Don’t Let Life Disrupt Your Commitment to Exercise

Flexibility can help you maintain an exercise program.  photo: www.localfitness.com.au

It is fall, when the summer routine fades, school starts, and we re-organize our lives and our schedules.  In all the upheaval and excitement, routines can get disrupted.  This year, my exercise routine gave way to moving, attaining driver’s licenses and license plates, finding health insurance, choosing schools, and attending back-to-school nights for my children.

Yes.  I’m a trainer.  Yes.  I love to exercise.  No.  I didn’t get it done.  For nearly two weeks.

It happens to the best of us: even those of us who make careers out of staying fit and helping others stay fit.  Life gets in the way.

So what’s a well intentioned girl to do?

Don’t be hard on yourself.  No one can do everything at once.  There will come times when you are unable to maintain your normal schedule.  Recognize it.  Give yourself time to focus on what you need to do, and decide when you will resume your exercise.  Then stick to that plan.

Because I am in temporary housing, much of my beloved equipment is in storage.  As a result, I’m rethinking my workout strategy.   I’m re-discovering exercises I’d long neglected or rejected as boring on my reformer and stability chair.  And right now I am enjoying some fast paced walks around the neighborhood while pushing my daughter in the stroller.  It’s no elliptical workout, and Lord knows the Cleveland snows will stop this walk quickly.  But I’m enjoying this routine now, and I’ll find something else to enjoy come winter.

The good thing about change is it requires flexibility, and flexibility brings with it variety and inspiration.  Stay open to what you can accomplish in a variety of settings and times in your life.  Blips occur for all of us.  It’s those who can recover from them that will stay committed and fit.