Over the last couple of months, I've struggled to stick with a solid training plan. It has felt as though I've just been floating from one thing to another, without a plan or goals, and just sort of going through the motions. As you probably know, I started back at college this past August. I'm attending full-time as a Biology major, training clients a couple days per week, and juggling the role of wife and mom on the homefront. So where do I fit in a training plan?
This is where I always used to tell other people that "You have to make it a priority," and to "make every little bit count." And what I found for the first month or so of school, was that I wasn't taking my own advice. I had let my training slip off of my priority list. I tend to be an all-or-nothing thinker - and this can be detrimental to training for anyone. I would take whole weeks off of training just because I didn't make it to the gym on Monday or Tuesday. I was letting that one or two days justify my whole week. Not fair. But I was used to having a training plan that required me to be in the gym 5 to 6 days per week, and missing one or two days would throw it off.
So I had refocus. I sat down and wrote down what days/times I had available to work out, rewrote my goals, and made a plan that worked WITH my schedule.
Now I don't have a rigid training plan like I used to. It's very fluid, and that's what works for me right now. I don't have any lofty goals at the moment either, so it works out for my goals as well.
One thing that has really kept me going lately is that I've incorporated things into my training plan that I really enjoy. Who really wants to go do something they don't like doing? That was where I had gotten. I was burned out on the same workouts and cardio equipment. I dropped my lifting days from 5-6 days per week to 3. My goals are aimed at maintaining right now, so I don't need to lift as much as I was - 3 days is plenty to maintain the muscle that I have. I've also started doing yoga once a week. I love it! It is very relaxing and it requires me to mentally focus on nothing but my body for a whole hour, and I usually end up pretty sore from it. And I've taken my cardio outdoors for the most part. It gives me time to let my thoughts go and just forget about everything for a short time - I don't pressure myself to run a certain distance, I just do what I feel - sometimes that ends up with a long run and others just a leisurely walk. In another week I also plan to start going to a TRX class - but if I don't enjoy it, I won't do it. :)
So you see, it's not about doing that "perfect" plan that everyone else uses, or that someone said you should do. Chances are, you won't stick with it if you don't truly enjoy it. Find things that you enjoy and incorporate them into your training plan - you will find that you begin to look forward to your workouts and you won't even have to think about sticking to your plan, it will just be natural. And be forgiving of yourself. Sometimes things happen and we can't workout. It's normal! Just don't let it dictate how your whole week will go. Make working out something that you do because you like the way it makes you FEEL, not because you feel obligated to do it. Find what you love - and you will find that you stick with it. :)
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