It always boggles my mind how the same thing can sometimes feel either SO hard or SO easy. I think this is because I’m really quite an all-or-nothing person. So when I’m “in” on something (mentally, I guess), it can seem quite easy. But when I’m “not in”, it can feel impossible.
This past week or so, since I really buckled down on planning my weeks better in advance (see this post) and scheduling my workouts, I have had no trouble hitting my planned workouts. I’ve had no temptations to skip them, no real excuses, etc. It has felt, dare I say…. easy?
I’m not entirely sure what to make of this, because in the past I have “scheduled” workouts many other times but have been known to just blow them off if I’m not feeling it or something gets in the way. For some reason, I’ve had no desire to blow anything off this week. I have felt Motivated and excited to stay consistent.
Maybe it was the little “priorities defining” exercise I did, where I thought about the things that are truly most important to me. I realized then that exercise really IS super important to me. Or maybe it’s because Peter Attia has told me that he feels exercise is the #1 most important piece of longevity- even more important than nutrition! Or maybe it’s the nicer weather? Or maybe it’s the fact that I have given myself permission to ease up on my blogging/ blog reading- which naturally frees up some more time.
The funny thing is: it’s really true (for me, anyway) that once I start working out again consistently, the motivation actually builds to keep it going. It feels good to feel good. I feel “fitter” when I workout religiously (duh), and I like that feeling. I pretty quickly notice increased strength and muscle definition and I just get a little skip in my step, or more energy.
Anyway, the gist here is that:
- planning my weeks and really figuring out WHEN exactly I’m going to workout seems to be key.
- treating that commitment as a non-negotiable also is key #2
- cardio, while not my favorite friend, actually does seem to boost my energy and make me feel good.
- I really love lifting in the gym.
- even if I’m not 100% motivated to hit every session beforehand, I honestly am always glad afterwards.
I currently feel really excited and motivated to KEEP IT GOING. (I have been working out fairly consistently all year, don’t get me wrong. But I haven’t really been “committed” in the same way since the pre-covid era. Pre-covid I was like a consistent machine… post-pandemic, I’ve never really gotten in the same groove.)
My 40th birthday is coming up in October. So, about 5 months away. I think I’m going to use that as a little goal post to work towards- staying super committed/ regular at least until that point. (And obviously hopefully beyond!) I want to be my healthiest self yet at 40!!
My workouts this week:
Monday: Full body strength (gym) + a 25 minute recovery/ stretching workout from Beachbody’s The Work –> this felt AMAZING.
Tuesday: Legs #1 (gym)
Wednesday: cardio 20 minute video (from Job One, Beachbody)
Thursday: 25 min cardio (Fight club/ mixed martial arts video from Morning Meltdown on Beachbody) in a.m. + shoulders/triceps weights (at home, evening- planned for gym but got goofed up with too much driving kids and only had a short window of time, so opted to swap the exercises for the “home workout” option. I like that my plan can be done either in gym OR home, for situations like this!)
Friday: Back and biceps (gym)
Saturday: Legs #2 for the week (gym) + 20 minutes cardio on stair mill –> DEAD after this! Why are those stairs so hard?!! 🥵
Sunday: planning a stretching/ recovery workout today and hopefully a good walk in the sunshine!
Total= 5 strength sessions, 3 cardio sessions, 2 stretch/flexibility/ recovery (last Monday’s recovery was a make-up from Sunday when I was away all day for soccer).
Here’s an unflattering, sweaty selfie post stair mill, which I offer as proof that I DID CARDIO:
And here’s a snip from my new-ish digital tracker I’ve still been using (and happy with!):
As you can see, I’ve walked some but not a ton…. I guess that’s to be expected, since I’ve done more formal workouts. Unfortunately, there’s not time for everything! But I did read at least a little most days. A very light TV/show watching week, too! But that’s okay. My parents were here for a few days this week, so that + TONS of running kids around and other stuff just made for a very full week.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a weekend with no leaving town!! (For me, anyway- Ivan and Ethan had a 2 hour each way soccer trip yesterday….) But I stayed home and managed Asher’s LOCAL volleyball game + afternoon soccer, and it was gorgeous out. Which also allowed me a bunch of free time to get a ton of stuff done at home (SO.MANY.THINGS) and also squeeze in early morning hot tub + book, a walk with Ivan, a great evening gym session (empty on Saturday night!) AND we caught up on Ted Lasso before bed.
GRATEFUL KAE 
Hi! This is really wonderful. I, too, have been “moving” three works outs of 20 minutes each. Laughable, but it’s a start. My usual is an absolute zero.
Also, yay for staying local this weekend. I took three hours (gasp) to go get a facial and do Korean sauna. I really need to be more intentional with stuff like exercise and self- care.
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It’s not laughable!! That’s great! One of my FAVORITE quotes about health/exercise is: “The best workout routine is the one you can stick to.” Meaning, it’s better to set a goal of 3 workouts per week and actually do them, week after week, for years on end, versus setting lofty or complicated goals of 5+ workouts per week that you don’t actually ever do… or you do for a week and then never again. At the end of the day, consistency is king. 🙂 Way to go! 🙂 I hope you enjoyed your facial and Korean sauna! I have never had a facial in my life!! Lol! I don’t do “spa things” basically.. ever.. so the idea of them intimidate me since I don’t really know what they involve, how it works, etc. ha.
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Congratulations! I read once about how we had to stop saying “I don’t have time” and reframe it as “I didn’t make X a priority” and it really changed how I talk about being busy. I mean, yes, sometimes I AM busy, but the truth is that sometimes I prioritize couch time with the cat over mowing the lawn. And since the cat is my priority over how the yard looks, that’s okay. So I think the priority setting exercise you did was such a good thing for you to reframe how you’re making daily decisions!
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I think that’s my favorite thing about the whole “scheduling/ planning” world- that it actually helps you to do things that are relaxing or even “time wasting” without needing to feel any guilt. Because if you’re purposefully choosing or scheduling time to just lay on the couch or whatever, then it’s totally fine! I struggle when I don’t have any structure or plans and then I’m neither really getting things done nor truly relaxing either, because maybe I feel guilty about not accomplishing what I wanted, etc.
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I think it is so interesting how sometimes a consistency flip just gets switched on and things seem more possible than they did before.
Something I really struggle with is working out if it ISN’T the morning. I don’t love doing it in the morning, but for whatever reason, I just have it in my head that I can’t workout other times of the day. For now it isn’t too big of an issue since I’m consistent in the morning, but I feel like I’ll need to be more flexible about this in the future (when our kids are older/life changes).
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I used to struggle with this, too- specifically regarding going to the gym. The gym is busy in the evenings, so I used to have it in my head that I could NOT, under any circumstances, go to the gym in the evening. But this year I ended up going with the boys a few times in the evening and realized, it’s not even that bad. And yeah, maybe it’s still not my “favorite” time to go, but if it doesn’t fit in earlier in the day, then it’s certainly better than not going at all! Changing this mindset has made a big difference for me.
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I can absolutely relate to that. If I stick to my routine (and even better, when I have a workout plan), I feel WAY BETTER. The last weeks have been a bit of a struggle with travel and then a (mild) round of Covid where I had to adjust, adjust, adjust… it’s nice to take breaks, but I usually just love staying in my routine because I then spend way less mental energy on it, too.
Good job, friend, for being so consistent this week!
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Oh I 100% think the people who are able to always exercise at exactly the same time (e.g. every single morning, first thing) are probably way more likely to have higher consistency percentages! It’s just so much simpler when you have a set routine that doesn’t waver. Unfortunately for me, it seems like even our mornings can be unpredictable with the kids’ schedules right now! (early morning swim practice some days….). And, I really don’t actually like working out first thing most of the time. haha. But scheduling it is a close second for me, because then I can treat that as an “appointment” or something that I can’t miss, ideally.
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You made me smile about Peter’s exercise point. It’s mind blowing and totally convinced me to focus that over nutrition which is so confusing. I must say after 6 months of getting to the gym, I’m really enjoying weight training too. Still running is my first love but I’m committed to lift more now after reading his book and the feeling I get after lifting. I can also see progress which is great. What is missing is a program tailored for runners. Still trying different methods.
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Yes, I remember when I was in my running phase years back that it is REALLY complicated to figure out how to best merge running and strength training. Because an inevitable part of lifting is fatiguing your muscles… which is not exactly what you want on a tough or long run! I think that’s actually part of why I eventually stopped running- I liked lifting a lot and it was just a lot simpler to focus on that and fit a little cardio in around that. But I know for you running is your first love, so it seems like you’re doing just fine balancing both!
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Nice work on the workouts! I think that putting goals on a schedule/in writing is step one of accomplishing them. If you don’t write them down, it’s so easy to skip it or change it or flake or put it off. What is the saying? If you fail to plan, you plan to fail? Of course, things still come up, but I have found that putting them on a calendar means I am 95% likely to get them done. I need to take a page out of your book, because lately I have not really been scheduling things, so they are a bit wishy washy right now. I have lost my groove a little and am taking things as they come more lately and I think it is not really doing me any favors.
One thing I should do is more strength but even though I can do it at home, once I am home and if I don’t have a routine it is so easy to do something else instead (clean the toilet, read a book, putz around the house…) I don’t know why I keep putting it off! I need to get myself in gear! Do you have a good home workout that you like that uses no weights?
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I just replied to Coco that balancing lots of running + strength really is kind of complicated!! I don’t know the exact right answer there either. In terms of home workouts, Hmm. I’ve never done much that uses no weights, unless it’s like HIIT style/ cardio workouts. I’ve done different programs on Beachbody like the Barre program that didn’t use weights (and was actually really hard!), but most of the time I’ve used dumbbells or bands at home.
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Oh yay! This is so positive! Congrats on finding a rhythm that works for you. I loved this paragraph: “The funny thing is: it’s really true (for me, anyway) that once I start working out again consistently, the motivation actually builds to keep it going. It feels good to feel good. I feel “fitter” when I workout religiously (duh), and I like that feeling. I pretty quickly notice increased strength and muscle definition and I just get a little skip in my step, or more energy.” SO TRUE. But for me, if I step out of the routine for more than a day, it requires so much to get back into it! I have a trip coming up and working out is just not practical for this particular stretch of time. I am afraid I am going to totally blow my exercise streak!
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Ah, you and I are opposites- I’ve always been a cardio junkie, doing strength begrudgingly on the side. But lately I’ve been focusing more on strength, because I have to (sigh.) It’s good you’re getting some cardio in there, but
honestly as we get older (I’m way older than you are!) strength is more important. Maybe you’ll inspire me to keep up with my strength sessions at the gym.
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