I’ve encountered many challenges with health and fitness over the years, but coming up with a routine – believe it or not – has been the hardest. I’ve taken numerous approaches ranging from utilizing pre-made app-driven schedules to micromanaging my daily routine using multiple calendars, task lists, and trackers. I’ve tried early morning workout routines because that’s what everybody else does, and I’ve tried a multitude of exercises because of fads. I’ve even bought large amounts equipment, clothing, and exercise videos thinking they would hold the answer. For the most part, all of these approaches utterly failed…
It took months to learn one simple principle – your routine has to be uniquely you.
For most people, that may sound like a blatantly obvious statement. For me – so dedicated and driven to “make it work” – it took an extremely long period of trial and error to figure out. And frankly, I’m glad it did take that long, because now I’m more comfortable with, and continue to enjoy, my weekly routines.
Rule # 1: Listen to your body
I am not a morning person. I’ve listened to countless self-help gurus, trainers, and even friends tell me that it’s all in my head. Just get up and do it, they say. Okay, great as that is, when it comes to getting up and having my body do strenuous activity in a coordinated fashion, it simply does not work. So for me, exercising in the evening – either right after getting home from work or a couple of hours after dinner – works best. And yes, on days I have evening activities, I shift stuff around (an acknowledged complication that still offsets the challenging morning routine).
The key is not to follow my schedule or do what someone else tells you to do – it’s to create your own schedule that works for you.
Rule # 2: Understand your body
I may be tall but I am not coordinated nor particularly graceful. I’m also not a fan of group workouts or sports. Finally, my Type A personality prefers activities that are quantifiable. All of that combined, for me, translates into an exercise routine of weight lifting (where I can see the the progress of pounds lifted increase) and running (where I can quantify the distance and time and optimize them over time). These two exercise types, out of all the types I’ve tried, worked best with my body’s composition, my personal preference, and my schedule. Finding these two, though, took literally years of trying numerous exercises (TRX, P90X, spin, yoga, even a personal trainer just to name a few) as well as getting over the self-limiting mindset that “just two” types of exercise wasn’t enough.
The key is to find activities that are mentally enjoyable, work with your body type, and fit into your schedule.
Rule #3: Augment your body
If willpower alone was enough to lose weight, losing weight would be super simple. Unfortunately, it takes effort, determination, and motivation. To help in your health and fitness journey, it’s useful to augment your workout routine with encouraging support structures. For me, I’m more driven by personal goals rather than outside social influence, so I use a series of apps on my iPhone to track my progress (which I’ve written about here).
The key is to find the right combination of human and technology components to augment your exercise routine and supply the encouragement you need to accomplish your goals.