My boss was beside himself. He was dealing with migraines, heart palpitations and fatigue, and it wasn’t even noon. And they weren’t even his own…
I was a nineteen-year old apartment complex manager with both low insight and a lot of drive. Basically an “Assistant to the Regional Manager” if you’re an Office fan from the past.
Most days I’d run five miles hard and had done a full load of classes by early afternoon. While some would find this enthralling and energizing, most days I’d personally run out of steam and was desperate for a break. Only problem was, I’d just gotten to work.
Why did I think I had to do this?
It was like I had my Depression-era Croatian grandma as my constant critic, Once you commit to your goal, you follow through. Period.
She meant well and worked harder than anyone I’ve known. She’d grown up in the freezing cold winters of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in a boardinghouse along with her immigrant parents who came from their beautiful island for mining copper in America because they were hungry and had goals of their own for future generations. But here’s the key. They had to for literal survival. I, on the other hand, was transferring grandma’s advice about surviving to fitness, not my main life goals, and it wasn’t translating very well.
Clearly, our fitness goals are not an emergency like the Depression was for immigrants.
But they are important and physical self care must be prioritized or we’ll atrophy completely.
What gives?
Many of my new clients say like I once did, If I’m not hardcore I won’t do it.
But as John Maxwell puts succinctly into words what finally worked for me (and it took three decades till I got it!), “Be stubborn about the vision, flexible with your plan.”
This brings us to the six biggest secrets about finding your fitness rhythm. If you need ideas or proof, I’ve loaded you up with links as well!
It’s unique to you and the season you’re in. I can think of a friend who would say that a five miles run before a ten-hour day would be just the thing. For me it’s an anathema to ANY productivity throughout the rest of the day. The bottom line is this: Don’t look to others or to past goals of your own in other seasons to define your work out time, type, and place here and now. Leading me to the second point…
Listen to your own body’s cues. If your knees are aching, don’t start with squats and lunges. Do something light or skip legs until they feel better. Your overall goal of fitness is still in place. And if your body aches and pains in one area don’t improve in four to six weeks from simple rest, visit a medical professional. Do something else when you get stopped in one area.
FInd your favorite programs and vary them. Though I’ve loved fitness for years, I still get into ruts. I recently starting enjoying this simple flabby arm workout (Any woman hear me?!) and I did it for almost forty days in a row. My shoulder got strained (Duh, right?). While consistency is the key to success, without variety, it can also be the hobgoblin of small minds, as Emerson once said.
Offer grace on the days you don’t have it in you. On those days, your self care is plain and simple rest. You’ve probably heard me say that once I took a two-year stint off of working out. That was VERY unusual but a good fit for my season, working full time, trying to nurse the younger one, etc. It was a wonderfully hard and good season both and yes, probably waaaayyy too long – still I needed it after overdoing for so long! Listen to your body and get back in just as soon as you’re ready when you’re ready!
Do some sort of a decent program, small or big. If you don’t, you won’t work as hard. I took dance classes as electives in school and I play tennis and jogging occasionally for fun (you’ve already heard how much “fun” the latter was for me at times when I overdid). But for regular fitness, those things don’t work for my lifestyle. I now mainly stick to Beachbody 21-Day Fix, especially Pilates or Barre legs (here’s a free ballet workout from Autumn which is probably just as good) and core workouts. I’ll go back outside when I’m not melting! 🙂 Either way, I’ve learned won’t allow workouts to rule my energy for the day, unless they create more. Then I can take grandma’s advice about life goals in general and keep at it!
Small workouts are still great! You’ve heard of HIIT (and here’s a few good ones if you haven’t) but even if it’s just five minutes of working out your arms or tummy or stretching or posture work, don’t think it isn’t awesome. It is because you’re taking care of your body. Your body’s wellness is enjoyed at small and big intervals. Good job! I used to love the 7 minute workout (but I used the Orange phone app) back when I ran 5K’s because literally just seven minutes of HIIT trained me to run 5K’s easily. It’s like bootcamp in a bag!
And here’s a bonus tip I hinted at earlier.
Consider other healthy attitudes and actions. In general and especially on a day when you didn’t fit in a workout, do extra in another area of physical self care. Skipping the soda and sleeping well will get you everywhere when it comes to making strides in weight loss or body health. Everything you do physically well will bless you in the future. Thus, one less cigarette, one less donut and yes, even a micronap will help you to have a better life and to meet those awesome goals of yours!
Love Living Intentionally With You,
Christa
