STICKING WITH YOUR GOALS

It’s often too easy to put your training on the back burner behind all of your other responsibilities.  There are times when that is appropriate and when it is not appropriate. How do you break the excuse cycle and how do you creatively work to get in your workouts?

I don’t have time to get my whole workout in. 
It’s not all or bust. If you can’t get your whole workout in get in what you can. Some exercise is better than no exercise. If you stick with it, pretty soon you will find yourself missing how good you feel afterwards. You can also try splitting your workouts on days when you are running short on time. Can you get half a run in in the morning or 30 minutes of your 1 hour spin? Then snag the rest after work? Can you drop the kids at soccer practice and run laps around the field? At the risk of the being the most uncool mom ever you will feel pretty good about yourself for making it work. Even if you can’t get a run in pack your shoes and go for a walk at lunch.
 
I stuck to my goal yesterday so I don’t need to today. 
That bad little voice that gives you a cheat day one too many times during the week is speaking up again. The more days you skip that workout or allow an old behavior the sooner you will just allow for it all the time. Be Consistent! A good training plan has built in rest days. You know ahead of time they are coming so just get through one workout one day at a time, the rest day will be like a little reward at the end. Every time you stick to the plan you are building stronger and stronger mental connections to your new habit. Eventually the new connections will override the old ones. If you can try to exercise at a similar time each day it will become a part of your daily routine. It also allows you to figure out good eating patterns to be well fueled pre and post your workout.
 
I’m too tired to workout today. 
Getting enough sleep is paramount to reaching goals. You have to be well rested to tackle big behavioral changes and grow your physical fitness. Learn to gauge that feeling of being too tired, if you have been dragging all week and getting 4 hours of sleep a night, it may be time to take an extra day off and say today my focus is letting my body rest. Our bodies do a lot repair work and metabolizing with our sleep cycles. The more you can get into the habit of getting quality sleep each night the less stressed your body will be mentally and physically. Make your bedroom a no technology zone. Leave the TV, laptop, Kindle, cell phone, tablet, gameboy (throwback!) out of the bedroom. Let that space be your sanctuary for sleeping, cuddling and good good lovin’. Treat yourself to a good new pillow or special blanket and make a commitment to getting to bed.
 
Tackling new goals is hard work whether your just starting out or striving to reach the next level in your training. Its takes time, dedication and a whole lot of believing in yourself. No one is perfect and life is rarely ever optimal to accommodate our training schedules. Don’t beat yourself up when it doesn’t go your way. Always feel good about what you have done and take each new day as a clean slate to start entirely new.