So I just finished my third week of working out with the intention of running a half marathon in May. Some days it's been a challenge to find the drive to trek to the Rec Center in the cold after a day of teaching and classes when all I want to do is go home and climb into bed, but having a training plan is helping to keep me motivated and accountable.
I have also found inspiration once again from Gretchen Rubin author of The Happiness Project.
Gretchen has a blog post here that lays out 12 tips for getting regular exercise, as well as a post here about boosting your energy level. Both posts contain tips that have been matras for me as I move from day to day, so I would like to lay out my favorite tips here for you in no particular order.
5 Tips for Sticking to Your Workout Resolution/Plan
1. Get enough sleep. You don't have to make huge changes to your life to experience higher levels of energy and the motivation to be active. Just start with getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
2. Always workout on Monday. What you do each Monday sets the tone for the rest of the week, so by working out on Mondays you will begin each week positively with a bit of exercise.
3. Never skip exercising two days in a row. Rest days are great, but rest days can quickly escalate into rest weeks. Make sure to follow up a rest day with a workout day.
4. Act energetic. When you act the way you want to feel, you are more likely to begin to feel that way. This tip can also extend to other areas of your life: act more friendly, more loving, more patient, etc.
5. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You're going to have bad days, days when your legs just don't want to move. That's ok. Acknowledge what you do instead of what you don't do and move on.
I hope these tips help you like they've helped me! If you made a new year's resolution but have stopped working towards your goal, consider this your call to re-start your efforts. Don't let thoughts of "Well, since I haven't stuck to my resolution every day, it's not worth it to start back up again" get the best of you. You can do it!
Until later,
Amy
P.S. This post was partially inspired by my friend Tory's post on sticking to your new year's resolutions by getting others to keep you accountable. Check it out here!
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