Staying on Track

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Anthony



Q: “Hey coach. I am working out and have been doing really good for the first 3 weeks. I went out of town for a few days and came back home and missed a total of 4 workouts. I’m having a hard time deciding if I should restart the program so I don’t miss any days again or if I should keep going..?”

A: This is a very common question that I get, especially with personal training since it's a longer program. My answer is always the same to these questions. KEEP PUSHING FORWARD. When you start a journey of health/fitness, especially on a strict program, it’s not going to be a walk in the park. There WILL be days that you may have to miss a workout for the day. The key to this is to keep pushing forward no matter what! It is pointless to start working out/eating right, skip some days, then restart. You are only pushing back further and further with each restart. As you already know, time goes by SO quick! If you go through training, skipping workouts, slacking on nutrition, you’ll be looking at yourself in the mirror on the last day with disappointment.

There are 2 main reasons I find that people tend to skip workouts:

1. They take a trip, get extremely busy, long shift at work, that kind of stuff. I actually had one of those days yesterday! These days shouldn’t be frowned upon. Yes it sucks you couldn’t squeeze your workout in, but you will have many more chances. Now the key for this setup….Miss one day, GET BACK ON IT the very next day, bringing it HARD! If you’ve missed a day of working out before, you KNOW how easily it turns into a domino effect. When you know you will be skipping a workout that day, PLAN AHEAD what workout and what time you’ll hit it the very next day.

2. Pure laziness or lack of motivation after a certain amount of time. When you start working out and eating right, those first 4 weeks are exciting, it's all new to you, motivation is sky rocketing, then weeks 4-6 come…This is where you start to look at yourself in the mirror and wonder why you aren’t seeing the results you have pictured in your mind (stick with it and results will come...it takes time). After that first 4 week excitement period, that motivation starts to die off. This is when you will get those days where you wake up and just don’t feel like working out. Skip 1 workout for the week. Next week you skip 3 workouts. And the domino game is in full effect! This is when people send me questions, like the one above, “Do I restart?” “Do I keep pushing forward?” This lifestyle you are trying to achieve is not just about changing your body. It’s about changing your habits. Do 100% for a few weeks, fall off track, restart, and repeat. I’m sure we can all relate to that, I’ve played that game many times. For that reason, PUSH FORWARD! When you feel yourself start to slip and skip workouts or slack on nutrition, look at this as the time to make some change in yourself. Find that fire that got you started to begin with, remember your goals, and STICK WITH IT!

All in all, doesn’t matter the reason the workout was skipped. If you do skip 1 day or 7 days. Learn from it, and move forward, do not restart. Know your habits, and the patterns that lead you to the lack of motivation, and figure out how to rekindle that flame. As always, you have support here. Not just from myself, but my team of coaches. Any 1 of us would be more than happy to help you stay on track with your health and fitness goals.

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