The holiday’s are a time that your workouts take a back seat. With many holiday parties, food and sweets, your diet is on overload with sugar. And if you are not diligent about making time for the gym, finding motivation this time of the year can be hard.
Taking breaks is ok but you also need to remember that you are going to have to get back into the groove of things eventually and that will send your body into overload. Getting started is just that… you need to get started!
You need to show up.
Find something or someone that will keep you accountable. You need to make it an appointment that you can’t miss. If you are going to the gym find a friend because you are less likely to let a friend down. Stop researching and thinking and preparing, and go do something TODAY. Your clothes don’t have to be stunning, your plan doesn’t have to be flawless, your nutrition doesn’t have to be perfect. Timing is never perfect and all you need to do is just get moving !
Find something you enjoy doing.
There is nothing worse than doing something you don’t like to do and feel like you HAVE to do it. Even if there is something that you don’t like in the programming, find something that you can see as a positive from it. IF you don’t like deadlifts, just think of how strong you feel after picking something heavy off the ground. Learn to enjoy the small successes you have.
Some things you might really despise, but you know they’re good for you, like burpees. When that happens, just go deep into whatever you’re doing. If the workout calls for sprints, then sprint. Sure, you’ll be uncomfortable but so what? Be present in your experience. Don’t distract yourself out of it, because even in the middle of your pain, you might learn something. If you can train your brain to do that, you’re going to develop resilience, and resilience will take you far.
You will be sore, and tomorrow won’t feel much better.
Training is one of those things that you just keep getting more sore and it seems like you can’t move so staying home seems easier. That is so far from the truth. If your body is sore that just means that you should move to get the soreness out.
But success doesn’t come on the first day, or everybody would have success. Success comes in the dark and quiet moments when everyone else has gone home. Success comes when it’s just you and your pain, fighting, struggling, and you might even be crying. It might feel like pain is winning.
Stop beating yourself up.
We all do this and women are especially good at it. We turn our anger on ourselves. Stop that. So you missed a week or a decade. Life happens. You will gain nothing through self-flagellation for past mistakes, but you will gain everything by learning to love yourself.
It might sound trite, but it’s true! Remind yourself that you’re back in the game. That’s great news! Not every workout will feel good. Lift. Run. Breathe. Survive. Because tomorrow might be your day. And next week? It might be the best ever. Our happiness ultimately lies not in the outcome of each thing we do, but in our outlook after each thing we do.
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