Feeling a Lack of Motivation or Discipline?
This is the time of year when training schedules and gym time drop as fast as the temperature. The list of roadblocks to training can be long (and sometimes justified!):
Work
Family obligations
Holiday parties
Sick kids
Travel
However, in my decade-plus of personal training and coaching, it’s not usually any of the above that derails people: it’s a false expectation of what progress and commitment look like.
Perfect attendance and never missing a day at the gym is not a realistic standard for most people when life gets hectic. However, it is realistic to pledge to yourself to fit in one or two workouts in a 7 day period and not completely derail.
“Perfect attendance and never missing a day at the gym is not a realistic standard for most people when life gets hectic.”
The worst thing you can do is simply stop everything entirely. It may mean you taking a different approach to your training: workouts may need to be 35 minutes instead of 55 or 75 minutes, for example. As a friend and colleague of mine, Matt Wenning, often says: “modify, don’t miss!”
It may sound hackneyed, but the advice is true: you cannot take care of the people and things in your life if you don’t also take care of yourself. I have never seen anyone in healthy relationships or high performing jobs not be able to at least find an hour here or there during the week to take care of themselves.
I’d also wager anyone reading this is also someone who enjoys training with intent, intensity, and passion. I don’t need to motivate you or convince you of its benefits. However, you should understand that all the hard work you put in up to the point of you starting to derail matters, and to maintain your results is far easier than continual progress.
Don’t give up on your progress! Here are a few ways you can do this:
Modify the schedule
This is a simple concept, but not always easy to execute. If you normally prefer to train in the evening, but after-work obligations are killing your schedule, then you may have to simply make time in the morning temporarily. That may mean shorter windows and workouts to achieve this, but that’s okay. You’re looking to maintain what you have or make a temporary goal shift (more on that below).
You may face a lot of internal resistance and external challenges to this, but that’s where the problem-solving and difficult nature lies: there’s always time, but it may not always be where you want it. A little planning can go a long way here.
Modify the duration
It’s very easy to get rattled when you see that realistically, you can only workout for 35 minutes and you wonder how anyone can do meaningful training in that 35 minute period.
Flip the mindset and simply commit to those two 35 minute workouts windows you see in your week. Do so with the mindset that you’re changing the goal, and that you are making sure you get your upper or lower body work in. No, it may not be an RPE 8, or 85% of your 1RM day, but switching the goal and enjoying the high of exercise in your day somewhere is a massive win.
For some ideas here, see my article on using escalating density training or travel/temporary workouts.
Modify the goal
When your training windows are affected by life, you have to take a longer term view of your training. What that means is, you may not be able to relentlessly pursue one particular training goal in the short term. Ironically, switching your training focus often helps the larger goal in the long run.
For example, someone who is used to training for strength and continual progress on the amount of weight they’re lifting would do well to periodically take time to also work on hypertrophy (or muscle growth), or more light, explosive training.
Some sports and pursuits may dictate that a temporary increased focus on conditioning may be warranted. This is great if you’re limited on time, as many endurance training programs can be done in 30-45 minute sessions, and pair very well with a busy schedule.
The point is, simply zoom out a bit and look at your big picture goals. What smaller or more achievable goals can be done while you’re dealing with periods of higher stress and less time to train? Pursue those goals.
Conclusion
The best athletes and most successful people with their training and fitness practice use the above 3 principles much more than an outsider may expect. The ability to be flexible and moldable is what makes them successful in the first place.
Something I haven’t mentioned yet, but is an important reminder: these periods of chaos are often short. The more intense the person and athlete is, it’s often easy to forget this fact. Whether it’s the holidays, stressful periods at work, or family obligations, there’s usually an end in sight. Plan around that.
The holiday season is the best time to get on top of these practices, as they are often the greatest test for many. I’m confident you can attack this the same way you do your goals each day. Good luck!
About the Author: Mark DiSalvo, CSCS
Mark is the founder and owner of DiSalvo Performance Training. He brings over a decade of experience training clients and athletes of all backgrounds and is the strength and conditioning coach to athletes of all levels and disciplines, from youth to professional and Olympic-level.
Mark is currently purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, with over 10 years of experience grappling.
A graduate of Northeastern University, he’s an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Sports Performance Expert. He’s also a Steve Maxwell Certified Kettlebell Instructor (Levels 1 & 2).
You can read more about Mark here.