Behavior Change Project: Daily Exercise

Trenton Edwards
Behavior Change Project This behavior change project was to increase the amount of exercise I did daily. My goal was to do several exercises once daily for a total of seven days. The data that I collected from doing my exercise daily showed that I was doing about 30 to 45 minutes of activity a day. I usually exercised in the morning when I woke up; I also did a few active things throughout the day, such as, walk, play sports, and go for a run. My goal for changing this behavior was to see if the daily exercise would make me feel more refreshed throughout the day. I realized that doing the exercises in the mornings when I woke up made me feel better throughout the day and it was easier for me to focus in classes. The exercises I did consisted of jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, jogging in place, basketball, walking, and running. The exercises I did when I woke up took a total of 10 minutes before I went to class each morning. The time that it took to do the other exercises, such as, running and basketball varied depending on what I did and when I did it. I used different factors to motivate me to do the exercises every morning, I knew that if I got up early enough to do my exercises that I would also have time to grab breakfast before class. I would also feel guilty if I skipped the exercises so I would do them the first chance I got. I put sticky notes on my door and mirror to remind me to do my exercises each morning, and that seemed to help me remember to do them before I left for class. I realized that sometimes I would have distractions when trying to do my exercises; these distractions included the television, music, and roommates. I believed that I would benefit from doing these daily exercises by feeling better throughout the day, staying healthy, and possibly even sleeping better at night. I also thought that the exercises would help weight loss and give me a metabolism boost. The exercises could also affect my attitude and give it a positive change. These exercises could help with aging, strength, and even sex life. I did in fact enjoy these benefits while exercising for the seven days; I felt so much better, more rested and the exercising motivated me to eat healthier. I also noticed that before I did the exercises I was rushed for time in the mornings and rarely wanted to wake up, but when I started doing the exercises I wanted to get up and start my day. The outcomes of doing the exercises were very beneficial and made me realize that the short 10 minutes it took to do the exercises could make me feel so much better and have a better day. I kept a log of the exercises I did to keep track of the time, how much exercise I did, and when I did it. Keeping track of my exercises made me more aware of what I was doing and also helped me remember to do the each day. I also used the people around me to help me keep me on track; my roommate and other friends would sometimes do the exercises with me or sit with me while I did them to make sure I did everything in the right amount of time. I had daily reminders to do the exercises and I even set an alarm on my phone that went off at the time I did the exercises each morning. Having several different reminders and people around me to motivate me helped me stay on track and not forget to do the exercises when I was supposed to. The behavior change project was something that I believed made me realize that just a few minutes of exercise each morning can change how you feel. I enjoyed doing the exercises and I enjoyed the benefits I got from doing them. Making this change to my everyday life took a while to get used to, but after just a few days of doing the exercises I found that they fit easily into my everyday schedule and that they weren’t as difficult and time consuming as I thought they would be when I started this project. The outcome of this project was a lesson that changing behavior to better yourself is not as big of a hassle as most people think it is. The change I made to my behavior was something positive and I actually enjoyed the change that I made.