Summer is coming to a close and all the activities along with it. I, like many others, did a lot of traveling the last few months and am ready for life to slow down a bit.
Summertime is one of the most challenging times of the year when it comes to your health and fitness routine, or any routine for that matter. BBQ’s, vacations, kids at home, lemonade stands, longer days, and more add up to an action-packed couple of months.
Routines and consistency are an important part of staying on track with your fitness, and that is nearly impossible when life is so unpredictable.
Fall is here, time to take back control and get a solid routine going again. Kids are back in school, temps are on the decline, and days are getting shorter.
Getting back on track can really suck sometimes! So I’ve created a short of things to help it suck less…
1. Reset and Find Your Focus
Summer happened. You ate things from the “never eat these” list, you drank more that you should have…but now it’s over.
I’m usually not a fan of the “Monday” mindset. If it’s important enough we should start now, not wait for the start of a new week. But sometimes that fresh start is exactly what we need.
Start your preparation now to hit the ground running this Monday. Sign back up at the gym, maybe get a new pair of kicks, and hit the grocery store.
The better prepared you are the easier you’ll make it for yourself. The steps you take to plan ahead and prepare now will set you up for success later.
2. Detox
This little piece of advice is controversial, but in my experience, I’ve found that it’s best to cut out the junk food and bad habits cold turkey.
Do you remember the old Lays commercial tagline: “Bet you can’t eat just one!”
Once you start, it’s hard to stop…so don’t ever start. We tell ourselves that just one or two will keep the cravings away…that’s rarely the case and what ends up happening is those little bites keep the cravings alive and well…and as the tagline indicates, it’s usually never just one.
It’ll be hard at first, but if you commit to not even having a bite of something off your plan then you’ll get things started on the right foot. This is not forever, just the first few weeks. Let’s call it a detox.
Avoid packaged and processed foods and stick to more veggies, fruits, and lean proteins. You’ll find that your palate changes and your desire for donuts, fried twinkies, frozen lemonade, and other summer treats will slowly fade away.
3. Get Some Rest
As relaxing as summer days are, most end with the feeling of exhaustion. This was definitely the case for me…traveling can be rough!
Make catching up on sleep a priority over the next few days.
When your body is low on sleep, it becomes easier to make poor eating choices. You’re also less likely to get back into your workouts if you don’t give your body a chance to rest.
Aim for a full 8 hours of sleep each night.
4. Gym Time
It’s time to sweat out all those indulgences. So lace up your new kicks and find your workout clothes at the bottom of your drawer and get back to the gym.
If you took most of the summer off then ease into your first few workouts. The last thing you want to do is make yourself so sore you can barely move. Keep your efforts under 75% and focus more on full body routines the first week or two before pushing it any further.
Aim for at least 3 days of resistance training and 3 days of cardiovascular work. Combine them if you want!
If you aren’t able to go to a gym then work out at home. If you need a plan to follow just let me know and I’ll send you one for free!
If you haven’t joined L8R yet, now is the perfect time to start. We customize an approach to adapt to your individual needs and circumstances. Cookie cutter approaches don’t work, and extreme restrictive diets are incredibly temporary. Learn how to make the fit lifestyle an enjoyable and sustainable lifestyle you can easily implement and maintain forever.