A few weeks back, I wrote about my personal workout rules. Rule #1 was to never skip more than one day in a row without doing some sort of exercise (typically rowing or elliptical), whereas Rule #2 was to always finish what I start (barring injury). Unfortunately, life sometimes gets in the way and I’m not always able to abide by Rule #1. What with four kids, a full time job, and a side business, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day get everything done.
As much as it bothers me, I occasionally have to throw up my hands and skip my exercise routine on consecutive days. The good news is that I’ve found a workaround of sorts that allows me to do this without getting too down on myself. Whenever I slack off more than I should, I try to double up soon thereafter. This typically means hitting the elliptical in the morning and then adding in a rowing session in the evening.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not a fitness-obsessed lunatic. It’s just that exercising makes me feel good, and not giving myself an out helps keep me on track. So… If I know in the back of my mind that I’ll be making up for any missed workouts, I’m less likely to slack off in the first place. And by making up for lost time, I also keep myself (mentally and physically) on a roll.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I think keeping on a roll is the way to go. I find if I stop then restarting is a mammoth task.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Not to discourage you in any way, but what you are doing sounds dangerous and can lead to injury. Splitting your workouts to morning and evening will probably keep you healthy (in fact, I work out multiple times per day quite regularly as a training strategy) but trying to fit in workouts that you miss is likely to lead to over training and injury. Just be careful with it.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Blaine: I appreciate your concern, but I’m not talking about doing anything overly strenuous. My typical cardio workouts right now are 30 minutes on the elliptical or 30 minutes (give or take) rowing. In fact, this is the sort of stuff that I might otherwise do in a single day if time wasn’t an issue. So… If/when I double up, it’s not like I’m really pushing my limits.
Take today, for example… I did 30 minutes on the elliptical this morning, pushups around mid-day at work, and then rowed 30 minutes this evening. I had planned on doing the elliptical last night, but time got away from me and it just didn’t happen.
You’re point is well taken, though. Don’t worry, I’m using my head.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:12 am
From what you’d said I wasn’t really that worried about your regimen specifically; it seemed safe enough.
I just wanted to point out the fallacy in your way of thinking to (a) prevent yourself from getting injured in the future as you move up to more strenuous workouts, and to (b) make sure that anybody reading this was aware of the risks and lack of rewards for doubling up after missing workouts.
As somebody who has run competitively for 20 years and who is coaching novice runners, it’s something I’ve seen plenty of times and it often leads to taking a lot of time off.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:23 am
Im with both you and blaine.
for me days off make me WANNA GET BACK AT IT!
but when I was a trainer I saw how clients needed to do something EVERY DAY (even a slow 40 minute stroll) so that they didnt get off track.
such a personal thing—just always listen to your body.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Hey Fit36,
It’s amazing that even with 24 hours in a day, sometimes, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Some interval sprints at the end of a cardio workout is a way you can ramp up the caloric burn, plus improve anaerobic endurance
(works really well with the rowing machine - just ok with the elliptical)
Nice blog by the way. It’s good to see someone taking control of their own health & fitness
As a Former Fat Boy, I have some idea of the transformation that you are performing.
If you are interested, I would love to exchange blogroll links.
My site is fairly new, but it is growing day after day
http://healthhabits.wordpress.com