Getting back on track with exercise
I have a confession ….. I don’t have time to work out. Seriously. Once I’ve factored in work, my children, all the general life “stuff” (anyone else with a bottomless washing basket?) some weeks I look at my calendar and simply cannot see how I’m going to fit in any training.
Lots of people assume (I used to be one of them) that being a personal trainer guarantees your fitness. You get to workout every day, because that’s your job. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that! Aside from when I’m teaching a class like HIIT when I’m live on screen, doing my thing, for the most part there isn’t actually a great deal of working out for yourself involved when you’re training other people. There’s a fair bit of demo-ing and yes, I have been known to join in alongside my clients to help motivate them. But honestly, when I’m teaching a class or doing a PT session, I’m there to help my clients reach their goals, not work towards my own.
Many of my clients tell me, week in, week out, that they struggle to find the time, too. In fact, one of the number one reasons I hear from the women who contact me for personal training is that they really need me to hold them accountable and give them a kick up the a*se! They know what they “should” be doing, but it is often a different matter putting this into practice. It is all very well me writing you a training programme, but if you never find the time to actually do those training sessions, there isn’t much point and it can be counterproductive. Someone tells you to do something, you want to do it, but find that you can’t. You feel as though you’ve failed, and this can very quickly spiral into “Sod It Syndrome”. You know what I mean, life chucks you a curve ball, you miss a workout. You think “ah, sod it! I’m rubbish at this. I don’t have time anyway. I’ll start next week” and so the excuses begin! Hands up – I’ve been there.
If you want to get results from any exercise programme, you need to be consistent. It’s what the fitness industry calls “exercise adherence” and as a PT I’m always trying to increase this in the women I work with as I know it’s key to them succeeding and reaching their goals. The fact is – it’s going to be incredibly hard, for you to reach your goals if you only manage one workout per fortnight. You know that. I know that. So how are you going to find that precious time to train? Well, I don’t have a magic wand, but I thought I would share some ideas as to how I manage to stay on track. But before you start, I want to say that I do not want you to feel bad. I want to help. This isn’t me saying you that you have your priorities all wrong and if only you stopped watching TV/got up at 5am every day/never had a social life you would have time for exercise. If you find just one of the strategies below resonates with you and you can put that into practice this week, I guarantee that you will be laying the foundations for making exercise a habit and more than that, one which you enjoy and look forward to.
Find Something You Love
This is so important. If you don’t enjoy your workouts, how are you going to find the motivation and therefore carve out the time to do them? For example, why force yourself to go running if you absolutely hate every step? To have the stickability factor, you need to find a form of exercise that you really enjoy. I truly believe that there is something out there for everyone – so don’t be afraid to try new things. I’ve recently re-launched my Tuesday evening HIIT class and have had a few lovely ladies contact me to say “I would like to give it a try, but I’m not sure I can do it”. You blimmin’ well can do it! Give it a go, what have you got to lose? Shameless plug alert – personal trainers are there to find exercises for you that are not only effective but that you enjoy. We want you to love exercise and it’s part of our job to find out what clicks with you.
Plan, Plan and Plan Some More
Every Sunday night, I sit down with my calendar and my notebook and I work out what commitments I have and write down my fitness goals for that week, e.g. “strength train x 2 sessions, 2 x HIIT sessions, 1 x long run”. Then I look at how and when I’m going to make those goals happen. Putting my workouts on my calendar as I would any other appointment in my life makes it somehow more concrete and less likely to fall off the agenda. It also means that if that week looks totally crazy, sometimes I have to be realistic and scale back my plans. Quick tip – if you’re finding you’ve lost your workout mojo, buddying up with a friend can prove invaluable. There’s something about planning a workout with someone else and not wanting to let that other person down that gets you out there. I remember when I was a new mum, two of my friends and I used to arrange to meet for a run a couple of evenings per week after our children had gone to bed. Even if we didn’t feel like it, that mutual commitment meant we always did it and felt much better for it. Once again, this is where booking a block of sessions in advance can also help, as once you’re locked in, it’s often easier to go along rather than cancel.
Get Creative
Stop looking for that magic hour staring back at you in your diary, begging to be filled with a workout! The truth is, if you wait around for that, it’s not going to happen. This is where you need to be flexible. Some days, I need to do squeeze a run in, so I’ll ditch the car and cycle or run to the shops with my backpack if I need to grab a few bits. It’s helpful that I live at the top of a massive hill so I always get a tough workout on the way back and I save on expensive car parking fees – bonus! If you’ve got young kids, you don’t necessarily have to wait for child-free time to get a workout in. It sets a fantastic example to them to see their mum exercising as they’re growing up and they can have fun joining in too. It doesn’t have to be textbook perfect every time, the main thing is that you are getting it done. Let your kids see you working out and enjoying it. Loads of us are working from home these days which means we have some flexibility we haven’t had before - who says you can’t squeeze 10 mins of HIIT in before that 11am Zoom? It’ll definitely add some colour to your cheeks and will leave you feeling more perky than that double espresso!
Be Pragmatic When Things Go Wrong
Because they will. There are times when your plans will need to change. Remember that these are just temporary blips and try to get back on track as soon as you can. If the reason things have gone awry could have been prevented (e.g. through planning things more carefully) try to figure out how you might do things differently next time. If it is something completely out of your control then don’t beat yourself up, have another look at your calendar and see if you can move the session or sessions you’ve missed to another time. Remember, all is not lost and Sod It Syndrome isn’t inevitable. We have to learn from our setbacks and move on – that’s part and parcel of developing a healthy mindset towards exercise and making habits for life.