One of the most common things we hear people say when they have been on holidays or have taken a break from training is: “Help! I’ve fallen off the exercise wagon!” or a more dramatised version of the same.
And we get it, we really do. You’re finally in a great exercise routine before pandemic going to the gym, playing sports, feeling good, feeling proud of yourself, your pants are even starting to loosen up and you think, “Hey! This is working, I’m finally making progress!”.
And then life gets in the way.You went for holidays; your kids get sick; you get sick; you get injured; friends come to stay; work gets crazy, on and on it goes. All of a sudden you’ve missed a week of training… then two… then three… and next thing you know a month has gone past and you haven’t even raised a sweat (except to run for your bus, and even that’s getting harder).
And then this no exercise thing starts to become your new normal, and if you’re honest, you kind of enjoy it. After all, exercise is tough – it requires you to get out of your comfort zone. And as humans we actively avoid being uncomfortable.
What happens next is you start to forget how GREAT you felt after you exercised. How strong and fit it made you feel, how much more energy you had during the day, which meant you made better food choices and slept better; and how it made you into all in all a better person.
And you start to tell yourself these little white lies – “I’ll just take a little break and start back when work gets less crazy”(it won’t), “It’ll be easier when the kids are older so I’ll go back then” or our favourite “I’ll just wait till I get back from holidays, there’s no point starting before then (there is)”.
There will NEVER be a perfect time. Life will always throw curveballs at you, and your ability to keep going – or to get straight back on the wagon when you falter – will determine your results. And, to be brutally honest, it will determine your quality of life as you age as well.
We all think motivation is what will give us that kickstart, and that will lead to action which will lead to results. But actually it’s the opposite. Action starts you off, that leads to results and that, in turn, fuels your motivation.
So if you’ve fallen off the exercise wagon – and it’s run you over and left you for dead – the only way back is to JUST GET BACK ON.
Don’t overthink it. Don’t make excuses. Don’t make deals with yourself that you’ll get back to it when… [fill in the blank]. Stop self-sabotaging.
Just start with something and slowly build on that.A coach who will be accountable, like a buddy that will help to give you the initial kick up the butt is what you need.
With Flexible timings, Dynamic workouts uniquely design for your body sync and Current Health, We at Etrecoeur can help you gain that traction back towards your motivation to get back on that fitness wagon!
If you need help getting back on track and working out what will move the needle to get you closer to your goals, we are here to assist you with it. Reach out to us.