My workout routine has been hit and miss for the past few months. Probably just like everyone else. And just because I was a personal trainer and love fitness doesn’t mean we don’t get into a rut ourselves. I have really been trying to make fitness more of a priority in my life. I know that I am better at working out in the morning than the afternoon or night. I know I like the feeling I have the rest of the day when I workout in the morning. It’s now me getting out of bed when the alarm goes off.
With meetings from my life coach, she helped me realize that my foundation was shattered. I have been focusing right now on getting my foundation stable which also includes getting back into my own fitness routine and focusing on myself again. My first piece of advice is acknowledge that we took a break. We can’t change the past. It happened so let’s move forward. Let’s focus on the right now! What can we do right now to get back into the routine we want.
Focus on the WHY
The #1 thing you’ll need to do in getting back into a workout routine is knowing your WHY. For me this has been one of the hardest things to do. What is my WHY? What is strong enough to keep me motivated and pushing through when it gets tough or hard. I put so much stuff in front of myself, and only focus on me when my body finally shuts down or forces me. I try to be a good co-worker, employee, trainer, friend, wife, daughter, etc. I have a tendency to focus on what others think instead of what I think of myself.
Focusing on my WHY has been an ongoing process. What is going to keep me pushing? It has to be more than money or recognition. Because what if those things don’t come. What is going to be the factor to keep me moving forward? I still don’t have the answer for that, but it doesn’t mean that I am giving up. I am focused on being better than I was yesterday by 1%. If I do anything better than yesterday, it’s a successful day. It’s doing the little things consistently over time. I hope that through that I do find my WHY and what pushes me.
I have also noticed that my why changes and I don’t embrace that change. I think this is my why and I’m sticking to it, but life and success is fluid. it’s not linear which totally rocks my black and white frame of thinking. My why is fitness is now for me. For me to like myself. To like what I see in the mirror. That is both working on my mental health of self worth, self esteem, self confidence along with my physical appearance.
Set SMART Goals
Next step on getting back into a workout routine is focusing on your goals? What are you wanting to accomplish? We all know about SMART goals. (Specific. Measureable. Attainable. Relevant. Time Bound.) Whatever your goal is should be able to answer each one of the questions? For example; I want to run is not a GOOD goal. I want to run 3x a week for the next 3 months. It hit everything in the SMART acronym.
One of my fitness or lifestyle goals for a long time was 75 Hard. The plan was to start with 75 soft and work my way to 75 Hard. The guy who created 75 Hard says it’s not a fitness challenge but it’s a mental transformation. If you haven’t heard of the 75 challenge I wrote a post explaining the 75 Challenge. I started and stopped so many times. I also really had to think is this something that I really want to do. It needed up not being something that I wanted anymore. But the 75 Soft/Medium/Hard is a great goal.
But having the goal is only part of the equation. For me I post it everywhere. I’ll post it as a screensaver on my phone. How many times do you pick up your phone and see that? I had my vision board on as my screensaver for a while. It reminded me what was important. I asked myself every time I picked up the phone if I was being productive. Tell someone to help hold you accountable. Message me I would love to help hold you accountable. That’s a big reason why I do my monthly goals on here. I am putting it out there so I can see it each and every month. Did I hit my goal or not?
Create the Plan
Up next is creating a plan and working through any obstacles that can derail you from your goals. I love creating a plan and having everything organized, but it’s the actually doing the work that frightens me. When I was a personal trainer, we would work together on creating a plan. Then talk about any obstacles or challenges that might come up. Things are going to come up. It’s life – kids get sick, work plans change, etc.
First I would create the workout plan for them depending on how they answered the questionnaire prior to our first meeting. Even if you don’t have a trainer, you need to have a plan. Personally, I can’t just go to the gym and not have a plan. I can not go from machine to machine or use whatever is open. My mind can’t handle that many choices because then I don’t do anything. I know my strengths and weaknesses and this is something I don’t budge on.
If that machine or weight isn’t available I have a backup plan of a similar exercise working the same muscle group. Or I didn’t work out in the morning because I didn’t want to get out bed, now I’ll workout over lunch. Or I was going to workout but work needs you to stay late or go out for dinner with clients. The option would be eat a healthier dinner or walk to dinner if it’s an option.
Implement
The last and probably most difficult step in getting back into a workout routine is IMPLEMENTATION. This is where it gets hard for me. I have done all the work and making sure everything is lined up. Things are “perfectly” organized then I don’t do anything. I have literally done all the hard stuff. It’s the putting into action that sometimes scares me because what if I suck? what if I get hurt? I can literally what if myself out of anything, AND most of the things never happen anyway.
I have purchased a workout plan from a trainer that I has a similar body type as mine with workouts that I like. I’m not a huge HIIT style or working out for time. I want reps & weights. I saw a plan that I want to do that aligns with my fitness goals. Now, I just need to get my butt out of bed and actually do that work.
Motivation is never going to happen. Action is what is needed to make the change – taking small, consistent daily steps. Being better than you were yesterday. I don’t remember the book but there is an example about each day being 1% better than the day before. You’ll noticed the changes.
What’s stopping you from getting back into a workout routine? Let me know. Let’s keep each out motivated and accountable.
