Let's Talk Wellness: Pre-Planning My Workouts

Most people ask how I manage to get my workouts done while also working full-time, cooking, being a mom, blogging and still having a life.  Well, I'll say that next to my family, working out is a top-priority for me.  I put thought and intention into how and when I will be working out.   I know that in this season of my life I look for high intensity work outs, ones that build muscle and cardio into them, and that I can get within 30 -60 minutes, including travel time.  I have also come to value my lower key activities such as walking the dogs, yoga, cross-country skiing or playing outdoors with my family,  in the evenings and on weekends.  I also used to run early on Saturdays and Sundays but I am so exhausted by the time the weekend rolls around that I really appreciate the lazy mornings that the weekends bring.  Drinking my coffee.  Reading or blogging in my bed.  And planning for the week ahead. 

One of my rituals is pre-planning my workouts for the week.   I sit down with my work schedule, the weather app, the schedule at my gym, connect with my running partner, and pre-plan my workouts for the week ahead. I still use a paper calendar and have a special green pen to write down all of my workouts in green.  Because early mornings are tough, I usually strive for four days a week and on the weekend I leave it more open ended to  enjoy a seasonal  activity with my family/husband  and I try to squeeze in a quick yoga session.  I don't love yoga but I need to be intentional about stretching my hips, hamstrings and lower back as a runner.  My favorite free website is Do Yoga With Me .  It's provides a  lot of variety of yoga levels, class lengths, and types of yoga, all for FREE! So in my calendar I schedule and commit to 5 days of pre-planned activities. 2 runs, lane swim, shred workout or a tabata workout, yoga, and the other days are just open to whatever possibilities might arise.  Also, I want to note that these commitments are mostly done at home and I keep them anywhere between 30 - 60 minutes, so that it's manageable to still get ready for work.  I keep any extra or different workouts, like swimming/spin/gym, very close to my home, so that travel time is minimal and if I go there, I often go straight to work form the workout location.

Pre-planning my activity, writing it down, creates a COMMITMENT.  It creates ACCOUNTABILITY to myself and my well being. 

I am trying to figure out how to add more strength training to my workouts these days and I love how easy and fast the Jillian Micheal workouts are and how I feel afterwards.

Getting outside more with my family and husband has become a top priority for me on the weekends.

Lane swimming has become a great alternative workout in the winter!

So my tips for you are:

1.  Be honest with what you can do each week.  Is it 3 days a week?  4? 5?

2.  What do you actually enjoy doing?   I don't love yoga so I've decided to keep it to 20 minutes a week, only out of necessity.

3.  Have a conversation with your partner.  My husband and I came to an agreement that early mornings are best for our family, but it does mean that he is on his own in the mornings with the kids.  Yes, even when they were little.  Also it means that we have everything ready to go the night before. 

4.  Pre-plan your week with your workouts.

5.  Have a buddy.  You won't bail on a friend like you bail on yourself.

6.  Take a week off when you absolutely need it, but don't go over a week because it's extremely difficult to come back from it!

Me and my running buddy run usually once a week.  One 5-6 run and we try for one longer run every week.

How do you stay on track with your workouts?