What is the Hook?
The Hook is MommaStrong’s version of a monthly challenge, available to members as a way to help get “hooked” on a habit of exercise. In each Hook, we focus on a theme or a “pain point,” designed to grab your attention and get your brain excited to learn something new. Throughout the month, we attempt to show up for daily-ish exercise, with the goal to miss 8 or fewer show-ups. And the best part? ANY MommaStrong movement counts! You can do a Daily 15, a 5-minute Hack, a stretching video, a Fix or whatever suits your body that day.
To keep the fire burning along the way— we offer short weekly podcasts with education on the monthly theme, weekly emails with downloadable resources, and even old school coloring pages (yay!) to stay accountable and track your efforts throughout the month.
Joining The Hook each month is entirely optional for members and is simply here as an anchor to our workouts and programs. Consider it a way to be unapologetically human and in need of some help getting started (and finishing). We see you.
How to Join The Hook:
The Hook starts on the first Monday of every month, and runs until the end of the month. A week before each Hook begins, we introduce our members and the public to the upcoming theme through our blog, through social media, and in our members-only community. We’ll provide links and details in all those places for how to get signed up, whether or not you are a member yet.
Once you’re registered, you’ll receive The Hook content through weekly emails and our members-only community. You can access all of our exercise programming on both our website and the MommaStrong app.
A Peek at Our 2023-2024 Hook Themes:
September 2023
Begin Again: Starting Over, Together
October 2023
Scary Body Stuff: Healing Our Bellies
November 2023
Back Pain Solutions: Ack, Sciatica
December 2023
Pelvic Floor Solutions: The Myths and Facts about Prolapse
January 2024
Motivation 2.0: Goal Setting after Burnout
February 2024
Aging & Hormones: Exercise for Peri-menopause & Menopause
What makes The Hook different from other fitness challenges?
Most of us have grown up with the idea that starting any kind of healthy habit is all about making a big important decision. And then prioritizing it. And then sticking with it.
Right?
Right. The reality is that even though most of us believe this version of motivation to be the true path to behavior change, it has rarely worked for us, especially if we are caretakers and things like free time, energy, and focus have become nonrenewable resources.
But what if this story of motivation and change is not the only - or even the most successful- strategy? ? What if the percentage of people who actually accomplish goals in this way is less than 10%? Yep, the majority of us need better tools to see a goal all the way through. It doesn’t mean we’re damaged or weak or that we don’t care, it simply means we’re human.
This is why here at MommaStrong we teach a different kind of starting off point and then provide you with real deal tools to keep going, even when you mess up (you will). We do this by reinforcing the following three-step path for goal setting:
Name your reality, as it is right now and build a goal with that reality in mind
Leave space to grieve past and current failures involving this goal
Begin again with a “minimum effective dose” approach, which means leveling the goal and prioritizing feasibility as a first step
We also believe that - even with the path mentioned above - you need something extra to “hook” you into the goal. It’s like that moment in the book you’re reading or the song you’re listening to when your brain switches from passive engagement to active engagement. You feel yourself say, hey, I want to finish this. It’s almost like when you’re on a bike, pedaling hard up a hill, and then you get to the top and you coast for a bit. That’s the sweet spot for building habits that stick, and it’s what makes The Hook special.
Above all else, we’ll be right there with you along the way to answer any questions and to give all the high fives (also all the memes) you could need.
If you are looking for this month’s registration page, you can find that here.