And Then Winter Happened

I learned to play golf for the second time about 5 years ago.  The first summer The Husband and I played, we played every other weekend.  We went all in including clubs and a golf membership. I was getting pretty “OK” with my game. We were the next Tiger Woods and Michelle Wei. 

And then winter happened!

Although I had lost some technique over the winter, I remembered what to do. Every other weekend became once every 2-3 weeks due to whatever it was that got it the way of us getting to a course. My game suffered.

Another winter happened.

Triathlon training began.  Golf? What's that? Needless to say my game has suffered. When I did get out on the course, I was frustrated because I used to be pretty “OK”. Now I hit at least one good shot every hole. Inevitably there is the hacker hole that makes me want to break the club over my knee or toss it into the water hazard. Now, I don't even bother to keep score, I just go out for fun.

My story is not unique. Its' actually pretty common. I am not just talking about golf. I am talking about pretty much everything health & fitness related.  Every diet published out there works. Every fitness plan and exercise printed and taught works. The reason they stop working is because you stop doing them.

Had you actually stuck to the diet you started six weeks ago, you could have been down 6-12 lbs. by now. If you had continued on that exercise plan you started in January, you would not be planning your new routine/trainer/diet for the upcoming New Year. You would be in maintenance mode.

There was a time in your life where you were in "the best shape of your life". You think back upon it fondly. You remember how good you felt. Yet you still have not gone to the gym this week like you promised yourself you would.

You get into the gym now and again:

Scenario #1:  You go and it’s harder than you remember. You get sore the next day (that is actually what is supposed to happen, it’s called DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). You give yourself a day to recover maybe two. By the time Thursday rolls around you are more focused on what will be happening over the weekend than going to the gym. The weekend rolls around, stay up too late, drink/eat too much. Done! No gym. Guilt kicks back in on Monday and off you go again to start the whole cycle again.

Scenario #2: On Sunday you promise yourself you will be good this week. The gym gear is packed. You head out to work Monday morning. You get a call from your boss about a new meeting planned for 4:00pm. That's it, no workout tonight!  As a rule you don't work out on Tuesday. Best of intentions on Wednesday but you broke a heel/stubbed your toe/chipped a tooth (you get the idea). Now, taking care of … is taking over your workout slot. By now the week is shot. Mentally, you are done, with the promise that you will start again next week.  Sound familiar?

I am sorry to say, the minute you stop working out, your muscles stop growing. Not to say that you will immediately turn to mush in 24 hours of not working out. We know this is not exactly true. You are still using those muscles to walk to the train, to climb stairs and everyday use. However that nice tone look you have been striving, does start to disappear rather quickly. It takes as little as two weeks and depending on your level of fitness, your physique could last as long as one year. Age and gender also play key roles in how quickly or slowly muscles start to deteriorate. Fortunately, muscle has memory. Those movements that you learned so long ago, will be easier for you to pick up again once you start training. The soreness will still be there but, with consistency, it won't last long.

Remember it take about 4 weeks for your body to make muscle adaptations. Consistent training over the next 4 weeks should show some improvement. The best results will come from a steady routine 1-2 strength workouts/week for 90 days.

As far as cardiovascular conditioning is concerned, after just 12 days of non-aerobic activity, you can lose as much as 18% of your cardio fitness.  The rate of which you lose this all determined by your fitness base. The more fit you are when you stop, the slower the decent. The less fit you are the faster you will lose it. 

This does not mean if you are a conditioned person and feel like you need a break you must keep working out. You can take up to two weeks off without losing too much general fitness. In order to earn the time off, you need to get there first (like accruing vacation days).

The key to all of these elements is to stay consistent with your workout routines. There will be days when you just don't feel like it.  Go anyway. Make it a light day but do something. Every piece of work that you do adds up to your overall fitness. 

There is something you should miss on the day you skip a workout. It is how good exercise makes you feel.  Is there anything better than the way feel after a great workout or any workout for that matter? The endorphins soar and take away all the stress, aggravation and worry of the day. The one hour you spend on yourself to me is like a little mental vacation.  During my workouts, I try to focus on the workout. I do listen to the music too and sometimes an impromptu dance party erupts on the gym floor (much to everyone's amusement). I don’t care, that hour is about me.

If you are having difficulty staying consistent, make a plan.  It does not have to be an elaborate plan. Whip out your calendar, take a look, where do you have a half hour every day? It can be at different times of the day. Monday, it may be at 5:00am and on Tuesday it may not be until 7:00pm. Figure out what you can do in that time.  You don't necessarily need to go to the gym. Do pushups and crunches on the floor in your bedroom (5 minutes) before you get in the shower? When you walk the dog, jog it instead of walking?

If you are determined to be good and to really get into better shape, pull out that calendar again. Make an appointment with yourself. Schedule it! It is as important for you to get that workout done as it is to get to the shoe maker to get that heel fixed or to the dentist to get that tooth fixed.  Remember that once you start, it’s the little goals every day that make you successful. Still having difficulty? Call a friend.   Having someone waiting on you, even if it’s out guilt, can help propel you to your workout.

The Husband always says, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” [Editor’s Note: I never say that], which I believe he stole from Benjamin Franklin [Editor’s Note: He did say that].  If you are not mapping out your week in terms of workouts, knowing you are inconsistent to begin with, you won't get them in.  Putting it on calendar and recruiting a friend (or even getting a trainer) to get you there every day is a solid plan that can help you stay the course to your fitness goals.

Don’t let another winter happen!