Those two little words: In Shape. They mean different things to different people and they are a source of many emotions. Maybe you think back to when you played on a sports team, or competed in high school or college. Maybe it’s when you hit a certain running PR or lifted a certain amount of weight. Maybe it’s when you fit in a certain piece of clothing.
What does In Shape mean?
According to the dictionary, “in shape” is defined as “In a good state of health or physical condition”
That definition is pretty vague and wide open to interpretation, am I right?
According to Rutgers University Exercise Scientist Shawn Arent: “There is no one definition. It can be everything from having low body fat to having good cardiovascular endurance to having muscular strength…to be pain free, stress free, all these things…I really think it depends on what the person’s goals are.”
The truth is it can mean what you want it to mean.
I boiled down the process to five simple steps. Remember simple does not necessarily mean easy. You can use these steps to work toward any goals really.
5 simple steps for getting back in shape
Set a Goal. Identify specifically what “in shape” means to you. Break it down into components. Make your goal measurable so you are aware of the progress you’re making toward it. Is it running a certain distance? Lifting a certain amount of weight? Keeping your heart rate in a certain zone? Fitting into a certain piece of clothing? The ability to play a specific sport? Whatever it is chart your course and define a timeframe.
Embrace Positive Feedback. From here on out commit to staying positive. That means you are not allowed to judge yourself harshly or beat yourself up if you fall short in any way. Each time you succeed, follow that up with gratitude. Acknowledge yourself for the effort you made in showing up. A supportive community isn’t mandatory but it sure can be helpful.
Start Small. As a coach I see this daily. People come barreling out of the gates, brimming with enthusiasm, only to burn out or get injured. Don’t overwhelm yourself with needing to do all the things all at once. Focus on one aspect of getting in shape and be consistent with it. Be flexible with your goal so you can scale up when you’re feeling great and scale back on days you’re tired or extremely busy.
Celebrate all victories, no matter how small. Encourage yourself for any and all positive actions. Maybe your workout didn’t happen at the crack of dawn but you ended up getting a shorter one done later in the day. That’s a win! Own it! Acknowledging success can be as simple as checking off your accomplishment on your calendar. There’s something very motivating about charting your progress, no matter how small.
Practice Getting Back on Track. Life happens and it’s inevitable you’ll fall off track from time to time. Rather than beating yourself up over it, practice compassion. This doesn’t mean make excuses. Learn from it, move to Plan B and adjust your sails going forward.
What does “In Shape” mean to you? What steps do you take to get there?
I’m linking up with Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Mile by Mile, Runs with Pugs , and Laura Norris Running for the Runners’ Roundup linkup!
I’m linking up with Darlene, Michelle, Renee, Jenn and Zenaida, for Fit Five Friday. Join us!
I love these steps, Marcia, because they focus so much on having a positive attitude. And your steps work for any kind of goal – not only fitness goals.
Your “start small” step reminded me of a Spanish class I once took. Day 1 and all 20 students were on board, raring to go. Three weeks later, there were only three students left – most had lost their enthusiasm.
That’s why I think your step 5 is so important – learn to get back on track!
Definitely good ideas. Whether it relates to fitness or running.
For me, in shape means I can do what I want to to be active. Go for a long walk, hike, run or finish a race.
Now I’ve starting planking. Up to 60 sec. lol.
So many of us have been tested this year–it’s been a challenge to stay ‘in shape’. It was all about maintenance for me; I kind of fell off the wagon in February, but I’m working on getting back to form.
celebrating small victories along the way is great positive feedback and encouragement for me. The victories may not be what you thought they would be!
All good steps for getting in shape. I particularly like “practice getting back on track”. I frequently hear people say how they got off track with either eating right or working out and so then they feel like it’s game over.
I’m not quite sure I know what in shape means. I don’t think I’ve really thought about it in a long while!
Baby steps is always the way to go. I took it really slow with running again after not running for 3 weeks in January & that seems to have paid off.
I like that you indicate that goals can be so different. It really makes something like “getting back in shape” so much more accessible.
For me, getting in shape is being active and feeling strong. I don’t really have a hard, quantitative definition.
I think starting small is so important. I think we’re so used to instant gratification that we want to do everything so quickly, but we have to learn to be patient by starting out small and taking baby steps to our goal.
“In shape” is a great state of mind. It’s really a challenge because it’s so personal. Coming back from my stress fracture has been challenging in taking things slow enough to completely heal but keeping the focus on what’s next (without my usual full schedule of races). Running a decently paced run this morning (after a relatively short recovery period), reinforced things are on track. And, I beat the rain LOL
I think starting small is so important. So many people have an all or nothing mindset which can lead them to give up because they can’t follow through with the plan.
These are all great tips! Whenever I come back to from after an injury, it’s slightly demoralizing to go out and run slowly for one mile (or whatever.). I like the concept of celebrating all victories- important to acknowledge progress, rather than comparing yourself to where you used to be.
I love your encouragement to celebrate all victories, no matter how small. When I have a fitness goal in mind, I get impatient. If I don’t meet the goal in a specified amount of time, I get frustrated. Of course, the amount of time is completely arbitrary, specified only by ME. I need to learn to give myself a little grace.
As a trainer and coach, I see people all the time that really don’t even know what “in shape” means to them. I try to help them figure them out, which can be harder than you’d think. I’m currently working with a 16-year-old who is about 5′ tall and busty whose goal is to look like a 6′ tall skinny Instagram model. Trying to find achievable goals is really important.
Celebrating my victories, big and small, was a huge lesson in my just-ended marathon training. I had so many poor runs and bad days that I really learnt to embrace those days that were good.
Starting small is so important! You can always build up but starting with too much can lead to a quick setback.
Great tips! I definitely think it’s important to take it one step at a time and focus on one thing…it can be overwhelming if you’re trying to change too much to try to get back in shape.
I love this Marcia – especially the importance of starting small and celebrating all victories! We can be so hard on ourselves and it is easy to lose sight of all the small wins that add up to something much bigger.
Great post! These steps are great and apply to many things and not just to stay in shape. To be being in shape is being healthy and not tied to a weight number. I cannot stand when I see that being in shape means when someone weighs 130 or 140 lbs. I love when you say that life happens. That is very true. Like many people I had many goals/plans last year and we know what happened. I start again. February was awful for me for running. So now I start again this month.
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with things like “getting into shape” it’s so so so very important to define what that means to YOU rather than what that means to everyone else! and once you figure that out it’s a game changer! My definition of in shape has more to do with my comfort level (in my own skin/body) than it does being a specific weight. But for others weight is an indicator. Or being in shape means running at a certain pace or comfort level. Or endurance. Your post is a great reminder that it’s important to define this for ourselves and make sure to set realistic goals and celebrate success along the way. I have a real hard time celebrating successes and being positive. I’m not negative but I don’t generally shout from the rooftops what my successes are.