Healthy Living • YMCA Health and Fitness
Why you should keep a wellness journal
22 August 2016 - by Nicole Meredith
Every time you do something active, you make progress. Even if you felt sluggish for your entire run, or you had the worst dance class ever, just showing up and putting in the time did make a difference. The problem is, it rarely feels like that. A few “meh” workouts in a row can make you feel like you’re not even just plateauing, but actually taking steps backward.
Documenting your workouts — and anything else to do with your wellbeing — can help you push through those tough moments and stick with your healthy living resolutions.
Here are a few of the many benefits of keeping a wellness journal:
1. It keeps you accountable.
The days when you don’t feel like working out, or are tempted to cut things short, are actually the days when you need to be active the most. Use your journal to plan your workouts in advance, or commit to writing down what you actually did after you leave the gym. That way, you have an incentive to go all out; you know you’ll be looking back on this workout later, and you’ll want to be proud of yourself for pushing through.
2. It helps you stay realistic.
SMART goals should challenge you and test your willpower, but they also need to be attainable. Tracking your progress in your journal can help you identify slowdowns that could mean altering your game plan (by hiring a personal trainer, changing up your exercise routine, or teaming up with a gym buddy). Or, if it becomes clear that your initial goal is simply unrealistic, you can stop the chase that would have left you feeling discouraged, and make a new goal that you know — based on the hard data from your journal — you’ll be able to attain.
3. It’s a source of inspiration.
After you’ve kept your journal for a few weeks, you’ll have a record of every awesome workout you had, as well as the ones in between that let you build up the strength you needed to break through to your next level. Looking back through your log and literally seeing the progress you’ve made will help you recognize how far you’ve come — even if you haven’t quite yet reached your goal.
For many people, the start of September is like a “second new year.” Resolving to start a wellness journal, or improve the record-keeping you already do, can help you feel refreshingly inspired and motivated, just like you do when you set a New Year's resolution. If you're not sure how to get started, check back next Monday, when I'll list the variety of wellness habits you can track in your journal.
Documenting your workouts — and anything else to do with your wellbeing — can help you push through those tough moments and stick with your healthy living resolutions.
Here are a few of the many benefits of keeping a wellness journal:
1. It keeps you accountable.
The days when you don’t feel like working out, or are tempted to cut things short, are actually the days when you need to be active the most. Use your journal to plan your workouts in advance, or commit to writing down what you actually did after you leave the gym. That way, you have an incentive to go all out; you know you’ll be looking back on this workout later, and you’ll want to be proud of yourself for pushing through.
2. It helps you stay realistic.
SMART goals should challenge you and test your willpower, but they also need to be attainable. Tracking your progress in your journal can help you identify slowdowns that could mean altering your game plan (by hiring a personal trainer, changing up your exercise routine, or teaming up with a gym buddy). Or, if it becomes clear that your initial goal is simply unrealistic, you can stop the chase that would have left you feeling discouraged, and make a new goal that you know — based on the hard data from your journal — you’ll be able to attain.
3. It’s a source of inspiration.
After you’ve kept your journal for a few weeks, you’ll have a record of every awesome workout you had, as well as the ones in between that let you build up the strength you needed to break through to your next level. Looking back through your log and literally seeing the progress you’ve made will help you recognize how far you’ve come — even if you haven’t quite yet reached your goal.
For many people, the start of September is like a “second new year.” Resolving to start a wellness journal, or improve the record-keeping you already do, can help you feel refreshingly inspired and motivated, just like you do when you set a New Year's resolution. If you're not sure how to get started, check back next Monday, when I'll list the variety of wellness habits you can track in your journal.
