By Malia Warren
Motivation comes in spurts. For some it comes naturally, but for others it takes finding their old high school jeans during a spring cleaning session to spark that motivation to hit the gym.
During the holidays? It's so easy to say Fo'get about it!
It all starts with the Halloween Candy overload.
Then continues with Aunt Gena’s famous Pumpkin Pie at Thanksgiving.
Followed by the allure of the holiday cups at your local coffee shop, harboring sweet, irresistible peppermint flavor and the joy of hearing Christmas carols in the background.
It’s a recipe for (calorie) disaster.
The trifecta of colder weather, sweet treats, and all-around natural mammal desire to hibernate, actually work against our primal need to be active.
Just because it can be that way, doesn’t mean it has to be.
I’m not, by any means, saying these sweet treats are killing your diet. Everything in moderation - fit it in those macros.
But for some, moderation (and motivation) during the holidays is as scarce as the leaves on the trees.
But with the right tools, you can get through the season still motivated AF. I’m going to share a couple seemingly easy, but sure fire ways to stay on track this holiday season.
Plan Ahead
This is going to be my first tip: Track your fitness goals using a Google or other calendar app. The reason I like Google, is that it will sync with my Apple Calender, which syncs to my phone calendar - and then I really have no excuses, right?
I’ve been scheduling (yes, scheduling) my fitness commitments for a few years now but tweaked it recently to match my new schedule. As a busy mom, wife, and business owner, I am finding it harder to fit this time into my schedule.
To add items to a Google Calendar, simply open the Calendar app (found in the collection of 9 tiny boxes in the right hand corner of your Gmail browser (pictured below).
From there you just click on the date for which you’re trying to add an event, then a new page will open where you can add in details about the event, such as “Yoga @ Core Power” or “CrossFit @ Pleasant Hill CrossFit”.
If you put in the address, Google will have the address pre-populated when your phone alerts you to the event – which is great for calculating exact travel times based on traffic #procrastinatorsunite
Simple Planning
There are are some skeptics that don’t believe in pre-planning workouts.
Ok, but do you not plan anything or write anything down in a planner or email or piece of paper to remember? #plannerislife
If you’re easily sidetracked with daily tasks (I’m sure there is a medical term for it somewhere, right?) simply taking a few minutes of your day to plan your workouts can totally help! (Check out our blog post on Making Badass To-Do Lists to stay on top of the game!)
The purpose of adding an “event” or “appointment” with the gym, is not solely to fill your week with activities, it also serves its purpose in keeping you accountable.
If you’re like me, you like to be where you say you’re going to be when you say you’re going to be there #saythatsentencethreetimesfast
Why shouldn’t a calendar remember everything for you?
Not only that, you can set nifty little timers to go off beforehand, like a “hey, dude, it’s time to leave for the gym. You know, the commitment you made to better your health? Yea, that’s appointment is in 30 minutes.”
Ok, ok. It’s not that customizable. But still.
Cool right!?
It will even send you an email reminder or text reminder.
In fact, we're so dang extra as a society now, you can add it to your Alexa.
Don’t look back, you’re not going that way
Well, Malia, what if I put this on my calendar and I miss it, because #life?
If you miss your date with sweat, that’s ok.
Reschedule it on your calendar and commit to it.
There is no point in adding items to your calendar, if you aren’t able to go. That’s missing the point of this whole exercise #puntintended.
But if you don’t go, delete the event. That way you can look back at your progress for date you did make it to!
By adding your exercise schedule to your calendar, you can visualize your success.
Seeing the upcoming schedule will ignite a fire in you and motivate you to stay committed. This was super helpful for me and my Spartan training schedule where some days had to do two-a-days just to add in extra cardio.
This can also be beneficial if you need to plan around other activities that you keep on your google calendar, like kids sports and other events.
I suggest planning a week to a month in advance to help with the overwhelming feeling of having #life get in the way. Sh*t happens but preemptively carving out time to Savasana, can help up get through the day.
Change it Up!
Now that you’ve added your upcoming fitness adventures to your calendar, do you feel like you can accomplish anything?
You should!
My goal for the upcoming New Year, is to try all the Fitness classes I’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t!
I’m talking Aerial classes, Pole Dancing, Barre, and MORE! Subscribe to the Blog to see how I do! You better believe I’m going to be using my Google Calendar to fit these into my schedule!
I do understand that planning your fitness isn't always feasible for everyone. Sometimes the written calendar plan is associated with stress for some folks, and it's totally ok.
How to combat that?
Set your schedule in your head. Maybe you like a routine - our bodies get into a circadian rhythm. Most of us, whether we say so or not, hate change.
It's new, uncomfortable, and we feel out of place. So, commit to sticking to your routine! Our bodies actually like routine. This doesn't mean you have to do the SAME thing every day, but your body needs consistency (as in sleep, working out, eating habits, etc.) to feel satisfied.
If you have any questions or you would like to be a guest blogger, please email us at blog@liftingthedream.com
Do you use calendars to track your fitness goals?
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Malia is the force behind Lifting the Dream and a proud mompreneur. When she's not lifting heavy weights, she's probably at the beach or Disney with her family. She is a Cali girl born and raised, with salt water in her veins and sunshine in her heart. She and her family now reside in Florida soaking up the sun, heat, and all the amazing outdoor activities this state has to offer. |
I’m a disaster when it comes to working out. Recently I discovered I have scoliosis and that I just have to do excercises otherwise my condition will get much worse. The problem is – I hate working out… scheduling seems like a good idea. I’ll give it a try. Thanx for the tip ☺️
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