There’s never a normal week
There’s one thing I’m becoming super clear on. There is never a normal week. There is never a straightforward stretch of time. In the 4 months so far of 2019, my training has been disrupted by a box jump incident, a car crash, Easter holidays and a large house project.
Throughout these months I’ve been thinking… as soon as we get over this, it’ll get better.
But it never does. There is never a ‘normal’ week.
Similarly, I hear the same from my clients. You’re struggling with a sick child, organising kid’s birthdays, a niggle that won’t go away, a job change, and so on.
It’s time we came to accept that this IS our normal. Normal involves our routines being disrupted. Normal involves chaos, last minute changes and never enough time.
So with this in mind. How can we set our goals and expectations, so that we’re succeeding more often than not?
Have an Emergency Training Plan
OK so you can’t get to your training session. What else can you do? Can you fit in a 20min run? Can you squeeze in a 20min bodyweight routine?
A shortened training session is better than nothing. It provides a training stimulus, it burns energy and it restores you mindset. Which is great if everything else is crumbling around you!
Have an Emergency Eating Plan.
Can’t cook the scheduled meal tonight because you’ve been stuck in traffic for 45mins? Oh the joys… So create a list of 3 easy dinners for which you always have the ingredients and go with that.
– Keep portions of soup or stew in the freezer.
– Whip up a tasty omelette and serve it with frozen broccoli.
– Grab a rotisserie chicken from Sainsbury and serve with veg.
Re-adjust your expectations
Sure you might want to work out 5 days a week but most of us won’t manage that consistently. So set your objective for 4 workouts, with a stretch target of 5. That way you’re hitting your goals more often. Which feels great! Rather than failing more often, which feels rubbish.
Similarly, when doing your weekly meal plan, make sure you allow for a couple of ‘easy’ nights.
What other tips can you come up with?
