I find that it can be very hard for us to build momentum with things that are new. Working out is no exception. Actually, it may be one of the hardest areas in which to build a routine if it doesn’t feel great at first. Even for me, as an athlete who loves to be active, it has been very difficult to restart exercise routines after periods of inactivity in my life. You will have to “suffer” through a period of time during which you probably can’t push yourself hard enough or long enough to get the physiological benefits that will eventually be there. I’ve found that keeping a visual log on a calendar is a great way to build momentum, confidence, and a sense of success during the beginning stages. I still log my workouts. I have a separate calendar on my Google Calendar that at is gold and I put abbreviations for all my workouts to track what I did and when. I still draw a tremendous amount of self empowerment when I look at my month or my week and see how much I’ve worked out.
I suggest using a month view calendar and simply putting a big red X on any day you worked out. At first don’t worry if it’s a 20 minute quickie or an intense 45 minutes. The momentum is build by doing it, period. Then at the end of the week or the month you will have a record of what you did. Check out the example I posted. You will see that it incorporates previous tips by using the weekend and not missing two days in a row. (Except where I X’d the wrong days on the second week…) To me, that looks great. In reality it is only 4 workouts a week. Maybe as little as a two hour per week commitment. But it is a good month and you can actually see it was a good month.
Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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