fairly new blog about running. Setting goals and reflection are definitely great ways to spark up a fitness routine.

    I do abs every day. I’ve been obsessed with them since the insecure years of middle school. I mix up the ab exercises so that I don’t do the same ones every day. Right now I’m liking the Ultimate Ab Workout for Runner’s, which I do about 2x a week: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-266-12415-0,00.html

    I like those moves because they work the whole core and sometimes other body parts as well.

  56. I’m thinking this fitness mission statement-thing is exactly what I need, my friend. I’ll definitely have to do some thinking on it…

  57. “Creating a personal fitness mission statement will solve your problem in that once you’ve mapped out for what youre striving you can then plan your routine accordingly.”

    SO TRUE.

    I want to be strong and flexible, so I focus on pilates and on weight lifting. Granted, I could do more aerobics, but this works for me and I’ve been doing it for 15 years now.

  58. Oh, no mission statements for me. Much like TA up top, they make me NUTS. Plus if I don’t adhere to it PERFECTLY, ALL THE TIME, I think I’ve failed. (Yeah, yeah. I’m working on it.) I give myself as few opportunites to “fail” as possible.

    I think the course of action for the first letter writer also depends on WHY s/he’s floundering. Are you bored? Change it up with the “planned variety” idea, above. Are you just someone with a chronically short attention span (like me)? Just commit to one or two things and do them every day, even when you’re tired of them and you want to do something else. Set a specific timeline for this, e.g., “I will run in the park 3 days a week for the next 3 weeks.” Doing that will help build self-discipline, which will help with the floundering.

    My favorite ab workout? Only do this if you have a strong lower back, but: sit on the floor with your knees bent. Cross your arms over your chest. Keeping your back straight, lean back to a 45 degree angle. Keeping your back flat and your abs pulled in tight, rotate your torso (from your waist) back and forth at a brisk pace 50 times. (Right, left, counts as “1.”) Do 100 if you can manage it.

    Not as thorough as some, but it works astonishingly well. That said, even when I was super-thin and did a lot more ab work and had amazing abs, I never had a 6-pack. (I sort of had a 2-pack, though: that line down the middle.) Score one for genetics. 😛

  59. 1-will do.

    2-abs: but doing crunches does help with core strength, right? if someone is perhaps not so worried about the six-pack as the two-toddler-carry?

  60. Seriously, I just found your website…and absolutely LOVE.IT. During the afternoon both my boys nap, so both yesterday and today I’ve spent that time catching up. It’s so GREAT! Better get to my laundry and cleaning now, since I have a few minutes left…but just had to comment and let you know you ahve a new fan out here!!

  61. unrelated to the post above, but if you do indeed live in the part of texas mentioned in the article on tokaiangel’s blog … skirtchaser is coming to you on october 11. 😉

  62. I have been saying over and over I need to get back “into it”, meaning my expensive jeans AND my workout routine. I feel like my extra few I wanted to shed has turned into a toddler worth.

  63. thanks T. is that a challenge to head there and run IN MY DRESS?!

    Methinks I might!

    you coming?

    Miz.

  64. You know, I’ve done a ton of thinking, and a ton of externalizing of all that thought, about this process. I’ve never really tried to condense it into a mission statement though. It shouldn’t be that hard…and maybe if I actually DO it, then on the days when I find myself doubting myself (as in, MUST-urbating) I can look back at it and remember why I’m there, and that it isn’t because of any “musts”.

    Also, lovelovelovelovelove the abs tip. SO true. The hardest, tightest abs in the world don’t do a bit of good if they’re buried under all the fat. Gotta burn the fat to get the flat…sad but true. I do still love me my crunches though. Mostly just because it’s so nice to actually be able to do them now… 🙂

    V.

  65. Here’s my fitness mission:

    Something is better than nothing and nothing is never an option.

    Sounds kind of crazy, I know, but that’s it. Move my butt every day in some way…no matter how busy that day promises to be.

    It has kept me going for two years now. No unrealistic goals or crazy visions of what my body could be — just moving, every day.

  66. I agree with the concept that abs are built in the kitchen as diet can make a huge impact on your weight, but I also try to incorporate some core work to ensure that I have muscle tone.

    I love Dara’s Fitness Mission. I think it’s a great philospohy.

    Also, I did get motivated enough to go to the gym on my lunch break and feel way more energized for it! 😀

  68. We are supposed to think about what we want in regards to workouts? No wonder, I flounder too. I want to be thinner but never really put much thought into it.

    Puts thinking cap on…

    Thanks for the great post!

  69. I know *exactly* what I want from my workouts. *points to fat on butt…GO AWAY!* LOL.

    Thanks for your comment! You sure you have no wizard-hat-while-running-like suggestions for me? Tee hee.

  71. MizFit, the mission statement is an excellent idea, and a great way to focus, really get to the bottom of what our goals/priorities are.

    But then again, you’re always sharing great ideas! 🙂
    Thanks!

  72. Right on, Mizfit. Six-pack abs require loss of body fat. Do all the crunches you want. You will have a rock-solid transverse abdominus. But you will still not be able to use your stomach to scrub clothes if your washing machine ever breaks down. I suggest replacing the 30 minutes of ab work with 30 minutes of cardio.

    As far as strengthening the core, that happens whenever you’re working out. Focus on standing up straight, keeping your posture solid, pulling the stomach in and up. Do that whatever you’re working on. I think my greatest improvements in core strength have come more from cycling than from my core work.

    I do have a core routine (when I have time), though, and it consists of the following: plank, side plank, bird dog, and spinal stability crunches (don’t let your back flex, on those). Those are Stuart McGill’s suggestions to improve spinal stabilization for sport performance. Also? Starting to see the six pack 🙂

  73. I think that you’re absolutely right that we need to begin with the end in mind. What is it that you hope to accomplish from your exercise routine? Do you want to run a marathon? Relieve stress? Tone up so that you look good in a bathing suit? Your goal or mission statement as you put it should determine what form of exercise you choose.

  75. I’ve never thought about developing a personal mission statement, but it makes good sense to me. How do you know if you’ve succeeded if you never had a clear view of what you wanted in the first place? Thanks for the insight!

  76. Words of wisdom from MizFit. For me it”s really important to have it in a context. I made a personal mission statement in the form of Maslow’s hierarchy. At the bottom, the very basic stuff is “First, be a good animal.”

    At the top (actualization part is. you guessed it.

    “No Fear!”

    Cheers,
    Tony

  77. Egads, woman, what have you unleashed upon me?

    I’ve got four pages of scribbled notes, of me trying to come up with a way to categorize my life, dreams, and goals into something even remotely resembling organization.

    Some stuff is easy (well, to write down. the DOING is less easy). But other stuff is so nebulous!

    I’ve been doing a lot of looking on the WikiHow page – they’ve got a lot of good stuff up. But it’s still very nebulous.

    Just doing a fitness statement would be easy, but far be it from me to look at a good idea and then not implement it in as many useful places as I can think of.

    Just wanted to come shake my fist at you like a crochety old man.

    *hugs*

    (p.s. Thank you to jamie for the “and up” portion of the posture suggestion they had. I can FeeeeeeEEeEEel the difference. )

  78. OH NINJA.
    I LOVE WHEN YOU SHAKE YER FIST LIKE A CROTCHETY OLD MAN.

    and I love the word crotchety.

    love.

    Miz.

  80. I must admit i flit from one kind of exercise to another, one week it’s all walking, then it’s walking and weights, then it’s yoga, and i’d love to try pilates!!
    What’s my goal. To be a healthier me, to be less stressed(which is why i like walking), to be more flexible and most of all to be stronger.
    Yep i need to make a mission statement 🙂

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