Be Flexible

It’s happened to us all. You’ve been working out, following the same routine for weeks, maybe even months now. You’ve worked hard to get where you are now, following your workout plan to the letter, but it’s been getting harder and harder, the same routine week in and week out. Finally one day you wake up and just can’t find the motivation to lace up your shoes, let alone face another hum-drum workout.  What happened? You used to enjoy doing this, but somewhere along the way it became a chore. While unwavering dedication to a strict workout regimen is commendable, changing things up every once in a while is good, if not necessary, for your body as well as your mind. Just because you are scheduled for a long run today doesn’t mean that you can’t do sprints instead. Likewise, if an upper body resistance workout is what’s on the agenda, nothing says you can’t work your legs or your core if they’re well rested or even do something a little more unstructured. Maybe you just feel like going for a bike ride, or perhaps a swim seems like it might be fun.  Are the kids playing in the backyard? Feel like joining them for a game of tag instead? Go for it. We all know that we are supposed to listen to our bodies, but we need be cognizant of where we are mentally as well. If there is something else you feel like you would be able to put more effort towards or enjoy more, do that instead; it’s better than just going through the motions of your planned workout or worse yet, not doing anything at all. When the day comes that you don’t feel like you can handle your workout, yet you make the choice to do something else that is active, you have succeeded. Unless you are a dedicated athlete or training for a specific sport or event, having a little flexibility in your routine will help make fitness a part of your life and not just something you are trying to fit into your life.  And that is what embracing the fit life is all about.