Getting Back To It
Sitting here in the airport trying to figure out what to write about this week when I realized it’s right in front of me - how I get back into the swing of training when I’ve had some time off and my schedule gets thrown off. This past weekend I went and visited family and my main goal was to spend time with them so to be honest I didn’t want to think about taking time off to go find a gym and work out. I focused on the twice daily walks with my father and his dog and just spending time with my family. When it comes to these moments, I’m going to take advantage of as many as I can.
There probably would have been times in the not so distant past where I might have become a little irritated with a situation like not being able to get to a gym to workout having a wrinkle in my training schedule but these are the time I’m teaching myself to just go with the flow and realize that I’m not going to lose all of my strength if I don’t work out for 4 days. In fact, my body may thank me for allowing it to get some more rest and recovery (I’ll keep you all posted on what happens during training this week.)
I have to look at the fact that I know that getting back into training this week is going to be tough, it always is for me. I’m not one who jumps out of bed looking forward to my workout everyday. There are those times when I truly do look forward to moving some heavy weight and it helps me alleviate some stress but most times it takes me a bit to get warmed up and into the swing of things. I have trouble with motivation quite a bit, even when things are going well. I haven’t really found anything that keeps my motivation up. I’ve just mostly built the habit of getting up and getting my workout in but even then it’s difficult getting myself back into my routine when I’ve been off of it for a few days. Working out is something that I’ve developed a huge passion for but that doesn’t mean that every single day it’s the first thing I want to do when I get out of bed, it just ends up being what I have to do to work towards my goals.
This is one thing I hope helps even just one person because so often people feel that if you’re involved in sport or in the fitness industry that working out must come easily for you and that it’s something that you’re always motivated to do. I can only speak for myself and I’m sure there are quite a few people that will disagree with me. Motivation wanes, training wanes and focus wanes and it’s just something that you have to watch out for, learn how to get yourself through and expect it to happen. In the beginning of your journey developing your habits is key to being able to finding consistency. Something that is also very important is learning how to give yourself grace when things don’t always go as planned. Plans shift, emergencies come up and you may not be able to get that workout it and that’s okay as long as you get back into your routine within a day or so.
Remember to keep promises to yourself because you are just as important as anyone else in your life. Build consistency and habits and look for what makes fitness fun and enjoyable for you because that’s when you will make the most progress. Enjoy the process and your goals will follow.
