Get Your Sh*t Together and Get Back Into Routine!

Been a "get your shit together" kind of week/month/year?  Ally from http://www.ally.substance.cc gives us the low down, aka her secrets, on getting back into a good routine.

I’m back home now and I will be the first to admit my fitness has taken the back seat lately. I feel guilty, I feel sluggish and I just don’t feel myself. I thought I would share my ways to get back into the swing of things post work, post holiday, post break.

If you have been following me on Instagram you might have noticed I have spent more time in the air lately than a human probably should. I have been to London, Kiama and Splendour all in the space of two weeks – the result? Endless tears induced by being “too tired to deal with this shit”, the non-stop feeling of tiredness and basically just enough energy to get by. I haven’t had time to exercise and if I have had a spare moment, the last thing I felt like doing was putting on training gear. Cue: Pass me my pj’s, please!! 

I took my new adidas sneakers to London with the best of intentions. The running joke was “Ally, have you gone for a run yet?”. Evidently I was time poor over there and until today it’s been like that since my return. I woke up with the attitude of “Ally get your shit together” this morning. I am sick of feeling crappy, sick of having no energy, sick of my skin being temperamental and sick of feeling sorry for myself. I need routine, in fact I crave routine.

I like knowing what I am doing a week down the track – I have been that way since I was little. It’s time to bounce back after this past fortnight and take my health seriously again.

These are some things I am going to be doing, so hopefully you can implement them for yourself if you, just like me have had a break (no matter if it’s been big or small) 

MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME
I know above it seems like I may have been beating myself up a little for having a break. The best thing for you though is to relax, take a deep breath and realise it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done, now it is time to move forward and make up for lost time. Don’t over do it though. Aim at easing back into things for the first week or two. Don’t get cute and try and break your previous records, your body needs some time to adjust!

What this means for me
I have City2Surf next weekend, so I need to take that easy. I need to train, but when it comes to the actual race, I need to just go with what my body is feeling.

SCHEDULE TIME
Because you’re out of routine, it will be so easy to make excuses for yourself like:  “Oh, but I have to eat this entire thing of biscuits, so I won’t have time to exercise after“, “But it’s kinda cold and purple skin just doesn’t go with my new green Nikes“, “But the crappiest TV show The Bachelor Australia just began and I fear if I miss an episode I will die – exercise can wait“.

It really isn’t an all or nothing situation. Just do as much as you can fit in. If you schedule time you will be able to hold yourself accountable! Yeeee ha! Start off small too.

What this means for me
I am going to schedule time middle of the day and afternoon. They are the best times for me and I know I can stick to it.

PLAN A ROUTINE
When I say “don’t over do it”, I also mean “don’t under do it” as well. There’s no point starting back up only to run 3 kilometres in the space of 14 days. That’s not enough for your body to adjust back into fitness goodness. So my suggestion is to work out a routine you can fit into your schedule and stick to it! Small routines that you can use to workout three-four times a week is a good place to start.

What this means for me
I am going to start off with a run and resistance training first off. 

DON’T FALL BACK INTO OLD HABITS
If you find yourself becoming bored of your routine FAST, then that’s probably an indication of you needing to mix things up. It is so important to reevaluate your training regularly so this doesn’t happen! Recognise the sign of feeling unmotivated before you get out of a pattern.

What this means for me
I really need to track my workouts and write them down so I can tick them off a list. I also need to change up my patterns every two weeks to combat boredom.

ENGAGE YOUR BRAIN
I love reading fitness stories online and in Women's Fitness magazine. If they aren’t a surefire way to get you inspired again, I don’t know what is. There’s some pretty amazing success stories out there and it puts everything into perspective for you.

What this means for me
Pick some stories or inspiring people and aspire to them.

CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE
Fitness game is all about attitude – you get out what you put in. That is also my mantra about general life. As you are trying to get back your fitness, your attitude also needs to adjust. Focus on how good you will feel when you are done rather than focusing on all the other things you could be doing instead of exercising.

What does this mean for me
Ahh, that feeling of accomplishment when you have completed a routine, lifted more than you did a week ago, run further than you did a week ago. All of these feelings are amazing. I wish I could bottle it up!!

Written by: Ally Carey
Source : http://www.ally.substance.cc