Experiment!

I talk a lot about what works for me, personally.  But I recently realized that because I’m a “trained professional,” that might give the impression that what works for me is What Works.  What works for me might not work for anyone else.  That said, HOW I figured out what works for me can be helpful to pretty much anyone.

 

People who put working out on their calendar and then show up because it’s written down do exist.  The rest of us try not to resent them for their superiority and try not to make fun of them for their obedience to the Calendar Gods.  Those folks have already done the figuring and have found their answer.  (It is certainly worth a try!)

 

The short version of my method for those of us who can’t manifest stuff by writing it or typing it in the box for the day is:  experiment.

 

Experiment one:  try working out at different times of day.  Some people do best sleeping in their gym clothes, rolling out of bed, and getting right to work.  Some of us think this is cruel and unusual punishment and would much rather finish the work day and transition to the rest of life via some good sweat.  Still others of us want to get the kids settled at their schoolwork and then start lifting.  The after-lunch workout is totally a good thing if it works.

 

Experiment two:  try different kinds of cardio.  All of them work, but not all of them make everyone happy.  I know runners who hate swimming, bikers who hate running, dancers who just want to boogie.  Ideally, we will find a favorite that we can make really easy to do for ourselves and an alternate or two for variety.  (I hesitate to use myself as an example, but I’m the closest one, so here goes…)  Most of the time, I do spin.  When I get tired of that, I walk or hike.  In the summer, I mix it up with some swimming.

 

Experiment three:  add some weights.  Some folks just want to tone up a bit.  Others of us want big muscles.  And some of us feel empowered by lifting the heaviest things we can.  We have to try it to see.  Maybe we feel great doing weights weekly; maybe we feel even better working out with weights twice a week.  The only way to know is to test it out.

 

Experiment four:  find your bribe.  This can take lots of forms.  Everyone has days when we just don’t want to do it.  Maybe we bribe ourselves with a soak in a hot bath.  Maybe we tell ourselves we don’t get our coffee until we’re done.  What motivates one person does not motivate others.

 

Experiment five (and last, for now):  treat ourselves with love.  It is super easy to beat ourselves up over our perceived failures.  Change is hard.  Approaching all these experiments with curiosity and kindness lets us find out how best to do it.  Sometimes experiments fail (like me trying to show up by writing stuff on my calendar).  It’s just information.  We take it and try something else.

 

Go play.