How many times have you said “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I’ll
do it later”? Or maybe it was “Next
week, I’m starting fresh”.
I’ve sure said it a time or two (or five or ten). You can relate it to anything really, eating
healthier, making a dr. appointment, doing laundry, calling an old friend. Why
do we put off doing things that we know we should be doing?
I once read an article on procrastination. I don’t really
consider myself a procrastinator but I guess it depends on the situation. The
article mentioned that we procrastinate because we are afraid of failure. I’ve
actually heard this saying several times and I’m not sure I agree with it. I don’t do my laundry because I just don’t
feel like it, not because I’m afraid of failing at it (although, I’m not very
good at doing laundry so maybe there IS something too that).
I mentioned previously that I have a home gym (bike,
treadmill, bowflex, weights, etc) but I don’t use it. I pay to go to a gym. I
know it sounds silly but going to the gym was the only way I knew I would get
my strength training it. I was paying for it, so I felt like I was being held
accountable.
The New York City Half Marathon was the last long distance
race I ran and that was back in March. After that race, I took the rest of the
month off from the gym and I never went back. My excuse was that I didn’t have
any long distance races coming up and I thought that I could just “get by”
doing some training on my own since I only planned to run “short distances” in
the coming months.
So this is where I am now, I’ve run several shorter distance
races and I have still not done any strength training since March. I keep saying “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I’ll
make a new plan on Monday and actually stick with it”. I haven’t . I need to
thank my lucky stars that I haven’t ended up injured yet.
What’s the hardest thing for you to stick with? Perhaps we need to start a little group to
help hold each other accountable. Who’s with me? -M
Strength training is definitely a hard thing to follow through on. I struggle with it as well, especially when I don't set a goal for myself. Have you tried that yet? Maybe it'll help you get back on the strength training wagon.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not alone on this one!
DeleteWhen I started strength training, I paid a personal trainer a buttload of money to teach me to do it correctly, so the fact that I was paying DEFINITELY motivated me to do it! So I can certainly relate to you paying to go to the gym! I will be honest, my motivation to keep up with it is twofold. 1. I enjoy it. 2. Vanity. I like my muscles! And if I don't keep up with it, my muscles won't be as big!
ReplyDeleteSome things I do procrastinate on probably because I'm scared. But other things (like your laundry) are just things I don't feel like doing. I need to clean my house right now. I'm not afraid to, I just don't feel like it!
Good luck with the motivation to get back to strength training! I read something about procrastinating on things we dread... not always about failure but I can be about tedium as well when it comes to things like laundry.
ReplyDeleteI'd totally join that group. I just am struggling SO MUCH on finding & STICKING with motivation. I get motivated for like 2 days - YAHOOOO - & then fizzle out QUICK.
ReplyDeleteI don't have trouble with fitness goals, but it's things like household chores that I really drag my feet on! We've got to do some stuff around here and neither my husband nor I are at all motivated. Maybe if the Property Brothers came over...
ReplyDeleteI see how going to the gym can be a thing to procrastinate about... it's intimidating! There are so many machines, and it feels like it takes an expert to know what to do on some! That is what made me lose motivation to go to it before.
ReplyDeleteSure, let's start a group! We can start with at least 1 session per week, and go from there.
I'm like Megan, I want to do weights to for my own vanity... I want to have Michelle Obama arms!
I just can't get myself to do anything beyond a plank once in a while for strength training. If I had a friend to workout with, I'd probably be more motivated, but I'm just too lazy on my own.
ReplyDeleteI like the way I look when I do my strength training -- plus I want to age well & ST is so important! The hard part for me is squeezing it in.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Wendy, though, a good house keeper I am not. It's never that bad when you actually do it, but it feels like it's going to take forever!
I'm with you -- I keep putting off full blown strength training. I feel very accomplished when I actually do it, but it's hard to convince myself to make time. I recently started doing 7-10 minute youtube videos. If I can fit in one I usually end up doing at least one more. At least it's something!
ReplyDeleteI love my strength training sessions and my running group keeps me accountable on that end. It's the stretching and post run rehab that I procrastinate on
ReplyDeleteWoah! Fear of injury keeps me strength training. You should look into that Quick Strength for Runners book - no excuses to not do those quick workouts.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a procrastinator, but when talking about one thing it's hard for me to stick with, mine is an eating plan. I do eat relatively healthy, but I also have too much junk food thrown in there as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to get it going once you stop! Thank goodness for my coach! I feel accountable to her.Everyone needs a little motivation!
ReplyDeleteBeen there right with you so many times! I do all my workouts at home, mostly with just body weight or dumbbells. Nothing fancy. I try to do something first thing in the morning, otherwise I know I'll get sucked into other things. I loosely follow along with the Tone It Up girls because they post a daily workout, so I don't have think about what to do. I like it for the days when I haven't planned a run or anything.
ReplyDeleteSuch an inspiring and motivational post, Lacey and Meranda! I'll make sure not to use that phrase anymore!
ReplyDelete