This may be a bit of a random one, but the other day I was training one of our members, who had just returned from a week away.
We were doing our usual workout which finished with an AMRAP style circuit at the end, and I noticed that she kept going after the buzzer.
Thinking that she didn't hear the buzzer, and wanting to put her out of her misery, I let her know that the buzzer had gone and her circuit was finished.
“I know, but need to make up for the week when I was on holiday and I couldn’t be here,” she said, mid-burpee.
Now, while I appreciated the effort, I had a couple of thoughts and thought they might be worth sharing with you....
- Why does a holiday always have to be a no-holds-barred descent into inactivity and poor nutrition decisions?
- If we’re always in the mode of trying to “make up” for past mistakes, how can we ever get ahead?
To be clear, I don't mean it in a judgemental way, because who am I to judge, I've just spent a weekend in Clacton with my family, and although I managed to train whilst out there, I didn't always make the best choices when it came to what I ate and drunk 🍔🍕🍻.
However, this doesn't mean that I feel the need to train extra hard, and be extra strict with my food this week to 'make up for it' or to play 'catch up'.
You should be able to go away and enjoy yourself, without feeling guilty or having to 'make up for it'.
So with that in mind, here are some tips which you might find helpful if you're going away anytime soon....
Plan Ahead (Not Behind)
If you know you’ve got a weekend away, busy work schedule, or big night out coming up, which might make it challenging to workout consistently or make smart nutrition choices, plan in advance.
Ramp up your workouts and dial in your nutrition ahead of time that way you won’t feel like you have to play “catch-up” after the fact.
Ditch The “All Or Nothing” Approach
It’s possible to go on holiday and exercise a bit, indulge a bit, and avoid having to climb out of a huge deficit when it’s over.
Look, what’s done is done.
But we have another big opportunity ahead of us. September is pretty much over, and before we know it Christmas will be here.
So let’s start planning for this NOW.
Let’s not be one of those people who has two months of inactivity and overindulgent eating to “make up for” in January.
Let’s start doubling down on our workouts.
Let’s rein in our nutrition, sleep and stress management now so we don’t dig ourselves in a deeper hole and have to climb back out again.
Let’s get ahead, so we can afford to make a few mistakes we won’t have to “make up for” later.
The time to get ahead is now.