How do you manage to complete 100 miles each month consistently with a full-time job?
How do you keep yourself motivated to do it every single day?
I get these questions a lot and believe me, when I started this journey in 2013, I had the same questions about the people who work out consistently every single day. I was convinced that they are crazy people and have no other personal life. But the pandemic WFH has been a blessing in disguise that helped me find the answers and develop this passion for outdoor walking
You must be wondering “then what changed in just a few years?” It’s just that I learnt from my mistakes and developed just one habit “Self-Discipline”.
It all starts from you and your own self determination to change something which is not right. Here are 7 steps that helped me develop that habit.
1. Self – Evaluation
First, figure out which is the right workout for YOU. Just because your friend runs every day or goes to a fancy gym every day doesn’t mean that you should do the same thing. Go with your “Niche”.
Think about your job or other life responsibilities. What time of the day best suits your schedule? Will you be able to stick to that schedule most of the days?
If you are thinking about outdoor activities such as walking/ running/ biking, then weather plays an important part too. Like for example in Texas you must start very early that is, on or before sunrise or very late around sun set. Any other time, the heat will make the outdoor experience very unpleasant for you.
2. Set a realistic goal
Ask yourself this question : “Why do you want to work out?” – Do you want to work out to lose weight? Or Do you want to run a marathon? Or Do you just want to work out to have a healthy lifestyle? The answer to this question will help you decide the right type and frequency of your workout
For Example, if you want to run a marathon, simply logging miles every week is not enough, you also need to build your strength to support that endurance Vs if you are working out to lose weight, simply spending hours in gym is not going to help if you don’t control your diet.
3. Plan to achieve your goal
Planning on what needs to be done to achieve the goal is the next step. Simply setting a goal of 70-80 miles a month is not going to help you achieve it. You need to plan each day of that month in advance. Because missing a short 3 mile walk at the beginning of the month could ruin your goal.
Since May of last year, I’m consistently logging 100 miles each month and I still make a daily running plan at the beginning of each month.
4. Workout should be part of your routine
Routine is the key. We eat at least 2 meals every day, we brush each day, take shower each day. But, do we count how many times a month we do these things? No!! right? How silly that will sound ? Because they are part of our routine and something that is needed for a good life. Similarly make work out a part of your routine. A habit that you don’t have to think about doing, it just happens.
5.Start slow, evaluate, and then increase frequency or intensity.
Start slow ! You must have read and heard this before. It’s OK even if its just 2 days a week for first few weeks .It will help you get used to it.
If you start working out 5 days a week from the beginning, you will not be ready physically or mentally and it will be an invitation to failure. Increase your frequency slowly 1 day at a time. You again have to self- evaluate what works best for you and your lifestyle.
6.Be your own disciplinarian
Discipline is the key for whichever goal or workout you choose. You need to have the discipline to follow what you have planned.
If you are a morning workout person like me, you need a discipline to sleep early every night so that you can get enough sleep.
You need to be disciplined about your water intake, so you don’t get dehydrated. You need to be disciplined each day to make workout your main priority.
7.Compete ONLY with your old self
Evaluating what YOU can do is the most important step because no two people are the same. Don’t workout because your friend is doing it and you don’t want to look guilty of not working out. Do it because you want to improve yourself. Think about what you want to change in your old self.
Lastly, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Don’t overdo it when your body is clearly telling you otherwise. Stop, evaluate, and change the plan that works best for YOU.
As my coach always said, working out consistently or achieving any physical milestone is controlled by your mind than your body.
It’s your mind which keeps reminding you of the pain or uncomfortable feeling when you do something unusal. You need to learn to control that feeling and when you make it a habit, your brain will automatically get used to it.
Discipline is both developed through habit, and it is also required to build a habit.
You need discipline to build a workout habit and you need to develop a habit to build a discipline to work out every day.
In my next blog post I’ll write about my own experience about each of the above 7 steps and how I learned them all in a hard way 😊 Until then, thank you for reading and looking forward to your opinions and comments.
