Whether you are a die-hard gym-junkie or a “start and stopper” (you start a fitness program, follow it diligently for several weeks or months, then stop), or somewhere in between, no doubt you’ve hit a point when you were either:

• Tired of exercise
• Tired of the gym
• Tired of your routine
• Tired of not making steady progress…

I could add more, but I think you get the point: at some point, your exercise routine, no matter how regimented (or not) it is, might get stale. Psst…I have a secret: An often over-looked, but very important, component of that plan is “recovery” time!

Recovery time is built into fitness plans to allow the body time to rest. During this built-in rest time, lots of good stuff happens. Muscles rebuild themselves and metabolic changes take place at a cellular level. There is a lot going on when we exercise that we may not feel or see. Without recovery days, the body can’t properly rebuild and repair. Miss these important rest days enough times, and several things may occur:

• Burn out
• Injury
• Lack of progress (you won’t see further adaptations – you’ll “plateau”)

Follow this “Rule of Thumb”: 1-2 days of rest per week, not necessarily in a row. For weight training, switching to a cardiovascular activity the following day, or training different muscle groups, will allow the muscles previously trained time to adapt and recover. The same goes for cardiovascular activity: after several days in a row of cardio, a day of rest or cross-training is a good idea. This will give you a chance to work different muscles and allow the muscles typically used a chance to rest. So if you are a runner, cross-training with cycling or swimming gives the “running” muscles a chance to rest. This is why Triathlon training is often called the perfect “triad” — cross-training is built in!

I recently posed this challenge to one of my clients, and for her, it worked like a charm. Hey, some of us are motivated by having the ante upped, including yours truly. Do more (exercise) this week than you did the week before.

So here is how it works:

For one week, tally the number of minutes you spend doing physical activity.

1. Record time spent doing cardiovascular activity, such as walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, and so on.
2. Record the time spent doing other activity, such as gardening, housework, painting a room, or whatever.
3. Record time spent sitting.

Then, create a chart with a weekly goal. For instance, you might list physical activities separately, followed by “household chore” activity, job-related activity, and sedentary activity.

In the next column, record last week’s minutes spent doing those activities and non-activities, then up the ante for this week. A good rule of thumb is to add 2-5% more to each physical activity (if you want to be conservative), or up to 10% of you really want to challenge yourself.
In addition, make one goal to reduce time spent doing sedentary activity, like TV watching.

Create a column for each day of the week and at the end of each day, tally your minutes. On the last day of the week, do a quick tally to see if you will reach your goal. If you are at risk of falling short, see if you can squeeze in extra minutes of activity to help your reach your goal.

Refer to my simple chart here if you need a visual. You might have more activities on your own chart, and be sure to include all 7 days  (i.e, don’t think weekends don’t count, ’cause they do!)

Hopefully, if all goes well, you will see your hard work paying off. Each week, you can create a new goal. Obviously, you can’t add time to your minutes forever, but you could eventually create a goal for, say, adding a new activity, or maintaining max heart rate for a certain number of minutes, and so on. It is a little hard to see the numbers on this chart, but I basically added time to each physical activity, and reduced the time spent in sedentary activity. For example, if I ran 120 mins last week, this week I’d aim for 130 or 140. If I sat and watched TV 200 mins last week, I’d shoot for 180 or less this week. Hopefully this all makes sense.

If you try this, let me know how it goes…
And if you have your own chart that you’d like to share, fire it my way and I’ll post it here on the blog.

Before you start an exercise program: Get inside your head!

How many times have you started an exercise regimen, only to stop after a few months, weeks, or even days? Trust me on this – you are NOT alone.  I’m using exercise as an example here, but there are myriad ways we start/stop something before reaching the goal.  Off the top of my head, I can think of several projects I’ve started, and not finished: a book proposal, re-organizing our closets, and giving the toy room a complete overhaul. Paralyzed by the enormity of the projects, the time they will take, etc., it is hard to stay on task. I’m going to follow my own advice below, using what I know about achieving fitness goals, to tackle my projects. I’ll let you know how it goes

Here are 3 Steps to take BEFORE you start an exercise program (or begin any large project):

Step 1: Know what you want to achieve

This seems like an obvious thing to consider before starting any project, but many times this crucial first step is overlook. If your weight loss journey is to be a lasting and successful one, it must become part of who you are, so sit down and really think about what you want to achieve. Not what you hope to achieve, what you want to achieve. What is your intention? Is to lose weight? How much weight do you want to lose? Is it to get in shape? What kind of shape do you want to be in – marathon-running shape, toned and more energetic, or would you be happy just getting up the stairs without getting winded? These are important considerations –  without a clear sense of what you want, you’ll become easily distracted en route to your destination and the journey itself won’t be nearly as efficient, productive, fun or rewarding.

When stating your intention, keep it broad and brief, at least in the beginning. Intentions that are too specific are difficult to achieve. So use the KISS philosophy: Keep It Simple, Silly

Example of a broad intention: “To develop a healthy body composition.”

Example of an intention that is too specific: “To lose 2 lbs per week for 8 straight weeks by running five times per week for 40 minutes and by limiting calorie intake to 1500 calories per day.”  Even if you feel and look better at the 8-week mark, if you didn’t lose 16 lbs as you intended, you’ll likely see failure rather than success, even though you did have success.

Step 2: Know why you want it.

In other words, who is behind the change (you, or something/someone else?) If you want to lose 30 lbs, why do you want to lose 30lbs? Is this your decision? Your spouses? Your physicians? Your mothers? Know why you want what you want. The most lasting and successful plan will come from clear reasons why you want it. Spend time fleshing this out – it is important. If the catalyst for change is someone/something other than you, your odds of being successful are slim.

Write it down now. Why do you want it?

Step 3: Know what you like to do.

This almost seems to obvious too mention, but I am frequently stunned at the blank stare on clients’ faces when I ask, “what activities do you enjoy most?” Participating in an activity that you enjoy increases the likelihood you will stick with your fitness plan, so spend a few moments on these next two points:

1. Consider the type of exercise you like to do and when you prefer to

do it (morning, evening, mid-afternoon).

2. Make a list of all of the activities you enjoy doing, even past sports

you participated in, and childhood activities that were fun. Why do (did) you like these activities?

Work, kids, travel, yard work, laundry, family obligations…we all have many things on our “to do” lists, and tell me if I’m wrong, but exercise isn’t usually at the top of that list. If you are one of the few who ranks exercise in the top three or four of your daily “to do’s”, then hats off to you – you rock! I’m guessing that you make exercise a priority because you realize its value, and have reaped the benefits of a regular activity, and also believe you can do it.

I think that many times the biggest obstacle to success, or even getting started, can be found by looking in the mirror. Yes, I think many of us get in the way of our own success.

Real life example:

I have a friend who for three years, worked out, tried to watch what she ate, but couldn’t seem to lose more than a pound or two. She would maintain this loss, then “obligations” would creep into her schedule…volunteering at her kids’ school, a yard project, errands, etc. The two or so pounds would come back, along with all those excuses why she couldn’t find time to exercise, then the cycle would start anew a few months later. Finally, a light went off. One day, she believed she could do it. Obligations? Phooey. Chores? They could wait. Errands? She decided most weren’t necessary – only excuses. She made up her mind then and there that exercise was a priority, not something to stick in the schedule when the schedule allowed. As of a few weeks ago, this woman had lost more than 15 pounds (2 month time period). She is proud of herself, and all it took was getting out of her own way. Woot woot.

Are you you’re own obstacle? Tell us your story!

You’ve been home with a brand new baby for six weeks, and realize your post-baby body more closely resembles your newborn’s than your pre-baby body did. Armed with your favorite workout DVD, your first attempt at a new mom workout routine is interrupted multiple times for feedings, diaper changes and soothing cuddles. You try to grab a walk, alone, when your husband gets home, but get only as far as the street corner when the cell phone rings: the baby is crying, and only you can remedy that. What’s a girl who wants to get back into shape to do?

Luckily, there are options, and one often over-looked solution is to scout out a gym that has a dynamic childcare service. In fact, many nurseries will take babies as young as 6 weeks old. The problem? New moms are often uncomfortable leaving her new found love in anyone else’s care longer than a nanosecond.

Here are a few tips to make the transition to a regular exercise regimen a bit easier:

Ask and you shall receive. “Build your network of support,” says Cram. “You are with your babies 99% of the time. There needs to be a period of time when mom is focused on mom.” Help might be just around the corner (literally). Enlist the help of friends, neighbors, grandparents, and your spouse.

Make it a family affair. “The kids love the daycare area, and despite frequent trips to change diapers, it is totally worth the effort,” says Riley. “My kids have made friends (at the gym) and are learning about fitness, rock climbing, swim lessons…it is excellent family time.”

Get fit with friends. Exercising with a group of women who have similar interests and goals can provide both the structure and incentive you need to stay committed. Stroller classes (for infants 6-months and older) are one great example. But don’t overdo it. “Moms with multiples need to be very careful pushing strollers that are too heavy,” says Riley

And don’t forget to get the “go ahead” from your OB/GYN before beginning an exercise plan. By six weeks postpartum, most women who have no medical contraindications can return to a scaled-back version of their pre-pregnancy routine. Muscles, tendons and joints take time to return to normal. Maternal fitness expert and author of Pregnancy for Dummies, Catherine Cram, M.S., recommends short bouts of gentle exercise, such as walking in 15 min increments, three times per week for several weeks before increasing exercise intensity. “Start slow, and remember, every woman is different, so pay close attention to how your body feels,” says Cram.