fbpx Skip to main content
All Posts By

Helen Christine

Oct 26
Love0

How to Set a SMART Fitness Goal

By Blog, Informative

When it comes to fitness, setting the right goals can be the difference between success and falling short. We all know how important consistency is for achieving results, yet many people struggle to stay committed long-term. Research shows that goals aligned with the SMART framework – goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – are far more effective in helping people stay motivated and reach their objectives.

For those seeking to build on an existing fitness routine, a 30% increase in workouts is an ideal target that’s challenging yet manageable, designed to enhance both strength and endurance without overwhelming your schedule. Here’s a look at the research behind why a 30% increase can make a significant difference and how setting this goal can help you stay on track.

The Psychology of SMART Goals and Fitness Success

The SMART goal framework is widely regarded as a proven approach to goal-setting in health and fitness. Goals that are structured around these five principles lead to greater adherence and higher success rates because they help individuals stay motivated, focused, and confident.

Here’s how a 30% increase in your workouts matches each element of the SMART framework:

  • Specific: Increasing your workouts by 30% gives a clear target that’s easy to understand and plan for.
  • Measurable: Tracking each workout is simple, allowing you to monitor your progress over time.
  • Achievable: Research suggests a small, manageable increase is often more sustainable than doubling your workout frequency or setting overly ambitious goals.
  • Relevant: This goal directly aligns with the fitness improvements you’re already pursuing.
  • Time-bound: Focusing on this goal for a set time period, such as a month, gives you a focused window to stay motivated and build a habit of consistency.

Why 30% Is the Right Amount for Consistency and Progress

A 30% increase is both manageable and effective, encouraging sustainable change rather than short-lived bursts of effort. According to a study in the Journal of Health Psychology, individuals who aim for a moderate increase in their physical activity – in the range of 25-35% more than their regular routine – are more likely to maintain their fitness goals than those who attempt to double their activity.

This “small-step” approach aligns with what’s known in psychology as “incremental goal-setting,” which helps build a gradual, confidence-boosting foundation. By seeing steady, measurable progress, you can boost self-efficacy – the belief in your ability to succeed. When you know you can achieve a goal, you’re more likely to stick with it and feel empowered to push further.

Data on Goal-Setting and Long-Term Adherence

Research from the American Psychological Association supports the idea that people who set manageable, incremental goals are more successful in sticking with their routines. A major reason for this success is consistency: achieving a smaller, realistic goal helps maintain motivation, and maintaining that momentum is crucial. A 30% increase in your workouts isn’t overwhelming, making it less likely to disrupt your schedule or lead to burnout.

Achieving Progress with a SMART Plan

Once you decide to add a 30% increase in your workout routine, it’s important to have a strategy in place. Here are some research-backed methods to help you meet your goal:

  1. Break it down into weekly increments: Adding an extra class per week is a simple way to reach your 30% increase without adding too much at once.
  2. Schedule workouts at the start of each week: Studies show that planning ahead and “scheduling” workouts increase the likelihood of attendance and adherence.
  3. Try something new: Adding a new type of class or switching instructors can help maintain your interest and prevent workout boredom.
  4. Find a partner: Partnering up with a friend or classmate provides accountability, which, according to Social Science & Medicine, significantly boosts the likelihood of sticking with your goals.

Building a Foundation for Success

Setting a goal to increase your workouts by 30% isn’t only about enhancing your fitness routine. It’s a chance to set and achieve a SMART goal, reinforcing your confidence and discipline along the way. The commitment to small, sustainable goals helps build healthy, long-lasting habits – an investment that pays off far beyond the immediate boost to your fitness.

Whether you’re getting back into fitness or ramping up your routine, setting a 30% increase goal is a realistic, impactful way to challenge yourself while staying consistent. The science is clear: with the right structure and motivation, meaningful progress is well within reach.

Jun 07
Love0

Dance Fusion Summer Sangria Party

By Event

Join us Thursday, June 29th at 6:30PM!

We’re having a summer sangria party and you’re invited!

Come for our 45-minute Dance Fusion class, stay for tacos catered by Tacomania, with chips, salsa, homemade sangria and sparkling water.

We’ll sweat, shake, and work up an appetite, then we’ll feast on well-deserved street tacos and sip sangria. It’s the perfect Thursday plan!

Cost is is $30 per person: you get class AND tacos for less than our regular drop-in rate!! Current members and intro clients, you pay just $15 (discount automatically applied at checkout). To reserve your spot, please click here.

Mar 21
Love0

How Sore is Too Sore, and what is DOMS?

By Uncategorized

I LOVE feeling sore after a workout. It makes me feel like I accomplished something in my body and am progressing toward my goals. But how sore is TOO sore?

If you’re so sore the day or two after a workout that it hurts to move, keeps you from being active, or hinders your daily activities, you are getting too sore!

If it takes you a week to recover after your workout, it is actually counterproductive to your goals. Studies have shown that muscle soreness does NOT equal muscle growth! And being too sore is a main trigger to fall off your fitness routine. If it hurts, typically we won’t do it!

You’ll hear me say a zillion times, “it’s a partnership, not a punishment.” If your military-style bootcamp or WOD has you feeling wrecked, or if you’ve taken so much time off that the thought of walking into your current gym to pick up where you left off causes anxiety, there IS a better way to approach fitness! This is one of the reasons why Flex programming is for every body, all levels, but it’s still up to you to listen to your body when you’re training with us and do what’s right for you. Newbies to fitness can and should ease into a training program with gradually increasing intensity, but still get all the motivation and inspiration from being in the room with other participants who have been there.

Our instructors are experienced fitness professionals who tailor every single workout to YOU, your body and your goals. How many box gyms adjust their workout plan based on who comes to class? Absolutely zero. This is STANDARD procedure at Flex.

We take the time to ask about injuries, aches and pains, and really get to KNOW who we are working with, so that YOU never feel like you’re in a workout that is absolutely inappropriate for your UNIQUE body. We lead with love, and will give you all of the encouragement and none of the “high school gym-teacher/bully” vibe.

Remember, if you’re new to fitness or coming back after a long time off, you’re going to be a little more sore than usual. This special type of soreness is what we fitpros call DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It’s caused by any type of activity that places load on your muscles that the muscles are not used to.

This type of soreness lessens as you get used to a fitness program or a new routine, and you can experience it again when you level up to heavier weights, longer workouts, increased volume or increased intensity. Things you can do to deal with DOMS:

warm baths

massage or massage gun

foam rolling or myofascial release balls

liniment or muscle rubs

extra protein in your diet, especially supplementing with BCAAs (branched chain amino acids)

extra sleep

And above all, moving! DOMS can be alleviated by light walking, stretching, and moving your body. It’s caused by microtears in the muscle, and is considered a low level (level 1) muscle strain, so helping to move blood and fluid out of the muscles with movement can make the soreness go away faster. DOMS soreness peaks about 72 hours after exercise, so if you find yourself more sore on day 2 or 3 post-workout, there’s a good chance you are experiencing DOMS!

 

Feb 13
Love0

My Journey Into Self Love

By Blog

Your value is not based on size, weight, or appearance, no matter what society tries to dictate. Love your body and everything it is capable of.

While I totally recommend making healthy choices to take care of your human body, your mental state, and your emotional state, please be aware that size is not necessarily an indicator of health. There are times in my life I was at my “ideal” weight, just as there are times that I thought I had the “ideal” body composition. Looking back on those times, the story my body told was very different than what was going on in my head.

Most of those times when I was “ideal” physically, I was in a horrible headspace. I was an exotic dancer for almost 17 years, a job that focused on being physically perfect. I began equating self-worth with the dollar amount I was bringing home every night. Exercise became like a drug to me. I was overtraining and obsessively counting calories and macros, and even experimented with performance steroids. Looking back, I suffered injury after injury, was under an insane amount of unhealthy stress, in unhealthy relationships, and suffering in a job that no longer served my happiness and well-being. What I put my body through might have looked amazing on the outside, but I never even bothered to take many photos. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough, and that I needed to be thinner, more muscley, more fit. I focused so much on what the outside looked like, and not at all on what was going on inside. I hated myself.

Looking back at the pictures I do have, all I can think is that it was my very sad impulse to control something in my life when many other things felt out of control and unacceptable. I built up layers of muscle as a sort of physical armor against feeling anything on the inside. It’s no surprise that ultimately this approach didn’t work, and left me broken physically and exhausted emotionally. Looking back on those pictures, I have nothing but tender empathy for that girl and her struggle.

If I could go back in time and tell my younger self one thing, it would be to focus on building a better relationship with myself. Some lessons are better learned late than not at all. Focus on finding a happier and healthier version of yourself on the inside, and those desired outer changes will follow. When you are in a good place mentally and emotionally, you take care of the physical much better. You become a steward of your own body’s health because you have self-love, and not because you view exercise as a punishment you somehow deserve.

I turned 43 last week. I’ve had a kid. I have stretch marks, sagging skin, and wrinkles, and I’ve never loved myself more. Believe me when I tell you this with my whole heart: once you start working on yourself, your whole life will transform, not just your body. I’m grateful to be where I am today, for everything my body can do and has done in the past. The key to everything was learning to love myself on the inside, along with all the quirks and imperfections that make me unique.

Change never happens overnight, and is usually never easy. You don’t have to pressure yourself to have all your ducks in a row, not right now, or even for this whole year. One of the hardest things for me was finding myself, my true self, and loving myself fiercely no matter what. I still fall off once in a while, because I’m human. And now I give myself the great gifts of grace and love even on bad days or through bad weeks.

If you have a good therapist that is a great start. Having a good personal trainer or a safe space to work out in, with knowledgeable instructors who don’t promote toxic body composition or weight loss goals, is an excellent step. I know taking those first steps is hard, maybe one of the hardest things you can ask of yourself. You don’t have to climb the whole mountain in one go. Just focus on taking that first step.

 

Mar 19
Love0

Nutrition Basics Seminar

By Announcement, Event, Workshop

Is butter a carb? How much fat should I be getting in my diet? What’s the difference between ketosis and calorie restriction? We’ll dive into the three main macronutrients, protein, fat, and carbs, and their role in the body. We’ll learn how to calculate basal metabolic rate and how many calories you should be taking in, tailored to your lifestyle and activity level. We’ll also talk about special topics in nutrition, such as the high protein diet, keto, and other popular strategies for fat maintenance and loss. If your workouts are on point but you’re struggling with the nutrition part of it, this seminar is perfect for you! Come see why this seminar was unanimously voted the highlight of our Intro to Strength series we did last October. Please bring a calculator or be prepared to use the calculator app on your phone, notebook, and pen. Sunday, April 11th, from 3-4:30 PM. $40 before 4/4, $50 after. 10{4089a0bf7b40eacc5af059cbcccc6b9244a88eddd0378de36fbeb74437536f4d} off for VIPs. We will be Zooming this live from the studio, so you can choose the best option for you at this time. If you are planning on attending in person, please send us an email so we can reserve a spot in the studio. Due to our capacity restrictions, studio seating is limited and available to those who are first to email after booking.

Sign up here.

Close Menu