5ams are kicking my butt. Its Wednesday and I am dead tired. But, I'm doing it! The prep the night before makes my morning much more enjoyable. After a power walk with Molly, I actually feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day in a positive mood. And I've hit my workouts this week.
What's the difference? I don't give myself options. I HAVE to get up at 5am and after work I HAVE to go to the gym. It seems,simpler in my head because now I'm not trying to think of several different scenarios. I never realized how much brain power I wasted doing this:
Night before: "I'm working out in the am"
AM: "I'm still sleepy, I'll work out after work because I really should get sleep"
After Work: "Molly's been in the crate all day, I feel guilty or I really just want a moment to relax on the couch. I'll workout when I get home"
Get Home: "I'm hungry. I want dinner"
So I'd make dinner, then needed digesting time and then it's 7pm. Maybe 1 out of 4 times, I'd have the willpower to go workout, but mostly, I didn't. Hence why I'm not at my goals.
Habits. I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize this. I think in some part of my head, I thought I was being flexible and not a "slave to a schedule", but really, I've just been counterproductive. The flexibility is supposed to come in 10% of the time, where there's a special occasion or last minute event, not every day (slaps head).
So habits! Two other bad ones are I'm always trying something new and I don't always finish things. Why?
I'm addicted to new. The beginning is always exciting and your motivation then tapers off. Things also get hard and new isn't so fun anymore. It seems boring and then I'm off to something else. I was addicted to running half's, you see that has tapered off because I went so extreme with it and hurt myself. I've been back running this winter and it makes me sad because the last thing my brain remembers is where I used to be. But, I did discover a happy medium. I like to run 3-4 times a week instead of trying to hit 5-6 times. It allows me to do bootcamp classes and my times were starting to improve before my stupid calf injury.
I don't finish things falls in line with starting new things. It gets hard, I get bored and/or de-motivated. Plus, I was reading an article about goal setting and realized that I come up with goals, but not the plan to achieve them. Coming up with goals is exciting. I'm in love with the idea of being able to do pushups, pullups, and handstands. How bad ass right? Especially for a girl! I wanna be THAT girl!
Ask me what I'm doing to get there......
*cue crickets*
Ironically, my trainer posted a video about how to progress to full pushups. There's actually a series of different exercises you can do a few times a week to work your way up. I know it exists for headstands (I have a yoga book) and sure I can google it for pullups.
Yup. Work your way up, as in a plan, with steps, and you start at step 1, not step 50.
I have a confession. My life has been crazy and I have been eating like a small cow. I'm anxious for my new beginning and also realizing there's a few more hurdles than I thought.
My new job requires a commute and I never realized how much that changes my entire routine. Instead of getting up at 630am, I now have to get up at 5am. Molly will be in the crate all day so exercising her before and after work is a priority. I also have to pack my lunch religiously since there's no going home or any lunch places close by. My breakfast will also be consumed in the car. Then I'm wondering when I'm going to get in MY workouts!?!
Next week is going to be the big test. I figured I needed a test run since this will be my life going forward. Might as well start practicing and who cares if I'm a little grouchy to people I'm leaving?!? ;)
So my plan is up at 5am to run or walk Molly then get dressed to leave the house by 7 and be at work at 8. My new job has an awesome gym so I'm going to take advantage of that either at lunch or right after work. Then come home to exercise Molly, prep, and find a little relax time (I hope).
In order to simplify my mornings, I HAVE to get clothes and lunch ready at night. I also HAVE to get my chores done on the weekend. For meals, I'm going to do some extra cooking on the weekend. I enjoy cooking, but when I have time to enjoy the process. I'm also buying a crock pot this weekend. Nothing screams "Shawna" like a pot where you throw everything together and let it cook on its own ;)
So I think I'm prepared with the major hurdles I see and playing to my strengths. Any tips are greatly appreciated!
I tweaked my knee the other day on ice while running with Molly. The swelling has gone down, but it's still tender. I went for a short walk today and felt ok. Planning a longer walk tomorrow. So streak is over since recovery is most important :(
I didn't hit my goal (25% completion), but I learned a few things about myself:
It's a much easier mindset for me to be active every day. There's no thought, just get up and go do... SOMETHING! It made me happier, I am sleeping better, and coping with stress. There's always something to work on whether it's strength, endurance, flexibility, speed, recovery, etc.
And instead of cramming them all in on workout days, I could spread it out and focus better. It's more manageable to walk in to a workout thinking, "Ok, we're lifting. Or just yoga tonight."
I've learned that flexibility is key. Life throws curves and if I missed a specific workout on a certain day, I used to feel like I failed or had to start over. Some days, I didn't feel like doing what I scheduled, so I ran or did a workout video. That used to make me feel like I failed because I wasn't disciplined enough or I lacked will power to follow schedule. In reality, I still worked out, I'm not a professional athlete, so what if I changed my workout....I still worked out!
I'm learning to let go of the perfectionist. No one is 100% all the time, it's impossible and probably quite miserable. I am down 9 lbs AND enjoying life, so something is going right!
