Routine vs daily decision to keep eyes on track

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whitej1234
whitej1234 Posts: 263 Member
edited October 2019 in Fitness and Exercise
A few days back I posted here saying I come back from common practices devastated with no motivation to continue because "I always finish last". This great community gave me a lot of advice and I stick to them.

One of the comment attached the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbkZrOU1Zag

There are plenty of those out there aiming to motivate you "to not give up", but it got me thinking, those of you who managed to sustain training for a long period of time (lets say a few year of consistent 4-5 weekly training sessions), do you really make the decision to workout every day or does this turn into a routine at some point? Like going to work, or having breakfast? Does it turn into something "you just do"?

I will try to explain myself. In other aspects in my life where I find myself (without bragging too much) quit successful, or at least happy with my performance are aspects that I started really early in life, before I realized that "quitting is an option". This is not a PR cleaque though, I was a kid and I did what I was told (I guess I wasn't much of a rebellion) and as a result, when I got to more advance stages in life I didn't consider quitting is an option not in the heroic sense but in the very direct one, it didn't cross my mind. If I would wake up everyday before university or before going to work and think "do I really want to do this, maybe I will stay at home at watch TV" I would never graduate and would never work. Because of course studying and working are hard. But, given occasional skipping here and there (not a saint), it was clear to me that keep going is the only option to go.
I wish staying on the couch would stop crossing my mind when I am trying to set a training routine. Does it ever stop. Does it ever transition from daily fight and thinking when and how into something that is just part of the daily routine?

Replies

  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    It does for me, but I have to really be consistent for quite awhile. Before that, however, I find that if I miss a day or two, I start to really miss it. Even on my built in rest days I kind of miss it. Even when it's still a bit of a "chore" to get up each day, it gets easier.

    Issue is it takes awhile - several months for me before I really get to that point.
  • Keladelphia
    Keladelphia Posts: 820 Member
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    I remember wondering this exact thing to myself when I joined a gym and started tracking my food in MFP in a effort to lose a lot of weight.

    The good news? It's been over five years and the option to skip a training session literally never even crosses my mind. My gym habit is ingrained in me now as much as brushing my teeth is. I train at least five days a week unless i'm physically ill enough that it's not fair to risk passing my germs on to other gym goers.

    The bad news? I would say that it took a full two years of going at least five days a week where I still had that internal battle of whether to go or not before it became a thoughtless habit. I think it only became habit because for those two years I always went regardless of my inner self begging me to stay on the couch.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    Personally, I'm somewhere in between; it's not where I have to actively hype myself up to workout but I do have to support that routine with efforts to make the right decisions the easy/easier ones to make.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,473 Member
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    I read somewhere that it takes six weeks to create a habit. I have found that to be very applicable.

    When I started to run, I made myself give it six weeks. Now it’s habit. Six weeks to stop biting my nails worked. Telling myself I could hack it through six weeks of the IFM diet my doctor gave me was also effective. Pilates was sooo hard for me when I started. By the end of six weeks I was rocking it and loving it.

    It’s like in yoga, where “you can do anything one breath at a time”.

    It’s just cutting the elephant into digestible pieces so you can eat him one bite at a time.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,709 Member
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    mads_o86 wrote: »
    I used to be a stop/start exerciser. I'd create some incredible training schedules that would definitely get me in the best shape of my life (or lose me the extra weight, depending on the year).

    I'd follow it for a while but because it was so elaborate and time consuming I'd stop at some point and then I'd hardly excercise for a while.

    In November 2015 I looked at my training diary and found that even if I'd run at least one run every month for almost 10 years (and ofte much, much more) my annual mileage was pretty low.

    In fact I found out that if I just ran for 35 minutes three times a week I'd set a personal record for miles in a year.

    So that is now my only goal. Run 35 minutes three times a week. It's become something I NEED to do. A habit. Snow, rain storms can't stop me.

    Now I do long runs up to 100 minutes and only one of my runs is actually 35 minutes, but 3x35 is still the only goal. Everything else is a bonus and something to smile about. If I don't have the time to do a long run, 35 minutes is just fine.

    I've also added strength training and stretching for the legs after my runs. Again it's a bonus. If I don't do it it's fine, but I'm smiling if I do.

    Also I've added stationary cycling and upper body workouts on non-running days. It's just a bonus, and I do it 0-3 times a week, but it tends to be three. Cycling for 15-25 minutes and the strength workouts are eccentric, very heavy and over in 20-25 minutes. Any longer and I get bored and don't do them.

    I only feel guilty if I don't get in my three runs (and I always do, unless I'm sick). The rest of it is a bonus to make me feel good.

    So my advice: set a small and achievable goal and treat everything else as a bonus.

    I've done the same with my weight loss. If I miss a day (or three) it's fine, I just start again without feeling guilty. I've lost 70 lbs and I'm less that 10 from my ideal weight. Over the last two and a half years I've had life happen where I've gained 5-10 pounds, but I've always just started again asap and kept losing overall. Right now it looks like I'll hit my goal by Christmas... Which will end up being a case of 'life happens'.

    I really like this. I do something similar: set low-ish goals and consider everything above that a bonus. Helps me feel good about myself, be consistent, and not be overly aggressive with my exercise.

    I also like this from the OP: "keep going is the only option". Simple but impactful.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Personally, "training", "workout", and regular exercise/physical activity are three completely different things. When I was racing and regularly participating in endurance cycling events, I had to train...and often that training was a "just do it" thing and I often had to motivate myself to go out and do my hill repeats or get my long ride in, etc...it was a lot different than just going out for a ride or whatever...I had a protocol to follow and it was all very structured.

    When I think "workout", I think gym time in the weight room. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but I've been doing it for 7 years and I like the benefits...but yeah...it's not my favorite thing in the world and I've never been a gym rat. For that reason, I only do full body 2x per week and one of those days is with my trainer so even if I'm not motivated, I'm going because I have an appointment with someone else.

    As far as regular exercise and physical activity is concerned, I wouldn't really say it's habit...it's stuff I enjoy doing and look forward to doing. I look forward to bike rides that aren't structured by a training protocol. I look forward to taking my bike up to the foothills of the mountains on the weekend to hit the trails. I look forward to an afternoon of rock climbing or hiking or kayaking in the Rio Grande. I like getting up in the morning and poring myself a cup of coffee and taking my little Jack Russell for her morning walk. These aren't really things I consciously think I need to go do or should do. It's all good exercise, but it's also hobby and recreation.

    I'm an ancy, fidgety person and have a hard time sitting still for long stints of time, so sitting on the couch and watching t.v. isn't really something that appeals to me in the least...I can maybe sit through an hour long show, but 30 minutes is more to my liking and about as much couch time as I get most evenings. I'd much rather be out and about doing stuff.
  • RealWorldStrengthLLC
    RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
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    I actually love working out not so much a routine or a habit as something I actually enjoy to the point where I get down if I don't.

    Like I've been sick since Saturday morning- I took Saturday as a rest day and only rode bike Sunday and yesterday...I actually miss the weights right now, to the point where I probably will go lift after work today despite being sick.

    You gotta find what you enjoy that is active, then it's not a slog.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,885 Member
    edited October 2019
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    whitej1234 wrote: »
    There are plenty of those out there aiming to motivate you "to not give up", but it got me thinking, those of you who managed to sustain training for a long period of time (lets say a few year of consistent 4-5 weekly training sessions), do you really make the decision to workout every day or does this turn into a routine at some point? Like going to work, or having breakfast? Does it turn into something "you just do"?

    Does it ever transition from daily fight and thinking when and how into something that is just part of the daily routine?

    Exercise has always been "daily routine" for me.

    I've been active since I could crawl ... 52-ish years. :)
    • Loved running and playing.
    • Learned to ride my bicycle at 6 and continued to cycle till I was about 17. I eased off a bit until I was 23, but then started cycling again and haven't stopped. I've been an ultra-distance cyclist since 2001. :)
    • Started participating in running events in track & field in school at about the age of 12 and continued to about 17, then switched to longer distance running which I dabbled in for a few years ... that dropped off at about 21 or 22 but just for fun I picked it up again at the age of 50. I've run a few 10Ks and a half marathon since then.
    • Joined a gym and started training with a coach at about 21 and continued to train until about 23 ... when I decided I preferred cycling, but I've kept up some weight lifting ever since and have had several gym memberships over the years.
    • Walked everywhere since my little legs could carry me. I have incorporated walking as part of my commute and how I get around for 5 decades now ... plus recreational walking of course.
    • Added in a bit of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, canoeing, swimming, hiking, bodyboarding, climbing stairs, pilates, yoga ...


    I don't particularly like days where I'm not active ... I'm restless and I feel like I haven't accomplished anything.


    Oh ... and I don't eat breakfast. :)

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,885 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Personally, "training", "workout", and regular exercise/physical activity are three completely different things. When I was racing and regularly participating in endurance cycling events, I had to train...and often that training was a "just do it" thing and I often had to motivate myself to go out and do my hill repeats or get my long ride in, etc...it was a lot different than just going out for a ride or whatever...I had a protocol to follow and it was all very structured.

    When I think "workout", I think gym time in the weight room. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but I've been doing it for 7 years and I like the benefits...but yeah...it's not my favorite thing in the world and I've never been a gym rat. For that reason, I only do full body 2x per week and one of those days is with my trainer so even if I'm not motivated, I'm going because I have an appointment with someone else.

    As far as regular exercise and physical activity is concerned, I wouldn't really say it's habit...it's stuff I enjoy doing and look forward to doing. I look forward to bike rides that aren't structured by a training protocol. I look forward to taking my bike up to the foothills of the mountains on the weekend to hit the trails. I look forward to an afternoon of rock climbing or hiking or kayaking in the Rio Grande. I like getting up in the morning and poring myself a cup of coffee and taking my little Jack Russell for her morning walk. These aren't really things I consciously think I need to go do or should do. It's all good exercise, but it's also hobby and recreation.

    I'm an ancy, fidgety person and have a hard time sitting still for long stints of time, so sitting on the couch and watching t.v. isn't really something that appeals to me in the least...I can maybe sit through an hour long show, but 30 minutes is more to my liking and about as much couch time as I get most evenings. I'd much rather be out and about doing stuff.

    You've got a point there.

    When I was racing bicycles, I trained. Didn't like it much. I did that for 3 years and then switched to Audax/Randonneuring.

    When I ride increasing distances, some hills, a few intervals, and some stair climbing in preparation for a long distance event, those are more workouts than training.

    Regular exercise and physical activity is what I do just about every day.

    And like you, I don't like just sitting and watching TV. I have to sit because of work and university, but I get up and move as often as I can.
  • gradchica27
    gradchica27 Posts: 777 Member
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    steveko89 wrote: »
    Personally, I'm somewhere in between; it's not where I have to actively hype myself up to workout but I do have to support that routine with efforts to make the right decisions the easy/easier ones to make.

    Training is definitely a routine for me—I build my day around my gym time (I have a flexible schedule, so sometimes I train before school drop off/work, sometimes in the afternoon after school). But I make it easier for myself too—gym bag is pre-packed, headphones always charging and ready to go, I dress in my workout clothes so I don’t even have the minor mental hurdle of finding gym clothes/changing. When it’s time to go, I’m out the door.

    I don’t train for anything specific anymore (I used to train for races, and before that, boat races with my crew), but keeping the training (vs “working out”) mentality has helped ingrain exercise as a habit by taking the motivation and mental fatigue out of it.

    I don’t need to think about what I “feel like” doing that day , I do what is on my spreadsheet for that day. I log my weights/reps so I see progress (and don’t have to mentally push/psych myself up as much—if I’m not feeling great or motivated, I just have to match whatever I did the previous week for that workout. And 9.5 times out of 10, I do. If I’m a rep or two short, oh well, chalk it up to bad sleep or a cold, or I check my cycle day and blame low estrogen and I move on. I know grinding out some workouts is part of it, just as occasionally totally rockin it, smashing records workout is as well.
  • whitej1234
    whitej1234 Posts: 263 Member
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    Ok so it sounds like my guts were right it not the strong will it's the routine (that requires a strong will to establish). Would you say intensity is part of the routine making or just the mere fact of putting yourself out there?

    I can see myself establishing a routine of doing "something" 5 days a week, but not doing high intensity 5 days (tried that, takes me a couple of weeks to burn out and then I quit). Would you say just blocking out a chunk of time daily is enough (to get out of the daily debate of to go/not to go) and then increase intensity or should I get off my lazy but and do something more serious at least for an hour each day?

    By "something" I mean walk and not run, cycle flat terrain to work and not a high intensity spinning class, go to the pool for easy tempo laps instead of Zumba.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    I would do 'something' 5 or more days a week, but limit intensity to every other day. The current recommendation is 150+ minutes a week of moderate activity for health. Doing more intense exercise will burn more calories and may help you get stronger, but isn't necessary on an every day basis. As a runner, I've read a lot of books and articles that recommend hard-easy-hard - easy for training. Doing too much, especially in the early days, is a recipe for burn out or injury.

  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Hi
    You can do whatever you like exercise wise and it will be better than nothing and put you ahead of most others on the planet.

    I don’t like high intensity cardio so I don’t do it.

    I do like step aerobics and weight training so they are no problem for me. That hasn’t always been the case though, for most of my adult life I did virtually no exercise.

    The only time I had a mental battle recently with training was when I was doing a weight programme I didn’t like. So I switched programmes.

    For me the key was definitely finding physical activities I enjoy. Then being motivated drops out of the picture.

  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,263 Member
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    You nailed my mental state a few years ago. I was reading the forums here and someone compared setting up an exercise routine to flossing your teeth. You might not always feel motivated to do it, but it's good for you. I decided to tell myself that driving to the pool after work every evening was "what I do." For me, it worked. It also helped that I LOVE my deep water cardio classes. The instructors are different, so the workouts are varied. I also swim laps for sustained cardio (not always as fun). Now, I'm lifting (fun for me). But no matter what, I just do. It takes me WAAAAY longer than six weeks to build a habit. And I can quit a habit overnight.

    Now that I'm not using exercise to punish myself, I also tell myself that just need to get in the water and do 15 laps. If I still want to get out after that, then I give myself permission. 9/10 times, once I get going, I will do "another 15" and so on, until I've met my workout goal for the day. On the days when I'm just not feeling it, I get out after 15, but it's rare.

    Hang in there. Figure out what works for you. Having something I enjoy helps me tremendously. Training for an event gives me a focus and makes me not want to skip a workout. You'll find something :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,195 Member
    edited October 2019
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    whitej1234 wrote: »
    Ok so it sounds like my guts were right it not the strong will it's the routine (that requires a strong will to establish). Would you say intensity is part of the routine making or just the mere fact of putting yourself out there?

    I can see myself establishing a routine of doing "something" 5 days a week, but not doing high intensity 5 days (tried that, takes me a couple of weeks to burn out and then I quit). Would you say just blocking out a chunk of time daily is enough (to get out of the daily debate of to go/not to go) and then increase intensity or should I get off my lazy but and do something more serious at least for an hour each day?

    By "something" I mean walk and not run, cycle flat terrain to work and not a high intensity spinning class, go to the pool for easy tempo laps instead of Zumba.

    I won't speak for strength training, but for cardiovascular progress, high intensity 5 days a week is a bad plan. An intelligent mix of intensities and durations will produce better training results.

    Over time, the definition of "intensity" changes, i.e, as you get fitter, things that used to be hard become easier.

    How to mix it up depends on your goals, but high intensity (defined in terms of current fitness) is going to be fatiguing, thus it's reasonable that you find it burnout-inducing to do day after day.

    I have trained in the past (for on-water and indoor rowing) for periods of time, and now just row for fun. I used to use a coach-provided periodized plan, now I just mix intensities based on what I feel like doing.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,885 Member
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    whitej1234 wrote: »
    Ok so it sounds like my guts were right it not the strong will it's the routine (that requires a strong will to establish). Would you say intensity is part of the routine making or just the mere fact of putting yourself out there?

    I can see myself establishing a routine of doing "something" 5 days a week, but not doing high intensity 5 days (tried that, takes me a couple of weeks to burn out and then I quit). Would you say just blocking out a chunk of time daily is enough (to get out of the daily debate of to go/not to go) and then increase intensity or should I get off my lazy but and do something more serious at least for an hour each day?

    By "something" I mean walk and not run, cycle flat terrain to work and not a high intensity spinning class, go to the pool for easy tempo laps instead of Zumba.

    My exercise varies in intensity, time, and type.



    Here, for example, are my exercise minutes over the past 90 days. You can tell when I was sick in the middle of September ... not sure what happened on that day in early August.

    But not only does my time vary, as you can see, what I did and how intensely I did it varied as well.

    0e0d8gb4bjb4.png
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
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    I think step one has to make the exercise time non-negotiable. Yes, block it out in your diary. I tend to exercise every day, if I can, and I generally do this in a gym because there is access to a nice variety of toys. That said, I tend to do a fair bit of bodyweight work which I can do anywhere, so a hotel without a gym is not a crisis situation.

    My husband and I are members at the same fitness facility and for years it was a routine that we went together. Except that relying on each other was not ideal because if one of us said "I don't fancy it today" or felt ill or whatever, the other would say "OK. Let's not bother to go today." My husband is still in the camp of not going if I don't, but I now go regardless of whether he is coming.

    I think you are wise not to aim for high intensity all the time and I think you need variety. You do need to be honest with yourself, though, and make sure you are working hard enough. If you are going to walk, walk fast enough that you are starting to breathe a little more heavily. If you are cycling on flat ground, go a bit faster - at least for some stretches. If you are doing laps in the pool try to beat your lap times. Or mix it up and power walk some lengths of the pool, which is surprisingly good exercise. For me, getting enough intensity to start seeing an improvement in fitness was the key to really enjoying the exercise and wanting to do things that were a bit more challenging. I say this as someone who spent twelve years walking on the treadmill 4 or 5 days a week fondly imagining I was getting fitter.

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