Dr. James Beckermand and his wife, Stacie, celebrate at the Portland Marathon. Check out any road-racing calendar[1] and you'll see why Dr. James Beckerman finds Oregon such a fitness friendly state. On Jan. 1, 2014, alone, 3-kilometer or 5-kilometer runs are set for Portland, Eugene and Salem. Jan. 4 holds three more races in Tigard, Newport and Forest Grove. Charge into summer and Beckerman counts 183 walks, runs or half marathons.
"For every level of ability and every type of interest," says the Providence Heart and Vascular Institute[2] cardiologist, "there is some organized way to demonstrate what you've accomplished."
Aiming for a specific event, he says, is among the best ways to get and stay motivated and to make exercise, that critical element of good health, part of everyday life.
Beckerman developed a Providence-sponsored program called Heart to Start[3] , which offers training programs for people of nearly any fitness level. Many of those who participate – the program is open to the public, not only Providence patients – meet at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at Southwest Portland's Duniway Park[4] track for a little health education and a dose of group training. Others simply use the website's 5K, 10K or half-marathon training plans on their own.
We asked Beckerman for five tips for starting or reinvigorating an exercise regimen and he wrapped his advice in a mnemonic: S.M.A.R.T.
The S stands for specific.
"When people make a vague or generalized commitment," he says, "then the result is often vague or generalized and not effective."
He suggests that instead of saying, "I will exercise more this year," you consider identifying a specific goal, such as, "I will run the 5K event at the Heart Breaker run on Feb. 16, 2014."
M is for measurable.
Find measurable ways to ensure you're taking the steps to reach your goal.
The Heart to Start program gives participants specific training regimens that change day to day, the intensity increasing incrementally as runners or walkers grow more fit. Progress is measurable, or, as Beckerman puts it, "You know what you need to do to get to the endpoint."
A is for attainable and R is for realistic. Beckerman says it's important to know the difference.
"I tend to believe," he says, "that anybody who can walk can complete a 5K." That's attainable. But some folks may be shy on time for training or have such physical limitations as a bad back or aching knees. "For someone in that situation," he says, "they should pick a different goal that would be realistic to accomplish."
T is for time-based.
Beckerman says that open-ended goals are easy to push back into next week or next month. You can always start tomorrow, right? Trouble is, many won't.
"When you have a time-based framework to your goal," he says, "you're accountable in a way you weren't previously." That framework gives your goal some urgency and you might think: "I can do anything for 30 days."
Sounds S.M.A.R.T., right? Beckerman likes to add one more consonant, ER, as in smarter, and that last bit, he says, stands for repetition.
"As you make your goals," he says, "think about what your next goal will be. Even as you cross the finish line, think about what your next goal will be." It might be a bike ride or joining a Zumba class.
Whatever you do, don't stop moving. "Fitness and health go away," Beckerman says, "if you don't stick with them."
-- Katy Muldoon
References
- ^ road-racing calendar (www.runningintheusa.com)
- ^ Providence Heart and Vascular Institute (oregon.providence.org)
- ^ Heart to Start (oregon.providence.org)
- ^ Duniway Park (www.portlandoregon.gov)
No comments :
Post a Comment