Routine!

My brain thrives on two opposing things:  routine and novelty.  I am probably not alone in this, so I’m going to talk about how those two forces affect our workouts, routine today and novelty tomorrow.

Routine is, well, routine.  It has the reputation of being boring, but that’s also its power.  Routine doesn’t require a lot of thought or energy once it’s established.  We can just float along with the flow we’ve established.  Oh, it’s Monday—I lift weights on Mondays.  I don’t have to get up in the morning and figure out when and how I’m going to work out.  I just go.

 

The trick is to build a routine that is good for us.  Weights on Mondays would be an example of a positive routine.  A post workout meal of French fries and ice cream might be a less positive routine.

 

When we build healthy routines, we are doing our future selves a solid.  Our potentially tired self doesn’t have to think too much and maybe even before we’re fully awake, we’re at the gym and getting going.

 

Try it!