Acknowledge your progress
This morning at the gym I did 3 sets of 15 push ups. This in itself is not particularly amazing, but about 6 months ago when I joined the gym after a very long break, I couldn’t even do one push up!
Each time I go to the gym I don’t notice a change since the last time I went. I don’t even notice a change each week, but over time the changes build and become more noticeable. Little by little I can feel the difference in my body.
Simple daily activities, such as walking up a flight of stairs or moving something in the garden are easier than they were a few months ago.
How I’ve done it
I have accomplished this by starting sensibly, having a plan which is achievable and practical, and making sure I don’t overdo it along the way (which increases the risk of injury and set backs).
Science shows us that the longer we maintain a habit, the more likely we are to keep going with it. The health benefits of exercise start straight away, and continue to increase over time.
Even though we know this, it is still difficult to develop a life-long exercise habit. Modern society teaches us to expect instant results with minimal effort. We find it easy to give up and get distracted. This in turn feeds the mindset that it is too difficult or that we are no good at this type of thing.
MyHealthScript helps to build sustainable habits
We have designed MyHealthScript specifically to help people start, develop and maintain life-long healthy activity habits. As we like to say it is “simple, sustainable and supported”.
Here are a few of the ways that MyHealthScript will help you along the way:
Planning
Having a plan is a great way to get started, but it needs to be something which is appropriate and that you are likely to do successfully. For example, going from no exercise at all to 5 days a week at the gym is not a sensible start! We being with a few questions and help you to create a simple plan which you will be able to do right away and will get benefit from.
You can create a new plan whenever you like, and MyHealthScript will keep an eye on your progress and suggest changes as you make progress.
Support
We help to support your progress in 4 ways:
- reminders for planned exercise
- feedback on trends that we observe
- tips and tricks
- regular summaries of your progress with advice
Trends
Over time, MyHealthScript follows your activity and compares it to your plan as well as to national guidelines for exercise. Seeing your progress over time is more valuable than worrying about whether you achieve a specific goal on any given day.
Patterns
Maybe you are someone who is more likely to go to the gym when you plan it in the morning, rather than after work? Or you might go for longer walks in the evening than in the morning? Why do you skip days when you have exercise planned? Too tired, too busy, something else? MyHealthScript notices these patterns and will provide you with advice on how to optimise your plan to best fit your life and circumstances.
Community
MyHealthScript users are all on a similar journey. We share concerns, want to know more and it’s nice to celebrate achievements with like-minded people as we go. Also we are social: it’s good to exercise with other people or have an accountability buddy for mutual support and to share your progress.
MyHealthScript has started to establish local Walk & Talk groups where you can find people in your area to walk with. Our app is about to get new social features where you can find other users to chat with and meet up for exercise and other social activities.
By the way, we are looking for testers for our new app right now. If this interests you, sign up and we will let you know as soon as it’s available.
