Getting into an exercise funk is no fun. I've been there. I love being fit, but there have been times when I just didn't feel motivated to work out. There have also been dark periods when I didn't even want to think about fitness. I blame that on menopause. I can't imagine any other reason for me to fall out of love with fitness.
Luckily, I've always been able to get out of a funk. Because you can't stay in it forever. It's nonproductive, feels yucky, and the longer you stay in it the harder it will be to get back on track. Here are some things that have helped me to snap out of it. Use what works, chuck out the rest. The important thing is that you get moving again.
1. Ask Yourself What the Problem Is: You can't fix something if you don't know what's wrong. What's the root of your funk? Did someone make fun of you at the gym? Are you overwhelmed by the terminology that your trainer is throwing at you? Dig deep to find out what is causing this lack of motivation, fuzzy-headedness, blah feeling--whatever your funk encompasses.
2. Go About Trying to Solve the Problem: Write down the problem and what you may be able to do to solve it. Say it's that people make fun of you at the gym. Let the gym manager know what's going on. He or she may approach the bullies, get their story, and tell them to stop or risk being kicked out. Each gym has its own policies regarding such matters, but I would think that most gyms would have a zero tolerance policy as far as harrassment goes.
3. Revise Your Goals: Revising your goals can help re-energize you and smash those barriers. Don't try to be a hot shot athlete if it's not in you. Shoot for losing 1 pound, 5 pounds, or even 10 lbs. Or you could set a goal to run a mile, then work your way up to a 5K. Similarly, set a goal to increase the weight you lift by 2 lbs. or up your reps by 5 (or by just 1; come on, one rep, you can do it.) in a week or so--whatever feels right for you. Challenge yourself to help put the fun back in your workout. Don't expect to be able to start back at your previous fitness level if you have been away from fitness for more than a couple weeks. Start back slowly; work back up to your previous level and then shoot for more.
4. Choose Activities You Enjoy: What do you like to do? Play cards, play Yahzee, garden, walk, play tennis? Great, do it! Okay, so playing cards and Yahtzee aren't exactly the most acitive pasttimes, but you could work them into your program. Never mind that they aren't the usual exercise choices. Maybe that's the problem. You may need to shake things up; become creative when designing workouts to put the zip back into your program. For instance, you may enjoy picking a card from a deck before each exercise in your program. The number can represent the number of reps, while the suit can represent the sets.
5. Manage Stress: If you're feeling pressured about things in your daily life including family matters, community obligations, bills, and so on, your workout could suffer. It can put a dent in your enthusiasm and time for exercise. But keep in mind that exercise can actually help relieve stress, so make sure you take time to fit in fitness. Make time for yourself. Consider meditating, getting more sleep, or talking to a close friend or family member to get things off your chest. If that's not enough, consult a financial advisor, your doctor, or other professionals for more expert advice.
6. Don't Over-Think Things: This happened to me. The more I learned about fitness, the more confused I got. I felt like I had to work out a certain way, design programs a certain way, go by the book. Then I heard from a trainer that I admired that she made her own programs specific to the clients' needs, not by instructions in a book. Yes, we need to learn theory, anatomy, physiology, programming, etc., when studying to be certified personal trainers, but we also have to loosen up a bit and go with our guts, and a client's preferences and fitness level rather than a textbook when deciding what's best for a client. It's similar to what doctors have said about me regarding my history of spina bifida: "You're not 'textbook'." When it comes to training, I don't think of anyone as textbook. All clients have individual needs. When I stopped over-thinking and started concentrating on the exercises I liked to do and had fun with, I felt much better. Workouts were fun again.
7. Leave Work at Work: If you've got a lot on your plate at work it may be hard to let it go and concentrate on your workout, but you need to. Workouts are great for helping you relax and keep your mind off work. Don't fight that. You need this facet of your life to help you decompress. Don't stew about work issues. Clear your mind, relax, have fun.
8. Think Positively: No matter what is going wrong there are probably a lot of things going right, too. Take a moment to realize that. Each night before you go to bed, make sure to write down three positive things that happened that day. Remember to include any fitness time you managed to squeeze in and if you grabbed a healthy snack instead of caving in and having that sugary soft drink or donut. Think of how it felt when you were at the top of your program, kickin' butt at the gym. You did it then; you can do it again. Focus on your strengths and build on them. Then tackle your weaknesses.
9. Concentrate on the Present: So, you messed up that workout; you missed a jogging date with your best friend. It's done. It's over. Leave it behind. A good way to put it behind you is to start over. Concentrate on the present. Try that exercise you goofed up on again. Take it slow. Master it. Call your friend to set up another jogging date and make sure to arrive early. Don't let the past control you; rather, control your present.
10. Stick to a Schedule: You have a better chance of making your workouts if you schedule them into your day. Working out early in the morning is great. You get it in before the day gets crazy. But I can't seem to exercise in the morning. I get up early for work as it is, so getting up earlier to fit in exercise just doesn't cut it. So, I usually have to wait until the afternoon. One time of the day I hate working out is in the evening. I'm too tired, plus I don't know anyone who goes to the gym at that time. Do cardio most days of the week and weight training at least two days per week. And allow for rest intervals during your workout as well as on off days to help your body recover. Overtraining increases the risk of injury, so, yes, challenge yourself, but don't go overboard.
11. Accept Off Days: Maybe you're having an off day, but that doesn't mean you have to turn it into a full-blown funk. Use these to re-energize yourself rather than kick yourself down. Come back more determined than ever to better your technique, increase your sets or reps, and up the weight your lift.
Fitness is fun. It can be. Honest! But there was a time when I couldn't seem to find the fun in it. Actually, for the last four years I've faltered. There have been times when I've gone for long walks with my husband nearly every night and hit 10,000 steps--sometimes more--daily but weight training fell by the wayside. Then both fell off pretty much completely except for occasional hikes with my husband or walks with friends. The reasons? Here's what I think happened.
Got Certified: I enjoyed fitness so much that I decided to get certified as a personal trainer myself. I loved the NASM course. It challenged me. There was a good bit of anatomy and physiology in the course work, and some chemistry, none of which I had taken before. I had to work my butt off, and I loved it. My trainer encouraged me and quizzed me. Others at the gym were supportive as well. I passed the test on the first try. I was thrilled. Then it came to applying for trainer jobs and...nothing. Well, not nothing exactly. I did get a couple interviews. But I didn't even apply until months after I passed my test because I wanted to wait until after we got back from visiting my mom. What was that all about? My brain function was a tad low at the time. That's the only reason I can think of for why I'd wait so long to apply. And it may have cost me a job. I knew a training manager who was enthusiastic and I was pretty sure he'd at least give me a chance to prove myself as a trainer. Well, by the time I applied he had moved on to different position in another city. I never got the chance to find out for sure. I got frustrated. I had a well-respected certification but no one would hire me. Was I too old? Was it because I didn't have experience? Was it because I walked funny? Or was I too chunky? I didn't know.
Trainers Left: One by one, the trainers who worked at the gym when I first joined left. I didn't click as well with the new crew. Some were okay, and all my trainers were decent over the years, but that first crew just couldn't be beat. Every one of them were friendly and supportive. I felt at home at the gym when they were working there. I felt like I belonged. But when they left, I got so I was less confident in my abilities, and I no longer felt at home at the gym. Workouts suffered. I stopped training with a trainer. I didn't have any close friends there and knew only a few people by name. Contract troubles cropped up as well. It all contributed to my decision to stop going to the gym altogether after a 5-year membership.
Menopause Hit: When menopause hit, hall hell broke loose. If it was edible, I ate it. I could tell myself that it wasn't good for me or that I shouldn't eat so much, but I kept on eating anyway. My motivation tanked so I stopped exercising for the most part. I got a bunch of equipment that I could use at home to exercise, thinking that would motivate me to get going again, but I didn't use it much. My energy level was at rock bottom. I started gaining the weight back that I'd lost through all that hard work. And I was furious with myself for doing it.
Work Increased: Good things started happening in regards to work around the time I left the gym. I found myself with three jobs online, all related to fitness and nutrition, including one working for that training manager I spoke about earlier who I thought may have hired me if given the chance. Well, my hunch was right after all. :-) Wow! I was psyched, but I also was sitting most of the day as everything I did involved computer work. Since I enjoyed the work, I would sit there for hours researching, writing, answering people's questions, etc. This inactivity just exacerbated the problem. But I still loved the work and that I was making more money than I had in quite some time. Considering my husband had been switched to part-time during this period, my increased work was welcome by us both. I just hated that I was so inactive and didn't have as much time to exercise. The thought of exercise just brought me down because I couldn't figure out how I was going to fit it into my schedule. This made me anxious, which made me eat more. I find it amazing that I didn't gain 100 lbs. during this time.
Busy Social Life: Around the time I started faltering a bit fitness-wise, my husband and I started volunteering--a lot. We helped out at area animal shelters, charity events, and sporting events. We had a blast doing it, and most of the time it involved physical movement, so that was great. But it left little time to actually do a full blown tough workout. We also met more people through our volunteer experiences, so that widened our social circle. We have more friends now than we've ever had, I think. It's great. We get together for football-watch parties, birthdays, holidays, walking, community events. It's fun. But it means also that I've had to totally re-work my life. I used to spend most of my time alone so I just did what I needed to do, whenever. Well, now with all sorts of commitments, my way of doing things had to change. How people with a full-time job, friends, community obligations, children and grandchildren do it is beyond me. I've got it pretty easy in comparison, working at home, but I still find it hard to fit all the responsibilities of life in. I welcome the challenge, but it did cause workouts to fall by the wayside. I'm working on that.
Death in the Family: When my husband's mother passed away late last year, everything kind of stopped. The nearly daily walks, weekend hikes, volunteering. We stopped moving, it seemed. Of course, death is something that has to be worked through. We need to take the time to mourn and heal. I understood that. He needs to take time to explore emotions, reminisce, and work through the stages of grief. He's doing well, but we still aren't back to volunteering. It makes sense, though. I read once that you can't help others until you help yourself through your own issues, troubles, feeling. This is our time to heal. There will be plenty of opportunities to be the helper again, in time.
The Time is Now: I started back at the gym at the beginning of the year. I'm working with a trainer again. I can't say that my progress has been as significant as it was 7 years ago when I first stepped into the gym, but I'm regaining my strength and then some. For example, when I left the gym I could shoulder press 20-lb. dumbbells, and now 5 months back I'm close to surpassing that personal record. I used to spend most days of the week at the gym and my workouts took about 2 hours. I don't have that kind of time anymore. But I know I don't have to work out for hours each day to be fit. Everything adds up. I have learned to fit in fitness where I can. Weight loss is so hard during menopause, so I'm not going to freak out about that either. I rarely weigh myself anymore. As long as I'm moving, exercising, eating healthy, and trying not to eat everything in sight, I'll be satisfied.
Does this sound familiar? I understand life getting in the way of fitness, believe me. But it doesn't have to erect a total blockade between you and your fitness routine. Don't freak out over fitness. That will only make things worse. Plan little bouts of fitness in between work and other tasks. Do as much moving at work as possible. At least it's something. Realize you're doing what you can. You can't put your life on hold for fitness, but you also shouldn't put fitness on hold because of life either. It's important to find a balance. And make fitness fun, not a chore. Think of how good you'll feel when your clothes become looser and your step a little lighter. It's worth it.
Let me know what you have done to fit in fitness. Email me at iwrite41@yahoo.com. I'd love to hear from you. Take care.
