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2006/05/18, 03:30 PM
How fitting this should show up after I had a discussion at my gym as to why I carry around a notepad. How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been? I think I'm the only one in my gym with a workout log.... weird....
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Keeping a journal can help fit exercise into daily life
(CP) - Al Charron had always worked out - after all, as part of the Canadian rugby team he had to be in shape. But after an injury, retirement and the arrival of a new baby, going to the gym didn't seem to fit into his daily activities.
"I didn't have to do any training. I wasn't going to be playing for Canada again ... the motivation wasn't there," Charron said from his home in Ottawa where he looks after his 19-month-old son and writes a column for the Rugby Canada website.
"I was in a bit of a rut."
But soon after he hit 300 pounds he heard that his wife and her girlfriend were going to keep a journal of everything they ate and every activity they did. He sniffed competition in the air, and that was enough for him to tell his wife that he'd do the same thing.
By keeping a diary of his activity levels and his eating habits, he managed to restart his fitness regime - and lose 25 pounds.
Fredericton-based life coach Susan Cantwell said that while it may seem surprising, many athletes run into fitness problems when they retire.
"When exercise is part of your job it becomes part of your life. When you stop competing (you) have to figure out how do I fit this in my everyday life," she said. "Keeping an exercise log and food log is a great way to show you where you are today and then setting out where you want to be in the future."
The journal shows you where you're going wrong. For example, everyone knows that eating late at night is not the best way to keep weight under control, but until you write it down you may not be aware of just how often you eat after 9:30 p.m.
Keeping a fitness journal also illuminates mini victories, Cantwell added. And those can be powerful motivators.
She recalled how one of her clients wanted to be active for 150 minutes per week. The first week of her log showed her that she managed to fit in five minutes of brisk walking every day. At the end of the week her 35 minutes of activity made her realize that it was only a matter of time before she would reach and then surpass her goal.
Keeping a journal helped Charron realize that lots of the things he did could count as activity, so he didn't feel too guilty about letting his club membership slide.
His knee injury that occurred a few months before the 2003 Rugby World Cup forced him to concentrate on exercises that didn't aggravate the condition - which was made worse by two more injuries to his knee after retirement. So he and his wife decided an elliptical machine in the home would be a good choice.
In addition to clocking time on the machine, Charron realized walking with his son, doing yard work, lifting weights and exercises such as sit-ups and push-ups were all activities he could do as part of life without rugby.
For Charron, the tiny element of competition with his wife and her pal got him started, and still helps him take things a little further every day.
"I play little mental mind games with myself, tell myself I'll do (the elliptical machine) for 30 minutes and then I'll go for 40 minutes."
While he found keeping a journal "a pain," he thinks it helped him in the long run.
Because he was recording everything he started changing his habits. He didn't want to write down that he ate a bag of chips or that he didn't go for a walk.
"It's too convenient to find all the little excuses," until you have to write it all down, he said.
Keeping a journal allows little goals to be celebrated, until they add up to som ething big.
"You don't have to do crazy amounts - run a marathon - to lose weight or get yourself in shape. You can do things slowly and gradually.
© The Canadian Press, 2006
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I am training for birthdays.
Be here. Live. Love. Hope. Now. Faith. Believe. You. - Keith Urban
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