It’s Only One Workout

Early in the year you hear people saying things like: “This year I am going to be healthy” and “I have changed everything.” As people say these things, they are thinking about their new goals and feeling good about their progress so far.

In a few short months, or in many cases, a few short weeks or even days the tone often changes. Statements like: “I failed.” And “I was on track for a while but…” start to come out. What happened? Well it depends on the person, but in most cases there was a roadblock involved.

We all run into them. No matter what the goals is, there are going to be challenges to reach it. In many cases, the more significant the change is, the more challenges one will run into along the path toward making the change.

We all run into barriers. But what is the difference between people that can do it for a lifetime and those that can only stick with it for a few short months, weeks or days. Well, everyone runs into the same challenges, we just run into them at different times and more importantly, we handle the situation differently when we run into these challenges.

There are 3 categories of people. Actually, you could break it down much further than that, but for argument’s sake, we will think about it with 3 groups. The 3 groups are beginner, semi-experienced and expert. The beginner has just set a New Year’s resolution. They have never been in a regular routine before, but know that they want to be in one now. The semi-experienced person has set a series of goals to get back on track. They have been in a routine before, but have only recently run into a tough stretch where it is hard for them to get their exercise in. The expert is not starting anything. They have been doing it for years and will continue to do the same.

Let’s take a tough day at the office for example. We all have them. In fact, January, which is the time that we always have these new ambitions, is also the time when things are busiest. With winter in full swing, that doesn’t make things any easier. So, what do people do when they run into challenges? How does each person handle it? Let’s find out…

The beginner has a tough day:
The day has gotten longer and longer as work continues to pile up. The beginner has set a New Year’s Resolution to go to the gym in the evening. They are thinking to themselves: “This is not going to happen.” The day continues, the stress continues and eventually, they write off the possibility of going to the gym after work.

The semi-experienced person has a tough day:
The day is long and hard and they are only getting more and more tired as the day goes on. They feel less and less up for a workout after work, but know that they set a goal. They have been here before, so it feels familiar. This could be an advantage, but they simply remember all the times that they didn’t make it through these times before and it looks more and more like it will happen again. Eventually, they give in and the workout doesn’t happen.

The expert has a tough day:
As the day goes on, things get more stressful. The expert is no different from the other two people. They feel the stress and fatigue. One advantage for the expert is that they already have more energy because they are used the routine and it has been fueling them for years. The expert is also a life-long exerciser and sees the workout as a way to shrug off a tough day. When they finally get to leave, they can go to the gym and take out their aggression on the treadmill or weights and everything will be fine when they leave. The next day will come around and they will handle it just the same.

This is just one workout, but you can see how differently it is viewed and handled by the 3 different categories of people. The beginner and semi-experienced miss their workout, while the expert gets theirs in without hesitation. This sounds like it’s self-explanatory since that is the routine that people are in, but it is more than that.

That was just the reaction to one workout. What happens if we go out another day? What are they saying then?

Beginner: “I failed already, I guess I can’t do it.”

Semi-experienced: “I didn’t get my workout in yesterday, but I have to get it in today. If I don’t I will consider this a failure.”

Expert: “Another day, another workout.”

These three reactions are not uncommon because of the way that each person treats the exercise session. To the beginner, this is a major milestone in a fresh routine. If they don’t get it, they don’t have anything established and therefore, are not making progress. The semi-experienced person sees something similar in the way that they have not been on track. Their new routine may have been something they’ve done before, but it is not on track now, so they feel that they are off.

The expert is not thinking about all of this. They are taking it one day at a time. Are they going to work out every day? Probably not, but missing one is not going to throw them off either.

The biggest difference between beginners and experts is the reaction to the challenges along the way. If you can overcome these challenges, you will be successful. There is no question about that. The only question is, how are you able to bounce back?

Each workout should stand alone. If you miss one, you have the next one coming to get back on track. Every day is a new day and a chance for you to reach your goal. The only failure is quitting and saying that you failed. As long as you are trying, you can succeed.

You just can’t let one day ruin the week. You can’t let one week ruin the month. And you can’t let one month ruin the year. The better you can bounce back and get back into your routine, the better you can start making progress. Otherwise, you are just going to beat yourself up and quit. Then comes the self-loathing because you quit. It is a vicious cycle that can be avoided by taking things one day at a time. Each workout is its own goal and no one workout can affect another. Think about that before you give up after a tough day. Just because you miss a workout doesn’t mean that you failed. After all, it’s only one workout.