Let’s talk about the process you may go through to make exercise a priority in your life. What you may be experiencing are the 5 Stages of Change. Crazy right!? There’s FIVE STAGES when it comes to making a decision about a change and they are...
Stage 1: Precontemplation = this is the stage where you have no intention of changing.
Stage 2: Contemplation = Now you’re thinking about becoming more active in the next 6-months.
Stage 3: Preparation = You’ve begun exercising occasionally and planning on being a regular exerciser the next month.
Stage 4: Action = You have now started exercising but you’re not yet maintaining.
Stage 5: Maintenance = Finally, you’ve maintained this change for 6 months BUT you’re still tempted to return to old habits.
These stages of change may make it seem like it’s not worth even bothering to make that change but there are ways that will help you to work through them. For example, there is ‘Consciousness Raising’. To achieve this you’ll want to work on increasing your awareness about the healthy behavior you’re implementing by doing some online research looking for reputable sites for information, e.g., if you’re interested in CrossFit check out crossfit.com, or find someone in the industry, check out ACE Pro. Options like these will help to educate you and possibly even INSPIRE you!
More examples include:
● Dramatic Relief - this is an emotional arousal about the health behavior, whether positive or negative arousal.
● Self-Reevaluation - a self-reappraisal to realize the healthy behavior is part of who you want to be. You want to be that person that has your weekly workouts on their schedule, right!?
● Environmental Reevaluation - what is the social reappraisal? This helps you to realize how your unhealthy behavior affects others. Has your kid ever begged you to play and you just aren’t up for it?
● Social Liberation - look for the environmental opportunities that exist to show society is supportive of the healthy behavior you’re trying to realize.
● Self-Liberation - now we’re at the commitment part, committing to change behavior based on the belief that achievement of the healthy behavior is possible. It is - you got this!
● Helping Relationships - look for supportive relationships that encourage the desired change, i.e., spouse, kids, friends, co-workers
● Counter-Conditioning - look at substituting healthy behaviors and thoughts for unhealthy behaviors and thoughts.
● Reinforcement Management - give yourself a reward for the positive behavior and work on reducing the rewards that come from negative behavior.
● Stimulus Control - Re-engineer your environment with reminders and cues that support and encourage the healthy behavior and remove those that encourage the unhealthy behavior. Put those post-its on the mirror with encouraging quotes and remove the potato chips from the pantry (out of sight, out of mind right?).
If you’re looking for more support getting through these Stages of Change reach out to us today. At CrossFit Allure we offer free consultations and classes for our CrossFit, Personal Training and Nutrition classes. We will help you pinpoint what stage you’re in and navigate through to success.
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