Tuesday, October 6, 2015

5 Tips for Getting Your Workout In When You Really Don't Want to

Hibernation season is almost here.  The clocks are changing and here comes the onset of the holiday season. So many of us feel the same way.  I know that I'm already looking forward to getting into my pajamas and snuggling under a blanket with my daughters and husband at some ridiculous hour like 5PM just because it's dark out and I'm cold.  The holidays come and I want to eat, drink, and be merry.  It's a great way to get off track and an even better reason not to get started.

I recently lost 25 pounds and I want to keep it off!  I don't want to have to start again next March because I ate too much and want to take the weight off for Summer.  I already did that this year.  I've racked my brain and came up with the tricks I've used to convince myself I like exercise.  I've used these to take the weight off and keep it off so far.  Here is my best advice to get the weight off in Fall and Winter and keep it off so you don't have to work so hard next Spring.

1.  There's no day like today.  Many of my friends in the fitness industry are bracing themselves for slow season. It doesn't have to be that way!  Instead of listing reasons why you shouldn't start, think of the reasons why you should.  You can save your fitness goals and make them New Year's resolutions or you can just start now.


How well did your last New Year's Resolution work out for you?  You know what happens if you save a fitness goal for January?  You gain 5 lbs or more between now and then waiting to get started.  Then you get to the gym the first week of January and it's too damn crowded to even get a parking spot (never mind getting a chance on the hamster wheel of a treadmill) so you are really tempted to give up the first week and start the 2nd week instead.  I'm exaggerating (a little) but I've done this before.  I used to be a personal trainer in the gym and it is not a joke when I say that in February, the gym is back to normal.  All these people, starting their year of right, gave up in a month.

Why wait?  There are still almost 3 months left of 2015.  I don't know what your goals are, but you can be closer or even at your goals in 3 months.  I lost 25 lbs in 3 months.  That's not to say that you'll do it too, but you might!  Give yourself a chance and bet on yourself!

2.  Workout at home.  Some people love the gym.  I get that.  I wish I was able to leave the stresses of home for about an hour and just do me.  I have 2 small children and a husband who works full time.  The gym is not a real option for me.  My 5 year old is way too young to leave alone at home and too old to bring to the gym day care.  She doesn't want to go.

During the day, I don't want to bring my 2 year old to the gym.  I find that the gym day care is a bit of a sick room during this season.  Young kids aren't able to tell their mommy that they're not feeling well until they have a fever (which in my experience with my own children, is usually about 5 minutes after the gym while I'm strapping them into the car seat).  So mommies bring their young kids to the gym to play without even knowing they're sick yet.  I don't want a sick baby just because I want to exercise.  My health is important to me but so is hers.  Plus, if she's sick, we're both not sleeping and then it's even harder to get my workout in.  I won't even get into what a great excuse cold and snow is to not get to the gym!

There are a million different workouts you can do at home.  You can find some of my favorites on my shop page above which all come with the added support of me as your coach (Apply for my next accountability group by clicking here if you'd like to be considered - the deadline to apply is October 12th).  Just start with something and make it into a habit.  Some of my favorite quick workouts to do from home are right on Pinterest.  Click Here for some of the ones that I've pinned and do when I need to squeeze it in.

3.  Change your program and find what makes you happy.  Recently, I was doing Max 30.  It's a very hard program and you get amazing results but I found my needs changed.

I was getting very stressed out with school starting and our schedule changing and my 2 year old got into a bad habit of waking up in the middle of the night so it became harder find the motivation to wake up early to work out so hard.  Instead of allowing myself to say I didn't want to do it and give up or keep taking too many days off, I changed my program.  Now I'm doing Piyo which is Pilates and yoga.  I absolutely love waking up in the morning and getting it in.  I even do it barefoot because it literally makes me feel more grounded.  On days that I really don't want to get up and do it, I do it at night after the kids have gone to sleep.  It's an amazing way to start or end the day.

The point is you need to listen to your body and your mind and be in tune with it.  If you're really forcing yourself to do something that you really don't want to do, it won't get easier, it will only get harder.  Don't listen to the voice that says it's too hard and you should give up, but don't feel like a failure if you stop doing something to find whatever it is that you need.  I'm not saying to change programs if you're a little sore.  Sore means it's working!  I'm saying that you need to do what will make you happy.  Maybe it's a run, maybe it's Pilates, or maybe it's taking long walks while the weather is still nice (jog would be better, try hard to break a sweat).  Whatever it is, if you turn exercise into something you look forward to, it will feel good to get it in, instead of annoying and something more to squeeze into your already way-to-short day after those darn clocks make it even shorter.

4.  You're stressed out and working out will lower your stress level.  You might not have gotten to that point yet if you're stressing about getting it in but I promise if you stick with it, it will become the thing you do to unwind.  You'll still have your wine, but there's something about the effect of exercise on your body chemistry that makes you really feel like you will have a great day (or will have a great sleep if it's a night time workout).  An additional benefit is that working out doesn't come with a hangover, although it will come with some soreness if you're doing it right.

5.  Think of the results, not the action.  If you start working out now and focusing on nutrition 80% of the time, you will be getting compliments by that holiday party that is the reason you think you're not ready to start right now.  I know the holidays are tough (I'm 100% Italian, trust me we live to eat), but when it comes down to it, is one day of bad food choices, or two, or even three over the course of the next 3 months really a good reason to wait?

I'll even go as far as to say that you should really go ahead and eat whatever you want at those parties.  Eat, drink, and be merry!  But also cherish the fact that you already worked hard to get where you have gotten by the time those parties come and you won't want to make a bad day into a bad week or a bad month.

Every day you work out and focus on your nutrition, it will get easier. The compliments you get will be an added bonus and additional motivation to keep it going.  So don't think of how much you hate exercise and how deprived of food you feel (which you really shouldn't feel if you're doing it right).  Instead, think about how amazing it will be to have someone buy you skinny jeans or a smaller pants size because yours are falling off.

The holidays are a great excuse to treat yourself to some new clothes!  Wouldn't it be amazing to really enjoy your fitting room experience and have everything fit the way it's supposed to.  I love dressing rooms now because I'm not just looking for whatever I can find that will fit me.  There's a whole store of whatever will fit me.  Now I get to choose exactly what I want because it looks good and it makes me feel good!  So go ahead and ask for those gift cards and treat yourself to a shopping session for the new you.  But you have to start today!!

6 comments:

  1. Love this post!!! I need motivation and not to wait until January :) Love reading your posts Cristin :)

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    1. I'm so glad Kim! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help you get started! Choose you!! xoxo

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