Is your habit to fall off the wagon?


June was AMAZING! My goal was to exercise every day, to create that habit. And I did it. Well, I skipped one day, so I doubled up the next. It was a month about creating an exercise habit. A healthy routine. keeping momentum building with motivation to exercise every day.
Then July came and it started out great. I didn’t even think I needed an exercise goal because I found June so easy. I did commit to sharing more of my exercise posts on social media though. I really enjoy the community aspect of it all. Speaking of, you can follow me on Instagram if you like the motivation mixed with my life. Then I traveled.

Just because you fall off the wagon, doesn't mean you need to lay there while it runs you over again.

 

Why does a change in your routine mess you up so bad? The plan was Thursday rest, Friday exercise, Saturday hike a mountain, and Sunday exercise. I rested on Thursday, no problem. Friday morning didn’t look like I thought it would. It was too dark to run and people were sleeping, so I didn’t want to do it in the house. But then it was light, and everyone was up, so I didn’t want to leave. Saturday, I hiked that mountain, and then had some altitude sickness hit me. I slept, was massaged, used oils, got sick, and slept some more. I woke up feeling great on Sunday, but I was too afraid to exercise. I feared my migraine would come back, and I didn’t want to be sick on the flight home. Some might say those are valid excuses, but no matter how I wrap it, it is still an excuse.

Come home Monday, and I’m gonna get back at it. Great, Monday workout was great. I did a video I had found on YouTube. Actually, it is a newer video from someone I have shared with my virtual clients before. Tuesday, I went for a run. It wasn’t a fast run. And at the end, I walked home almost 1/2 mile, so that really affected my overall time and pace. Here it is Thursday, and I haven’t worked out since Tuesday. I even missed the window I planned to run earlier this morning.

We all go through slumps like this. The first step is admitting that you are slacking. Then you need to find a plan that you can stick to, to get back on the horse. For me, announcing publicly that I am struggling helps me to reign it back in and focus. It is easy to think, you teach boot camp all day, you don’t need to exercise. But I do. In class, I just demonstrate. And I have running goals, so I need to work on that sometimes too.

My plan itself isn’t changing, my strength days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. My cardio days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Then Sunday is a low key pilates or yoga type day. For strength, I am largely doing the workouts I put up for boot campers. With some exceptions, like Monday. I knew if I didn’t have someone to follow along with, I was gonna only half ass the workout. While a boot camp class is about 32 minutes of exercise, I do have videos of similar structure that are more like half the time you can try. Cardio is largely running. Sometimes for time, for distance, for hill work, or even just a route I make up in my head before I go. Sunday is a day of grace. I do something that speaks to me. It is my day to take it a little easier, if that is what I feel my body needs. I’m thinking this weekend, it will not be a gentle day.

Get back up, today. No need for a fresh day, week, or month.

 

I have learned that the faster you get back up, the less far you fall. And isn’t that just part of the journey? If you have ever trained hard for a race or completion, you know the letdown feeling when you finish. It’s like, ok, I did that, now what? Having something to look forward to can be really motivating. I actually had a friend ask if I want to train for a half with her. It is totally out of my comfort zone to run that far in a given period. I also can’t train with her, as she lives out West. Yet I am inspired that she wants to run with me, so  I am going to start working on increasing my distances, and see how it feels. I don’t even know how fast she runs. I just know that the race itself is going to be our victory lap together, the celebration of the hard work we put in. So, let the training begin!