I really struggle without structure; I like to have my days and weeks laid out. The classes I coach, my personal training/massage clients, and of course my own training. I usually allocate my efforts according to demands and without this structure I struggle. The routine doesn’t need to be the same, but I need to have specific times allocated for specific tasks.
Habit (noun): a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
Training is our habit, be it two, three or four times a week, or even every day. Humans are creatures of habit. Don’t believe me? Try wiping with your other hand next time, obviously, sparingly with the limitations on toilet roll, that stuff’s like gold dust. Are you going to tell me that doesn’t feel wrong…?
It’s easier to maintain a habit than start a new one. As you can imagine, the serious change in the last few weeks has made things very ‘interesting’, also known as awkward as f%$k. I’m now juggling childcare, working from home delivering zoom classes, individual client programming and class programming. Trying to manage both mine and Lucy’s working from home so we can look after the chaos demon, eat, train, necessary food shop and if we get chance, get out the house for our 30 minutes a day. I’m sure I’ve got less time during lockdown than before!
How did I solve the problem? Well, I’ve now taken to planning our weeks on a Sunday and getting the majority of the week laid out. Allocating our training time first, which in my opinion is as important, if not more so in this current climate than work. Once that is in, we then fill in the gaps with our necessary meetings, who’s keeping the child alive and everything else that falls in between. Scheduling my training first means I don’t have to worry about when I fit it in.
You should do the same. I’m not here to lecture you on the benefits of training. Physically and mentally you all know how you feel after a good week of training compared to limited or no training at all. No-one knows how’s best to manage in the current situation, but what I can tell you is that it will make things a hell of a lot harder if you don’t continue to train.
Make your training a priority. Book in for classes online at the start of the week and make that commitment. Need accountability? Message a friend and get them to book in too. Trust me, you’ll want to keep training. Just think of that first session back in the gym when I can get my hands on you as extra motivation…
Keep training, stay home, stay safe!
Jamie