Getting Back on the Horse.

I had a conversation with one of my clients yesterday that I think is worthwhile to relate here.  I have this conversation a lot, sometimes with clients and sometimes with people who are just talking to me about exercise and fitness, and it often surprises me how seriously people take “The Plan.”

I have known countless people who “fall off the horse” and then throw in the towel completely.  They miss a couple of days of scheduled workouts and they’re DONE.  Now people miss workouts for a variety of reasons.  I miss workouts, too!  I certainly try not to, but I have a busy work schedule, a 2 1/2 year old son, and a pregnant wife (the “pregnant wife” excuse goes out the window in November, but I’m milking it now for all I can).  Add in yard work, home projects, and the occasional hour or two of sleep and that equals a missed workout here and there.

Remember, it’s not important how or why you fell off the horse, but how you’re going to get back on.

The first thing to do is take a deep breath and say to yourself “It’s no big deal.”  Really, it isn’t.  Yes, we aim for perfection, but sometimes we have to deal with reality.  Don’t get depressed.  Don’t get down on yourself.  Here’s the way the “failure spiral” typically goes:

1. Missed a workout.  You feel lousy about it, but tomorrow will be better!
2. Oops.  Missed another.  Well, this week is pretty much shot.  Start over next week.
3. You feel horribly guilty about missing the last week, but you’re committed to going strong in the future!
4. Dang!  The car needed to go to the shop, your son had a science fair project he didn’t tell you about until 7pm the night before it was due, and one of your gym shoes has gone to live with Jesus.
5. The missing shoe was actually behind the sofa.  Back to the gym!
6. Realize you’ve only made it to the gym three times in the last two weeks.  GUILT!
7. This exercise thing doesn’t seem to be working.  You’ve tried to make it to the gym, but the world seems to be conspiring to keep you away from it.  Now you feel guilty all the time and you think you’re the world’s biggest slacker.
8. Another installment of the fitness plan is sitting in your email.  This is just too much pressure.  It’s not fun anymore, you feel guilty all the time, and you’ve lost your motivation.  Quitting time!

Sound familiar?

A while back I posted an article where I wrote about lifestyle change.  If you’re in the nasty little failure spiral you are experiencing a very common reaction to lifestyle change.  You’re doing something very different from your normal routine and it is going to take a while for this to stick.  Some people are good at making changes and can make the necessary adjustments quickly and easily.  If that describes you, keep it to yourself because the rest of us want to hit you with a shovel.  If you’re like most people, recognize that this is all part of the process.  Do everything you can to make your workouts and don’t make excuses.  A miss is a miss, but it’s only a miss.

Step number two is making it to your next workout.  The past is done and you can’t un-miss your last session.  There are only two options: miss the next workout or don’t miss the next workout.  If you make the next workout, great!  Make it to the next one.  Put up a sheet of paper and make a little mark for every consecutive workout.  If you miss, put up a new sheet of paper and start again.  Trust me!  There will come a time when you’ll get your exercises done and you will forget to mark it down! That’s when you know it’s “just what you do.”

No, this isn’t easy.  It can be very frustrating and it isn’t always fun.  When you feel like quitting, remind yourself of why you started doing this.  One of these days it will just be “what you do.”  And I won’t even say “I told you so.”

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