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Health & Fitness

60-Second Streak

“Tick tick tick.  On  your mark!  Get set!  Go!”  Think back.  Back to the beginning of the year.  You were ready to launch into the New Year.  You set goals and you made a grand plan.  Heading into the end of summer, have you accomplished what you set out to do?  Maybe you started your exercise routine off well, but some things have fallen to the wayside because of illness, family events or just plain schedule-glut.

Well, be that as it may – I’d like to strike up a mid-year challenge for you – one that you can turn into a positive habit for you, and keep you motivated:  Create a 60-Second Streak.

Let me explain.  One day a Pilates buddy and I were talking about the importance of balance is in our everyday lives and especially as the years go on.  Contemplating several core exercises, we settled on something we both needed to strengthen; we each had foot injuries from the past.  So we chose a single balance exercise to do for just 1 minute (each foot) every day to overcome the muscle weaknesses and ankle joint instability.

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And when completed, we would send the other a text simply saying “done” to indicate we’d met our goal for that day.  We struck up our accountability pact!  We got the timer out and started our little challenge off by doing the exercise right then together.  Now whenever I get the text, if I haven’t done mine yet that day, it’s my reminder – or it’s that moment when I say to myself – “Darn, she beat me to it today!  I’ll be the first to get mine done next round.”  Even though it’s not really a race, it’s a teeny tiny bit competitive to see who can keep it going.  And the best part is that it’s a competition that has a winning outcome for both of us!

I knew a gal who was determined to master the Pilates Ab Series, a collection of 5 exercises that go in sequence from the Mat repertoire.  At the time she was studying to be a financial planner while balancing her work schedule and life.  Even in the midst of studying, she would ‘un-hunch’ herself from the piles of books to take a study break: she set about doing as much of the Ab series that fit into 3 minutes (okay, so hers was the ‘3-minute streak). Then get up and stretch out a bit, and go back to studying. Just 3 minutes and reaping amazing rewards!  She got off her seat, pumped the blood into circulation, enjoyed a brain-break, and then was refreshed for tackling the next topic. All while pursuing her end goal in manageable piece of her day.

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Ok , so now it’s your turn. Of course, you have to find the exercise or move that makes sense for you and your buddy.  For the 60-Second Streak to be effective it should

  1. Address a specific goal you have in mind; one that you are super-dedicated to making an improvement.  No half-hearted

  • Make the pact with someone who is looking for similar results in doing the activity with you.

  • Choose simple movement that requires no props or few props so that you can do it most anywhere in your environment.

  • Then – don’t break the Streak!

  • You might even find, that you can repeat your 60-second goal more than once a day – just as an added bonus for yourself.  I hope you’ll discover, as I did, that it really mad e difference!

    Encourage and revel in your accomplishment with your buddy or share it with more people and create a support network.  Check in with your friend when you are ready to create a different challenge for your next 60-second streak.  Victory is yours – 60-seconds at a time.

    Share what you’re doing for your 60-Second Streak with us on Facebook.  We’d love to celebrate with you!

    See you in the Studio!

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