“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.” Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
I think we all feel like Pooh from time to time. The stairs of life take over and we don’t have time to figure out a better way. But, for better or worse, we are not bears of very little brain, so it is time to talk about… planning.
One part of the better way is figuring out how to make fitness fit into our lives. We all want to live longer, be happier, have better sex, have more energy, and all the other good things that come from having a fitness practice, but then those stairs happen and we’re bumping our heads again. What to do?
We start small. And we commit.
I personally like small commitments that happen every day. This takes the thinking out of it. I know I get up in the morning and brush my teeth and do a couple more things and then I work out and then I shower. Some people do well with weekday habits or weekend habits. Do whatever works. But make a plan. Something like: “I’m going to walk around the block every morning this week.” It’s not too hard or too big.
Then we plan for contingencies. Because life. The plan might then be something like “I’m going to walk around the block every morning this week unless it is raining, in which case I will do some yoga in the kitchen.”
Alternatively, we can set minimums: “I’m going to walk around the block at least five mornings this week.” That means that we have some grace on that day we forget to set the alarm and that other day when we’ve already done our five days and we can smugly rest.
Any plan is better than bumping down the stairs on the back of our heads.
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