My challenge this June was to exercise everyday. I’d love to know how the month has gone for you. I thought I would share a bit about my journey as well.
It has been great for me to remember that I can make the time every day to workout. I think a key is to remember that you will never find the time, you need to actually make it.
Not only have I made the time, but I have done full workouts. Sometimes even an hour long. Not that long ago, I was struggling to run a mile within a given day.
For me, my schedule changes on a daily basis. Sometimes, I can workout at 5 AM. Other days, it is 1 PM before I get the availability. Working out is a priority I made to myself this month, but I do still put work ahead of exercise in my day.
When you read about the way people are productive and get things done, they do the hardest thing first. Which is great, if you work for yourself. When you keep a class schedule, or you have a boss, this isn’t always realistic. This is why I do schedule my day out. My priority may be to exercise, and the time slot is at 1 PM, so I make it happen. If it isn’t written down, to me, it is easy to forget what I committed to doing.
I have had good sleep this month. I wake up most days feeling rested. We have had some hot days this month, but we have also had some chilly for June days. My water intake has not been a struggle a single day. Something about working out really makes me thirsty, in a good way. I have also been super focused on the days that I work out earlier in the day.
I have struggled with migraines a few days this month. Which is out of the ordinary for me. I have started to keep a better food journal this month too, though. It is better to track what I ate to find triggers. I can also track patterns, like I was stressed about XYZ two days before a migraine, twice. Hmm, coincidence? I have not found anything that simple/remarkable to correlate just yet. I honestly hope it takes a while, because it is a while until my next migraine.
It is crazy to think that my goal and priority was 10 minutes a day of exercise and to realize how much more it happening because of the that 10 minute commitment. I am getting full workouts in daily. I am drinking my water. I am logging my food, and feelings. I am getting the best sleep I have had in a few months.
I did miss a workout one day. I wasn’t feeling well, and decided that the running would be too much impact for my head and migraine. The next day, I woke up feeling much better. So I did a double workout. I got a run and some strength training done.
I talk often about Gary Keller’s lead domino. This is a great example of a lead domino. Getting my workout in every day has lead to overall better days. And getting the workout in first thing in the morning has lead to even more awesome days. There was a time when I got most my workouts in at 4 AM. I have started to find a balance with that. I get better workouts in after 5 AM. Now I am at a stage with the kids and my classes that I can get the workout in later. It used to be 4 or nothing, just a few months ago. I think it is important to always evaluate and re evaluate what is working, and where you can make changes. Maybe one day I will decide that the benefits of having my workout done outweigh the benefits of feeling stronger in a later workout. Time will tell.
If you did join me on the journey this month, I would love to know how it has gone for you. If you didn’t what is one thing you can commit to these next couple days of June? Maybe springboard it into a whole month of July too.