Fitness planners are not as popular as they should be…
One of the reasons could be that most of the people who use them are already the ‘serious’ ones… the ones who are fully committed to their health, fitness and longevity – and able to stick with their routine by relying on a fitness planner as part of their overall strategic approach to the fitness lifestyle.
On the high end – that is only about 15% of the population.
That leaves the other 85% (estimated) of the population unaware that fitness planners even exist. And the “85%” would do very well to take this subtle, simple lesson from the “15%”…
Remember this quote?
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail…”
Fortunately the “plan” and the “planning” part can be very… VERY simple.
You already have access to simple and effective fitness plans on this website (the Free “FIT for LIFE” program, etc) And for the “planning” part – let’s take a look at some examples…
First, it should be noted that in this day and age, with the proliferation of online tools, apps, fitness wearables and other digital gizmos – the concept of the ‘fitness planner’ is just getting more and more complex.
And when things get more complex – people tend to shy away, because human nature is to avoid what is complicated. And rightfully so…
This is why I’m a VERY big fan of ‘simplification’…
And today I’m going to share with you a SUPER simple fitness planning tool, and strategy, that can literally change your life.
Remember the saying; “Out of sight, out of mind…” ?
Well – the opposite is true; “In the line of sight, top of mind…” Are you starting to see where this is going now?…
After posting one of my recent “whiteboard walkthrough” videos, I remembered Karie telling me about her simple fitness planner whiteboard schedule…
So I texted her and asked if she would share a few candid photos so I could create this blog post to show you just how simple your ‘fitness plan’ strategy can be…
So, the neat thing about Karie’s is that she has the schedule/calendar in the center, and each day she fills in what she is going to do, at least a day in advance.
And then, on the sides she has “extras”; such as affirmations, reminders of food choices, positive quotes, etc… which all add substance to the daily “what to do” entries.
That is a brilliant little touch – because we ALL benefit from the constant reminders of why we are doing all the positive things we are doing. We need constant reminders of the benefits we derive from the good things we do.
Some people like to pre-plan the week – while others go one day at a time. There is no right or wrong on that – it simply has to fit your preference, and work for you.
You can think of this as your fitness & health specific “to do” list. “To do” lists are so common, and used often – because they are EFFECTIVE. Simple but effective.
Here’s an cool extra benefit of this type of fitness plan strategy…
When Others Are “Aware” of YOUR PLAN You Increase the Success Factor GREATLY
When you post your plan in place, and way, that other people can see – it let’s them know you’re on a mission. It let’s them know what is important to you – what your priorities are…
And, usually, when people are aware of your plans – they are better able to respect them and support you.
Sometimes you even inspire them to do the same. How cool is that?
Here is What Is Most Powerful About This Type of Fitness Planner
This is sometimes what can make or break fitness success when someone is just getting started.
==> It is hard to miss and hard to ignore. You can’t “forget” your plan when it’s one of the main things you see in your home or office.
And here’s a way to strengthen the effect your whiteboard fitness planner has on your life: Simply take a picture of it with your smartphone. Doing that puts a mini, ‘quick view’ version of your planner right at your finger tips, any time anywhere.
How’s that for blending simple “old school” with modern tech?
Yes – very cool indeed…
This whiteboard approach to fitness plan structure and strategy makes your mission tangible. You are giving it a place in your schedule, illustrating it – and posting it where it is clearly visible, “real” and always there.
It’s not a floating thought, an electronic note, or sitting in an app that you easily forget about… It’s “old school” ink on a board. You write it, you see it, you do it. And the next week, you repeat the super simple process…
What we write down is VERY likely to “get done”. And when you write it into a schedule or day planner – you are essentially “making the time”.
Roll that forward each month and magical results will continue to happen.
Other Fitness Planner Approaches to Consider
With the “out in the open” approach being one of my favorites, there are also some other super simple approaches along the same lines, such as;
1 – a simple plain spiral notebook
2 – an exercise and food journal where daily entries are made the day before, or a few days in advance
2 – index cards that can be re-used and posted on a refrigerator with small magnets
3 – old-school ‘flip page’ monthly calendar, you can post on refrigerator or near desk
4 – the simple calendar on most smartphones (if you use your smartphone calendar a lot, this can work, but if not – then I’d be careful with this one).
It is not uncommon for people to use more than 1 approach to fitness planning. For example, the simple whiteboard, plus the free calendar in a smartphone is a good 1-2 punch combo.
For example, I keep a daily journal handy at all times. Not just for planning my fitness sessions – BUT also for journaling my thoughts, observations, ideas, reflections, etc…. As you know, I’m a writer ( I recently learned Bruce Lee also followed the same innate habit of daily writing too, awesome. More on Bruce Lee in a future post – as his ‘ways’ will surely inspire you and enhance your life.)
While that may go beyond what most people are willing to do, I can tell you this. It has enhanced my life in very subtle but very powerful ways. You’ll be very suprised at what is sitting dormant in your mind, when you start to let in stream out of you, through a pen and onto paper.
[ I use this Moleskine medium notebook for daily journaling, not too big, not too small, travels well and they save well on a book shelf for future reference, family reflection/sharing, etc… ]
I’ll talk more about this in future blog posts for sure – and I’ll share my approach and methods for simplified journaling to improve your life.
The primary key here is that you’re not leaving your fitness plan to chance. You’re not just “seeing what happens” tomorrow in the hopes that you might be able to fit a training sessions in, let alone remember to even do it…
When it becomes second nature, sure, it’s hard to forget your fitness training, BUT, for people who are working toward making fitness second nature, but not being strategic about planning it, makes it far more likely you will be derailed from your positive efforts.
Again, there are some people who do perfectly fine without this type of “out in the open” approach to fitness planning – and keep a more private, less obvious method of daily, weekly and monthly fitness planning methodology.
==> The key is to use the approach that works best for you….
==> Let me know what you use for your ‘fitness planner’ strategy.
==> Do you use the super simple whiteboard approach? Something else? Do you not use anything yet?
