Are you looking at your New Year’s Resolutions in the Rear-View Mirror and they are becoming more and more distant?
2022 is underway, and your resolutions may be in the rear view mirror. If that is you, STOP. Let’s take this in a different direction with a different mindset. If your goal for 2022 is to be healthy, keep reading. If not, hit the delete button. It’s your choice.
Still with me and interested in your health?
What is your goal(s) for 2022? When formulating any goal I always refer to my business days and the SMART goals we use to do routinely.
What does SMART stand for?
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Time-bound
I’ll tell you my goal if you tell me yours
Yes, you can hit the reset button and start again – no shame in that and it’s never too late. What is your goal? Do you have it written down?
I will tell you mine. I want to be able to do 10 unassisted bar pull up by the end of the year. That is specific and measurable. I do believe it’s achievable. It’s relevant to my personal fitness goals and it has a timeframe. It fits the SMART criteria.
Do you know your baseline?
The most important component is knowing your baseline. Where I am RIGHT NOW? Currently, I cannot do an unassisted pullup – not even one. I can do 5 assisted (I use a very heavy band and my husband as my spotter). So I know what I have to do to meet my goal. I must practice and do the assisted pullups daily and try them unassisted each week to see where I am. I also need to do other strength work to help get me to my goal. As my running coach always says, you’ve got to put in the miles.
Your baseline and a number you need to know
Let’s talk about your goal? For fitness and health (I assume that is why you read my blog), I recommend that you know your hip/waist ratio. Why is that important? An increased waist to hip ratio (WHR) is a harbinger for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other medical issues. The weight around your waist or visceral fat, (think apple-shaped body type) makes you more likely to develop health problems compared to people that carry their weight in their hips, glutes, and thighs (think of the pear body type).
In a previous post, I describe how to measure your WHR and what the numbers mean. The link is below and I encourage you to check it out.
Hip to Waist Ratio (WHR) vs. BMI
Hip to Waist Ratio vs. BMI.
I had lots of questions about this after I did a post on WHR. Many people who visit their physician will discuss BMI or body mass index. This is often believed to be THE number to determine if you are at an appropriate weight. The calculation is based on your weight and height. The biggest problem with this measurement is with someone who is very muscular can weigh more because of their muscle. Their weight may be high for their height, thus a higher BMI and sometimes putting them in the obese category. I don’t think that BMI is that helpful compared to WHR. You can calculate your own BMI provided in the link below. The better measure would be body fat. This is done with calipers (not terribly accurate, but can provide a trend), new machines, like those made by InBody, or by water submersion. This is a bit more difficult to determine, but can be helpful. I still think that WHR is a quick and easy baseline number.
If you don’t know you baseline, you will never know if you achieved your goals
The point of this blog is to know your baseline when you set a goal so you are not like Alice in Wonderland asking the Cheshire Cat which way should she go. If you don’t know where you want to go, it doesn’t much matter the direction according to the Cheshire Cat. Or to state it another way, get your head out of the sand (tough love, yes!) and set your SMART goal(s).
Let’s get going, you can do this
If you have a goal, determine your baseline first. Without the baseline, how will you know if you have achieved what you set out to do. If it is a focus on your health, my recommendation is your waistline and HWR is a key baseline measurement that you should know and measure monthly. Remember, you can’t out exercise a poor diet. Combine movement, nutrition, stress reduction and good sleep as the keys to good health. It is possible. You don’t have to look like a model, you need to be healthy.
References
Waist to hip ratio
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319439#how-does-waist-to-hip-ratio-affect-health
A new link for some abdominal spot exercises
Note that in this article that was published on Jan 28th 2022, the author stated that overall weight reduction is necessary to lose the belly fat. Exercise can help tone.
BMI Calculator
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html
