Establishing realistic fitness goals is the first step toward improving your physical health. What comes next? Track your progress to stay motivated and achieve those goals.
The method you choose to track progress should align with your specific fitness goals, as physical wellness includes various aspects like fitness, nutrition and daily habits. Consider three tools to help you track your progress in strength, endurance, flexibility or cardiovascular health.
1. Mobile Apps
Another effective tool to track progress is mobile apps. Many smartphone apps can help record exercises and fitness milestones, allowing users to monitor their consistency over time. You can gain valuable insights into your routines by regularly logging workouts and tracking habits and nutritional choices.
Many fitness apps also offer graphs and charts that allow users to visualize their progress over time, creating more awareness for achievements. You can involve your church members by establishing a shared visual tracking board where everyone’s participation is encouraged and progress is celebrated. This combination of individual and community tracking can inspire everyone to stay engaged and motivated on their journeys.
2. Health Assessments
Scheduling an annual visit with your doctor is a key step in maintaining physical wellness. Physical exams provide an opportunity to check on your overall health and evaluate critical health markers, such as:1
These assessments provide valuable information about your physical health and can help you adjust your wellness goals. For instance, if blood tests reveal high cholesterol levels, your doctor can recommend changes such as increasing cardiovascular activity or dietary changes. Reviewing these tests can help you stay informed about your health, understand your risk for heart disease2 and develop an effective routine. Check out preventive care that may be covered at no additional cost through your health plan.
You can also conduct self-assessments for measurable benchmarks, such as timed runs or increasing workout intensity.
3. Wearable Devices
Wearable devices such as fitness trackers or smartwatches can play a helpful role in tracking your physical activity. By providing real-time feedback, they make it easier to adjust behavior to stay on track. They offer gentle reminders to move, stretch or practice deep breathing during stressful moments. Some apps sync with wearable devices to review your progress over time and adjust wellness plans accordingly. Wearable devices can help keep track of:
Some models even offer apps for tracking nutrition, hydration and stress management.
Reflect on your progress and make necessary adjustments. If a particular exercise isn’t producing results, it’s essential to assess why and consider an alternate approach for long-term success, consistency and resiliency.
Tracking wellness progress is more than identifying areas for improvement. It’s also about celebrating wins. Take time to celebrate when you reach key milestones, such as completing a month of consistent walking, attending a month of fitness classes or drinking enough water. These small victories can be acknowledged with simple rewards, such as a day off. Celebrating success encourages further growth and sustainability in wellness efforts.
Prioritizing physical wellness is a vital aspect of serving your ministry. You can take positive steps toward better health by setting clear, measurable goals and tracking your progress. You will have the strength and energy to fulfill your calling for years to come.
Start your journey today by finding a method that suits your daily routine. Need help getting started? Try the GuideStone® Wellness Challenge! For more information about health plans designed for ministry, contact us at Insurance@GuideStone.org or 1-844-INS-GUIDE (1-844-467-4843), Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.
GuideStone welcomes the opportunity to share this general information. However, this article is not intended to be relied upon as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
1Health.ClevelandClinic.org/why-you-need-an-annual-physical-and-what-to-expect
2My.ClevelandClinic.org/health/articles/11920-cholesterol-numbers-what-do-they-mean
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