Positive Results by Sabrina

One of the hardest things about training is sticking to a schedule. For some athletes, the fear of NOT being able to stick to a plan can be the one thing holding them back from even getting started.

Many coaches want to give you a detailed training plan, often one they’ve created for many people, and they want you to make it work in your life. One of the things I instantly loved about 80/20 was that we “Plan in Pencil!” This is repeated regularly. We know that life happens. You can make a 6 week plan and then weather, family, injuries and life happen and you know that you can’t stick with it any longer. Many people completely fall off here. We throw away the plan because we don’t think it’s useful if we can’t follow it to the letter. Our job as coaches is to help you see the error in this thinking.

As a Mother, Trainer, and now Coach, I have to remind my athletes from the beginning that absolutely nothing is set in stone. I want to help people remove that pressure from themselves altogether. We are not here to punish you for the work you couldn’t do or the days you didn’t show up in the way you intended. We are here to help congratulate you for the days you did show up and even better, the days you surprised yourself.

I’ve mentioned before that I was not this active with my older children. Other than walks at the park or an occasional weight loss focused season, there were no consistent workouts, hikes or races to schedule in.  I’ve had to learn to train with a breastfeeding infant. Her sleep schedule is still largely unpredictable. Her feeding is unpredictable. Her temperament…unpredictable.

When we first started hiking together, we assumed I could stop anywhere to nurse her and keep moving. Isn’t that one of the biggest benefits of nursing?! She quickly taught us otherwise. Some hikes, we’d stop to feed her before we took off. Other hikes, I tried to nurse about halfway through and she would or would not take it. She’s always been very curious, aka nosey, and prefers to pay attention to her surroundings than to eat on my schedule. As she got older, I realized it was better to bring her a bottle to feed along the way, but as many breastfeeding mom’s know, that’s a feat all in itself.

With my current training plan, I often schedule workouts for the day and/or the week and then I have to be flexible about how and when they happen. Luckily, I’ve been training fasted for the last few years. I know that if we all wake up in a great mood, I can get my workout in after she’s taken care of and then I can eat. If we have a rough morning, or a lot on the schedule, I can break my workout up throughout the day or get it in later in the day. Having a supportive partner around is another benefit that I do not take for granted. There have been many occasions where the day just didn’t go as planned and I figured my workout was toast. He’s been the one to say, “give me the baby and go.” Maybe I only get in 20 minutes vs an hour. For me, something is always better than nothing. 

The other thing to ask yourself is, what is your minimum base line? This is a term I learned within the last few years and it has been a great tool in my belt. Especially for those of us who use exercise to battle mental health struggles, a minimum baseline can be a life saver. On those days that you’re really struggling to get something done, what is your minimum? If you tell yourself, “I’m going to get at least five minutes of movement in” and you do? Perfect. If you dance around your kitchen for five minutes and then feel good enough for five more minutes on the treadmill or a walk around the block? Even better. The point is that you did something positive for your physical and mental well being. You took care of yourself and at the end of the day, that’s all we’re asking for.