Refreshing Your Movement Routine

As a new calendar year kicks off and a new academic semester begins, we encourage you to take the time to think about how movement will play a role in your routine this year. To help you get started, RecSports fitness experts CieCie Leonard and Annika Naidoo share their tips on how to refresh your movement routine no matter where you are on your fitness journey.

Self-Evaluate

Before you create a plan for reaching your movement goals in 2021, reflect on how you moved in 2020. You’ll find some guiding questions below. We encourage you to put answers in writing to reference when formulating your plan for this year.

• What routine or forms of movement brought me closer to reaching my goals?
• What forms of movement made me feel healthier?
• Did I have a routine?
• What was I able to consistently keep in my routine?
• What made me happier and/or impacted my mental well-being?
• What forms of movement did not serve my goals?

Formulate Your Plan for 2021

Now that you’ve reflected on the past year, here are our tips on things to consider when refreshing your movement routine for 2021.

Use what works and eliminate what does not serve you.

• Establish short and long SMART goals. Here’s an example of a SMART movement goal: Short-term goal: Participate in three movement classes/week. On Monday, I’ll incorporate strength for 15 minutes; on Wednesday, I’ll incorporate 30 minutes of cardio; on Friday, I’ll end my day with a 20-minute yoga practice. Long-term goal: Do 10 push-ups on toes and hands without placing my knees down.
• Keep the movement that helped you get closer to your goals. Set days and times to maintain that movement. Work on increasing either the intensity or duration of that activity.
• If you didn’t have a routine, start small and build from there. Try 10–20 minute long classes that can fit into your schedule. Discover what you feel best doing and what you enjoy most.
• If you tried a form of movement and it brought you negativity and felt like a chore, replace it with something that gets you excited. Choose something that you will look forward to and will get you closer to reaching your goals.

Find your movement routine or add to it.

If you’re looking to ease into a routine, here are three tips to get started.

1. Book a fitness class and add it to your calendar so the time is dedicated specifically to that activity.
2. Think about habit stacking. For example, when you brush your teeth in the morning, once you have completed the task, stack the next habit immediately after. Brush your teeth, then find movement.
3. Start small. Commit to a short time period you can achieve daily or weekly. You can set goals such as: Three days a week before I eat lunch, I will walk for 15 minutes and then have a virtual lunch with a friend.

Assess if you have a well-balanced movement routine.

• The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of movement a week. This can be achieved through strength training, cardiovascular training, and mind/body practice.
• Remember to always incorporate days to rest and recover.
• Set a standard to self-assess each week to see how you can incrementally build to those 150 minutes of movement or even surpass it.

Try Something New
It’s so important to challenge your body with different modes of exercise. Anxious about trying something new? It’s totally normal to feel worried about venturing into new forms of movement. Here are some ways to ease that anxiety:

• Take a class with a friend.
• Do a pre-recorded workout.
• Find an instructor with whom you can relate.
• Do a new form of movement for 10–15 minutes.

No matter how you choose to refresh your movement routine this year, remember that you have a support system and resources available to help you get closer to reaching those goals. On the Forty Acres, you might find the motivation and support you need at Recreational Sports. We invite you to learn more about TeXercise, RecSports’s group fitness program, and our personal training services to work one-on-one or with a buddy.

We can’t wait to see how you’ll refresh your routine this year and watch you crush your goals.

About the Authors

CieCie Leonard is the assistant director for the Fitness & Wellness program at Recreational Sports. CieCie holds an M.S. in Kinesiology and Health Studies from Texas A&M-Commerce and a B.S. in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology from the University of Florida.

Annika Naidoo is a 300 hour yoga certified teacher and life coach. You can join Annika for yoga practice at RecSports through the TeXercise program.