What was your most recent reason for missing your workout?  Was one of the kids under the weather or you had an exam in the morning that needed some extra study time.   We all have those times that it cannot be avoided to miss a session.  But what if we are missing the gym more then making the gym?  This would call for investigating our patterns to see what we can adjust. 

According to a New York Post article This is Why Americans Don’t Work Out More”, Americans are missing their workout due to similar reasons.  Let’s look at some of the reasons they listed and create an action plan.

Too Tired
There is a temptation I fight on a regular basis.  The temptation is to stay awake later then I should to hang out with Ron when I know I should be heading to bed since I wake up earlier then him.  The rare occasion I missed my “bedtime”, I felt the lack of sleep in my performance the next morning’s workout.  So, it was crucial to act on what was important to me.  Was I going to stay up late or reach my health goals. These days, I sleep like a baby and adhere to the bedtime I set.  

 

Other areas of assuring I get good sleep came into play once I made the commitment to stick to a bedtime. 

 

I put electronics away (not next to you) preferably an hour prior to bed.  We want our mind to start resting and what we view can have the opposite reaction depending on what it is.  My doctor also mentioned the lighting from the phone or the noise from any alerts disturbs us from going into a deep sleep if the phone is too close to us.  So disconnecting from electronics after a certain time allowed my mind to take a break from the busyness of the World Wide Web.

 

There is a connection between exercise and sleep.  So if we are too tired to exercise, my friends, exercising can help us improve our sleep.   As long as exercise is not too close to your bedtime, according to a study by thesleepdoctor.com, “Exercise can contribute to more sound and restful sleep. Physical activity increases time spent in deep sleep, the most physically restorative sleep phase. Deep sleep helps to boost immune function, support cardiac health, and control stress and anxiety.”

 

Ultimately, start to look at your lifestyle.  How does it help or harm your chances of good sleep?  See where changes can take place to create good sleep habits.  

 

Are we living to work or working to live?  Our career should replenish us if in fact we are doing what we love but there must still be balance.  We must learn how to shut it off, and rejuvenate through exercise.  

 

Just as there is a designated time to get work done, we can designate our gym time as appointments.  This is no new concept that I am mentioning.  In fact, my clients that get strong results often input our sessions in their calendar and plan around it.  Only emergencies cause rescheduling of our sessions.  

 

The Harvard Business Reviews shares in the article “Exercise Is Part of Your Job” that there is “mental firepower directly linked to our physical regimen”.  The study continues to state the impact exercise has on our thinking.  “Exercise helps us in our workplace through improved concentration, sharper memory, faster learning, prolonged mental stamina, enhanced creativity and lowers stress”.  Imagine how much more we can get done quicker if we made the mind body connection on a regular basis.  

 

Then start your day earlier.  Have you heard that saying “The early bird catches the worm”.  I’ve been there!   I’m a mom of two with a one year old and a ten year old.      I’m a wife and work full time.  In the morning,  I wake them up, Ron and I get the kids off to where they need to.  By the time I complete daily responsibilities of taking care of home, career, self-care, it is already time to pick up the kids, work on Mateo’s homework, dinner, bath etc.  For my life, I cannot make a gym session after work or once they are awake.  I train at 5am like clockwork.  Otherwise, I would be saying the same thing. It’s too late.

 

There comes a point when we have to remove the scales from our eyes and look at our routine.  Our real routine.  There are well intentioned friends that pack their gym clothes daily but by the time they finish all that has to get done in the day, it is too late in the day for them to make a session.  

On the flip side, there are those that have to be out late for work and intend to make a session early in the morning but are disappointed when they pressed snooze too many times.  Perhaps your best bet is a lunch time session, and sip on a protein shake post workout.  It is about finding the best time that is realistic for your lifestyle.  

 

Overall, for these reasons mentioned that exercise was missed, studies show how exercise is a solution to these issues.  Exercising helps us get better sleep and gives us focus on our jobs.   Whatever reason one might have for missing the gym, they can dust it off and restart the next day with an action plan to make sure that reason does not repeat.  We got this!  Cheering you on from the turf.