What Happens When Life Happens?

Sickness. Injury. Or worse... busyness. Life can get in the way of completing workouts and reaching your fitness goals.  So what do we do when life happens?

You can't control everything

I need the reminder, more often than not, that I can't control everything. I can't control if/when I get sick, or my kids get sick. I can't control whether or not my child wakes up from a bad dream at night and needs me. I can't control a lot of different things. Sometimes the things that prevent us from doing what we want to and more often than not, we don't have a say in the matter. And that's all part of life. Accept it. I know I need some improvement here.

Yet there are things we can control, and those are the ones we need to focus on. Set the alarm. Wash your hands. Warm up and cool down properly, even if it cuts your actual "workout" time a little shorter.

Need help getting back on track? Here are some thoughts I shared on achieving your goals.

Get back on the horse

So you missed a workout, now what? Sometime just chalking it up as a miss and going to the next day of the training plan is all you can do. I call these "unscheduled rest days". And let's face it, sometimes we just need those days and don't even know it.

Doubling up the next day isn't always the answer. Especially after coming from extended time off or you're new to exercise. Sometimes, you can add a little bit to your next workout, but in my experience, trying to "make it up" does more harm than good.

As long as you make an effort to hit the next one, you're doing okay. Any kind of progress is still progress and missing a workout here and there won't affect you in the long run as much as it may seem.

Schedule rest

Rest is important. Easing into a new routine or higher workout volume is also important. Burnout is a real thing, and preventative measures are sometimes frustrating (marathon taper anyone?) but vital to staying healthy and performing your best. Rest doesn't necessarily mean not working out either. Sometimes it's walking instead of running, or doing yoga. You can do "active rest" sessions and still see the rejuvenating benefits. But not resting will lead to injury, which is your body's way of saying you pushed it too far.

When life happens...

Take it in stride. Control what you can control. Remember that rest is a good thing, and we all need it from time to time.  Most importantly keep it all in perspective. Progress, no matter how small, is still progress. What are your tips to bouncing back from missed workouts?