Fall into a routine that works –
I recently invited a friend of mine to come try the Evolved Health workout. I explained to her what it was, and how it would only take 20 minutes of her time. To my surprise, she responded, “Summer isn’t over yet – I’m not doing a single thing.” Though I was a little surprised she didn’t want to spare a mere 20 minutes? I began to reflect on my own summer exercise mentality, and realized that I too had slacked off a little; however, what I didn’t understand was the “all or nothing” mentality. Neither ends of this spectrum are sustainable or productive to a long, healthy, and balanced life.
After this conversation, I began to notice this mentality no longer confining itself to January resolutions, but creeping its way into September routine reset. I was suddenly bombarded on my Instagram feed with fitness challenges, fad diets, and intense programs to help reverse the summer “laissez faire” attitude. We all enjoy our summer drinking, eating, and simply having fun with a more relaxed attitude, but suddenly feel a compulsive urge to completely reset our routines once the weather changes. Don’t get me wrong here, I think a reset can be a good thing, but only in a sustainable fashion. Further, with children, it’s a lot easier to build a self-care routine when they are back in school, but why not focus on building one you can continue year round, and not have to sacrifice it once you have more responsibilities.
Instead of signing up for a 6 week “shred” challenge – look for something that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine. At Evolved Health, the requirement is 15 minutes once a week. This expectation is very easy to meet, and even easier to sustain. Don’t torture yourself with two hours a day at a gym, burn out, and make it difficult for yourself to return to meeting such a high (almost impossible) standard.
Take your September reset slowly to ensure that the new standards you are creating are ones you can uphold for a long time. Take that routine into the summer months, and don’t feel discouraged or sluggish from abandoning your exercise regime when your schedule gets too busy. You won’t have to!