Behavior Change Goal Paper

I. Behavior Change Goal

The specific behavior change goal that I chose was incorporating thirty minutes of cardio into my workouts, three days a week for the duration of the assignment. I chose this behavior change goal because fitness has been a big part of my life for the past two years. But during those years, I have neglected to focus on any type of exercise that involves cardio. During my workouts, I chose to focus on strength training, rather than incorporating cardio into my routines and it has started to show. My clothes just did not fit like they used to and I knew that I needed to do something about that. Knowing that I have been gaining some weight really made this behavior change extremely important to me and I knew that if I wanted

I decided to choose four different types of cardio exercises that I would preform during my workouts. These included the treadmill, stair master, elliptical, and stationary bike. When I began this behavior change I had imagined that it was going to be difficult, but I had no idea just how challenging it was going to be. The first day that I started my behavior change was rough and I thought that it was going to be the last day of my change. It had not occurred to me how out of shape I had become until I finished my first session on the treadmill. I thought that there was no way that I could do this three times a week for six weeks. I was not very motivated until my best friend insured me that I could do it. It was then that I told my self that I really could do this. The next time that I went to the gym I was almost looking forward to my cardio exercise after my workout. After the first week I was completely motivated and ready to stick with this behavior change. In the following weeks I noticed myself gaining a sense of accomplishment when I would get done with my cardio exercise. To me, it became fun because I started to notice a difference in my weight and I began to look forward to doing cardio, something that I use to avoid at all

Throughout all three of the research articles, a challenge that was commonly confronted was when people feel stressed or suffer from chronic stress; they are less likely to feel motivated to exercise. This challenge was assessed when determining my behavior change. According to Puterman, Blackburn, O’Donovan, Alder & Epel, (2010), “individuals who were highly stressed may confer more benefits from physical activity; however, this group is also less likely to exercise” (2010, para.13). This was factored into my behavior change because instead of avoiding exercising when my stress levels where high, I made sure that my goal was completed, instead of falling into the group that Puterman et al. describes as being less likely to exercise. Puterman et al. go on to say, “Forty minutes over three days corresponds well with the CDC-recommended levels of vigorous activity, as well as those recommended by others for healthy living” (2010, para.12). When setting my goal, these findings became very helpful. Using the guidelines established by the CDC as an evaluation tool, I noted that my current workout with thirty minutes of cardio three times a week exceeded the recommended levels of vigorous activity. This article was consistent with my experiences because at times when I felt stressed, I found it difficult to stay motivated to complete my