Man I really need to get the hang of this writing thing.  I’ve pretty much spoiler alert-ed my whole post in the title, but it is true nevertheless. Look.  We’ve all got a lot of things going on.  Maybe you need to take the kids to school every day.  Maybe you work late.  Maybe you are a full-time student.  Maybe you are just really lethargic during the middle of the day.  For whatever reason, life just gets in the way of workouts ALL THE TIME.  Luckily for you, you’re a clever minx.  You know the secret to combat this…

Make a game plan

While this may seem self-explanatory, making a game plan for the week will help set you up for success. If you’ve already planned out these key items below, you’ll be less likely to veer from the course:

• WHEN you will work out during the week
• WHAT you will do during your workout
• WHAT you will eat (AKA meal prep) during the week

This is not to say that these things can’t change. OF COURSE they can change. Life just happens sometimes, but if you have a plan in place you can hold yourself accountable to it. Read on to learn how I’ve managed this and how you can too!

When you will workout

• Google calendar will be your BEST friend here. Take a little time at the beginning of the week to determine when you are available and block out calendar times for your workout. Go the extra mile and add a reminder so you get pinged with all the guilt when it’s time to buck up.

  

• Have dogs or kids? Plan who will watch them AHEAD OF TIME. Side note: your dog/kid most likely did not just magically appear this week. This means that his or her existence should come of no surprise to you and is therefore not a valid excuse. It also means you can plan for the situation on a standing basis. For example, when we first moved to California I was having a hard time working out after work because I got home later and needed to take the dog out right away. Our solution? We hired a dog walker three days a week! I’m sure I don’t need to explicitly state that those are the three weekdays I do my workouts.

  

• Yes, folks, I understand throwing money at the problem is not always a feasible solution. In this event, work out a schedule with your significant other so that you two can cover childcare for each other. For example, you can alternate who picks up the children from school and schedule your workout on your “free” days. If this is not possible, you can commit to giving each other 30 minutes of “free time” three times a week to get a workout in, which works particularly well if you plan on working out at home. I know all you mamas and papas out there are already feeling some resistance to this, but can you honestly say you never waste 30 minutes at home just farting around?  Finally, you can all work out as a family together (yes, kids and all)!
• If you know you are pressed for time, try to tack your workout on to something you already need to do! For example, instead of grabbing drinks with your friend, why not go for a run together and grab a healthy meal after? Bike to the grocery store instead of driving! Join a gym based on convenient location rather than popularity. For example, transportation is my limiting factor right now so I joined the gym at work so all I have to do is walk downstairs!

What you will do during your workout

Now that you’ve scheduled the time on your calendar (hooray!), what is next?  You can have a more efficient and effective workout if you know in advance what you plan to do.

• Personally, I like to schedule group classes.  This means that I don’t have to do any planning at all as the teacher does it for me. 🙂 The social aspect helps me stay motivated and is just more fun!  Also, many group studios charge late/no show fees.  On the surface this looks :(, but if you know you are going to take a financial hit for canceling you will be less likely to miss it!

  

• If the idea of working out in front of many people scares you, definitely hire a trainer!  They will help you build confidence and even assist with nutrition.
• If you are just going to any old gym, decide which muscle groups you plan to work each day and when you will get your cardio in.  Use the magic of the interwebs to find already existing programs you can follow.
• If you are working out at home, this means you have the most freedom!  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND following a program here to keep you on track.  I’ve personally liked programs such as BBG that have an instructional app you can take with you anywhere.

What you will eat during the week

• This is one of the trickier ones.  We all have unique relationships to food and varying levels of willpower.  The best strategy is to make small yet reasonable changes over time.  For example, I trained myself to like black coffee by slowly decreasing the amount of sugar I would add and then later decreasing the amount of milk.
• Definitely consider preparing some of your meals for the week!  For example, we have produce delivered to us each week and spend a few hours on Sunday cooking lunch for the whole week.
• If you are like me and need to snack all day, definitely have healthy snacks packed with you at all times.  You may have the best intention to eat well, but when that hunger pang strikes and all that’s next to you is Chick-Fil-A, well, you know how THAT goes down.
• Be honest with yourself. Hubby and I almost never make time to go to the grocery store, so we have our groceries delivered so we are not constantly eating out.  Call it bougie, call me a millenial, but this has saved us BUKUS OF TIME.

Before you go

These are three MAJOR topics so I will post on each of them in depth in the future.  I just wanted to give you all some food for thought so you can start making a plan to fit your own unique life.  As I mentioned earlier, life gets in the way sometimes of our health goals.  If you are unsure about how to get started, drop me a line and we can work together to brainstorm ideas! 🙂