Hi Everyone!
It’s been a crazy weekend. I’m behind schedule on everything I planned to do, including my workouts. I started a job as lead Occupational Therapist for a new facility this week. Jesse ran a Half Marathon yesterday.
Jesse Bender: Pre-Race
Although I had more time this week because my new job is closer, I was tired, so I skipped a few days of workouts. Skipping workouts is a vicious cycle, because when I workout I eat more healthfully. When I don’t work out my body craves an alternate energy source, and I start craving less nutrient dense food (simple sugars, etc). Yesterday, Jesse was sick before he ran (but we thought it was just pre-race jitters, although that wasn’t normal for him). After he ran, he was terribly sick so I spent the evening taking care of him. The overall result, missed workouts & food choices that have me feeling tired, bloated and blah.
Today is a new day, and that means I can make the choice to get back on track with my workouts & my eating. Life happens. Things will come along that push you off course (even when you have a plan!) That’s okay, it’s part of living. Don’t let those times completely de-rail you. Progress and health are the result of consistency in your choices.
It’s okay to take rest days & indulge in chocolate (or your favorite food of choice). If the majority of the time you are making healthy choices in your fitness & diet, a little bit of indulgence isn’t going to ruin your progress.
Here are some simple things you can do to stay on track:
- Plan your meals for the week. This can include food prepping on Sunday, or just planning what you will have for lunch & dinner throughout the week. It will save you time & money if you plan ahead, make sure you have all the necessary items from the grocery store, and do a little prep. It also makes it easier to avoid un-healthy food choices & take-out menus or drive-thru dinner options when you have a plan.
2. Plan Workout & Rest Days: Schedule in time for your workouts. Figure out the time that works best with your schedule & lifestyle. If something comes up adjust as needed. If you know your goal is to workout 5X per week, and you miss a day on your schedule, adjust the schedule so you are still getting in 5-workouts. If you miss a workout once in a while it’s okay, but aim to hit those 5-workouts consistently, even if it means swapping your rest and workout days sometimes. I call it Flexible Planning.
For the Schedule below you will see that on several days I wrote Workout or Run or Rest. Those are flexible days. I want to workout 5X per week, and I am running a Half Marathon in October so I want to run 5X per week. Because I am training for the Half, some days I will only do running instead of pairing a run and a workout. I will write a blog post specific to Half Marathon training & adjusting your workout schedule. I keep those days flexible so that I can choose to do just a run, just a workout, or take a rest day. I aim to workout 5-6 days per week with 1-2 full rest days. My workout time ranges from 30-60 minutes total per day.
-Sunday: Long Slow Run & Workout
-Monday: Run & Workout
-Tuesday: Workout or Run or Rest
-Wednesday: Run & Workout
-Thursday: Workout or Run or Rest
-Friday: Workout or Run or Rest
-Saturday: Run & Workout
Optional Week Long Workout Schedules:
Below you will find several weeks of workout Schedules. Click the link for the full schedule with workout videos. Adjust the days to fit your personal workout schedule needs. Most schedules include 5-6 Workouts per week.
