Do you go through a weekly workout routine without giving it much thought? Hey – not judging…I’ve been guilty of this as well. What type of exercises we do, whether cardio or strength training, are many times chosen based on our schedules and how much time we have available for a workout. Personally, I tend to lean toward cardio workouts, and find I have to work strength training into my weekly schedule, else it would get pushed aside. Regardless of what you choose to do on a regular basis, the real question is: How do you know if what you’re doing is helping you reach your fitness goals?
5Â Simple Ways to Gauge Progress…
1. First, if you are just starting out with a regular schedule, give yourself 6-8 weeks, (preferably, 12), before assessing your progress. Changing too much too soon can hinder progress. (Still waiting for results? Keep at it, and have patience)
2. If your goal is weight loss, don’t weigh in everyday, but don’t avoid the scale either. I recommend weighing in about once per week, and on the same day each week. Any more, and you may become frustrated by daily fluctuations. If you are not losing weight despite regular workouts and healthier eating, then perhaps you need to add longer cardio sessions, add strength training twice per week (if you aren’t strength training at all) , or jump into interval training.
3. If your goal is to increase strength, a simple check to see if your routine is working is to ask yourself this question: Is your last repetition easier than it was a week or two ago? If so , you are getting stronger. Or, if you can easily perform more repetitions, then your routine is working and it is time to increase your load. (Strength training progression)
4. Are your clothes fitting differently? Sometimes body shape changes before there are changes on the scale.
5. Are you able to workout longer during your cardio workouts, and without as much huffing and puffing? If yes, then it is time to increase distance, speed, or incline so that changes continue to take place. (How to build endurance)
Most importantly, be consistent. What you do every day matters more than what you do once in awhile, so give your body time to adapt to the changes you’re striving for. (Get past road blocks to find your path to fitness)
Stop reading the headline – I meant what I said.
At our house, we make mistakes. Really, big, messy ones sometimes. And you wanna know something really cool? Wait for it…(knuckle in mouth)…they are usually helpful. Crazy, right? See, the thing about perfection is that it leads to all or nothing behavior. “I can’t ever miss a workout or I’ll fail,” leads to no working out at all. “I can’t eat that piece of cake or my plan to lose five pounds will be ruined,” turns into ditching the weight loss plan altogether, because eating cake won’t count as cheating if you’re not trying to lose weight. Am I right? But what if it is not only good to make some mistakes, but to make them often?
Mistakes are opportunities. Deep, I know. Mistakes are opportunities to learn. In fact, I propose you make that same mistake twice, or three or four times. Make it until your plan is YOUR plan, because after trial and error time and again, you know what works, what doesn’t work, and how to overcome obstacles, get back on track, reevaluate, tweak, and become persistent. Making mistakes means you are trying. Multiple mistakes means you are continuing to try because you care, because you want success and you want to reach your goal, whatever that goal may be.
Finally, making mistakes reminds us that we are human. Everyone (seriously – everyone) makes mistakes, and I’m willing to bet that some of the most successful people on the planet made a lot of them before they reached their goals.
As you might guess from my lack of presence on this block, summer is a very busy time, and I know this is true for just about everyone (and you’re all nodding, “yes, my kids over-run my schedule too!”), so my “theme” for the week is all about making “healthy choices in a snap.”
It is super easy to slack off during the summer. C’mon, you know what I mean…the pool is more enticing than a trip to the gym, the longer days (often filled with kid-focused activities, which, less face it, suck the life right out of even the most energetic mom, and if you are like me and work from home, it is difficult to get any work done, much less a “work-out.”) Enter moi – also known as your kick in the butt.
You CAN still fit healthy activities and healthy foods into your busy days, it just takes a little more creativity.
Try these tips:
1. Include the kids. Outdoor games, family walks and bike rides,
2. Include your pet. Your dog needs a daily walk, right? Follow these tips for exercising outdoors with your dog.
3. Carve out small bits of time for exercise. You can accomplish a lot in just 10 minutes – seriously, you can!
4. Travel with fitness in mind. With a little planning, there isn’t any reason you can’t exercise while vacationing. I know, you might not want to, but it can be done.
5. Can’t get to the gym? Work out at home. Follow these tips for stocking your home gym with all of the basics.
Easy Peasy Recipes for summer
Stir Fried Chicken Tenders from Eating Well
Old-fashioned Spaghetti & Meatballs from Eating Well
The EatingWell Taco
Ravioli w/ Apples and Walnuts from Real Simple
Roasted Pork w/ Brussel Sprouts and Apricots
There, that should get you started. And also remember that you don’t have to take the “all or nothing” approach. Set out to do something that serves as exercise, and try to make healthy food choices – save the strict nutrition regimen and long, tough workouts for the fall when you have a bit more time for you! Summer is meant to be enjoyed, so go – enjoy.
Runners, I am SO jealous of you right now! As my injury slowly heals (waaaayyy too slow for my liking), I seem to notice more people hitting the jogging paths. Forgive me if I throw a rock at you as I drive by. ;0)
One thing I have learned through this rather inconvenient pain in my ass (literally), is that less might be is more. I stretched before said injury, but not enough. I went to yoga every so often, but I know it wasn’t enough. It had been some weeks months since I had a “taper week” or really, any light workout at all. My all or nothing attitude got the better of me. And so, here I am, having to heed my own advice. Believe me, it is like swallowing a bitter-tasting horse pill that then lodges in your throat. I’m learning, and passing along to you my plan of attack so that, 1) I’m held accountable, and 2) you can partake in a “less is more” workout if you chose – and actually, I highly advice that you do.
1. More stretching. Every day for me now. 15-30 seconds per major muscle group, plus some smaller muscles that are overworked and under-appreciated: IT band, tops of feet (perorius tertius, also known as dorsal flexors, as if you care, but you might), the soleus (calf muscle), and perorius longus (the muscle that runs down the outside of your lower leg.) My plan: 2 sets of each exercise, 5-7 days/week.
2. Yoga. The once/week deal I had going on was great…when I went. Clearly, I need yoga in my life, and I think yoga needs me. My plan: Ashtunga 2x/week for 60 mins for now. I’d like to get up to 3x/week and have one of those days include Hatha or a yoga/pilates fusion sort of thing. We’ll see where all this goes over the next few weeks.
3. Massage. I have two appointments set for next week, and after than, I’m shooting for once/month. The benefits of massage are so many that I have to send you away from here momentarily to check them all out. Read: “38 ways yoga keeps you fit“, and Please come right back 
4. Taper weeks. The body can not handle day-after-day, week-after-week, of hard training. Period. As with any time of periodized program (marathon training comes to mind), you have to balance the building weeks with taper weeks where, literally, less is more. This gives the muscles time to recover and repair. My plan: every 4 weeks, make 2 of my workouts lighter (i.e, less hard).
5. Sleep more. My plan: 8 hours per night! That’s my mantra. I haven’t lived by this rule, and yet, sleep is so important for muscle repair and for keeping cortisol levels in check. And with that note, I’m off to bed!
