When Life Interrupts our Fitness

By Donna Kostiew

Life. It happens to all of us. We are so busy living it that we don’t often don’t see those “well, that’s life” moments sneaking up on us. I’m talking about the moments when our daily schedule gets interrupted and when the day simply doesn’t go as planned. We all try our very best to get our fitness routine in, but some days it just doesn’t work out … and that’s OK.

Don’t sweat it if you miss the chance to break a sweat because life came out of nowhere. Guilt rarely serves us well, and it has been shown that it can take us further away from our fitness goals than what missing that one workout session would have actually done.

When Life Interrupts our Fitness

Instead of self-shaming, try some self-love. Here are some suggestions on how to positively deal with that missed fitness class or workout session.

• Break out of the shaming cycle - The harder you are on yourself, the harder it is to accept when a workout is missed. The trick to breaking this cycle is to allow yourself some compassion and grace. We have all been there, and it would be unrealistic to think it wouldn’t or couldn’t happen. Giving yourself some grace on the matter will not only be better for your attitude, it will also help you stay on track and reach your fitness goals.
• Add extra movement - If you didn’t have time for part of the workout, or (gasp!) the entire session, don’t panic. All is not lost! If you can find an extra few minutes, try to add a brisk walk into your day or do a mini-burpee session at home between giving the kids a bath and checking out Facebook. Or better yet, don’t check out Facebook, it’s a time-sucker anyway. The point is, adding as much movement into your day as you can is always a victory, even if it is in small increments.
• Get back on track – If you missed an entire workout session, don’t worry … and don’t give up! There is no need to add an extra workout the next day and there is definitely no need to feel so badly that you lose motivation. Just get back at it the next day!
• Think about it – Although you should rarely feel guilty about missing a workout, it can be helpful for future absences if you think about why you missed it in the first place. Are you getting too little sleep? Does your schedule need to be adjusted? Are you hurting? By doing this, you will be able to plan for next time and if needed, take care of your body at the same time too. And of course, there will be times when missing a workout is totally unavoidable.

That’s how life seems to work.

To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Temecula, Calif.