If you want to be an IronMan, you can’t stop training after Tuesday Mmkay?

Confession time. I had a not so great week. Now don’t get me wrong, I ~did~ get in some workouts, but I had a bad day on Wednesday (some family drama) and then I just spent the rest of the week trying to work on said drama and finding the will to get back on track. As a former couch potato, it is hard to not think “Dang, I worked out four times this week…” and be all proud of myself. Granted, working out four times is way better than what I was doing: pressing the button on the Amazon Firestick remote.

The good news is that I did get up early and go for my long run today (Saturday). AND I had a nice session with my coach, Jason who helped me look at a couple of bikes that are in the running for purchase.

But the fact remains that it wasn’t a stellar week and missing three days of workouts will not get me over that finish line for IronMan. I had to think about where I went wrong and what I needed to do to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

So here is what I have decided are my rules going forward:

1. Have a plan for when life happens. (And life will happen.) 1a. Don’t stop working out on Tuesday – e.g. don’t let one bad day ruin the rest of the week.
2. At a minimum, always do squats, pushups and crunches. Motion begets motion.
3. Have a go-to music list of inspiring music. Sometimes that helps the blahs to go away.
4. Switch workouts and do yoga or strength training. Sometimes the particular workout that we have scheduled just isn’t the right thing for that day.
5. Take a power nap.
6. If you have a coach or a training buddy, call them for some advice or a pick me up. They’ve been there too.
7. Another take on #6 – if you have a training buddy, make a plan to meet up with that person so you are more likely to follow through.

The key is to understand what triggers you and to mitigate the potential negative outcomes. If you know you have a dialogue in your head that will lead you to missing more workouts, then start putting in place the back up plans that will get you to meet your goals. At least, that is what I’m telling myself – and I’m hoping this plan works!

What do you do on a tough day? Do you still work out? How do you motivate yourself when you feel distracted or worried about something?

Thanks for your support! No matter how I mess up my weeks, each day is a new beginning and today I’m back on track!

Onward.