Most humans fall off the fitness wagon sometimes.
Sometimes we fall off intermittently but mostly stay on course.
Other times we try to start a new routine but “fail to launch.”
The latter situation can feel pretty discouraging. It can even lead to giving up. Or concluding “we’re just not fitness people.”
Gentle reader, take heart!
Below are common reasons you tried to get fit but didn’t succeed. They are all solvable issues!
1) You chose an exercise modality you don’t like and/or can’t tolerate.
“Done” is better than “perfect.”
Too often would-be fitness heroes focus on what’s optimal over what’s sustainable.
Sure, some types of exercise are better for a given goal. And some forms of exercise will give you more total bang for your health-and-fitness buck.
But if you find yourself bored and/or dreading your choice? Time to try something else.
PRO TIP: Your preferred modality usually changes over time. When you get bored, even if you used to love it, spice up your life and try something else.
2) You chose something that wasn’t logistically sustainable.
This next point sounds obvious. But it’s another reason people don’t succeed in adopting a consistent practice.
Your chosen modality needs to work for your life. And that has three logistical components:
- Your budget
- A reasonable commutable
- Accessibility for your schedule.
For instance, most of my closest friends live in Brooklyn. Would I love to have them at MFF? Sure! But if I know the commute to midtown Manhattan’s west side won’t work for them, I’ll arrange for solutions in their neighborhood.
Admittedly, sometimes Solve #1 (“Do Stuff You Actually Like”) takes precedent. Ninjas who commute 45 minutes to MFF have a special place in my heart!
PRO TIP: Looking for something that’s 1) super affordable 2) doesn’t require commuting and 3) has lots of class times AND an on-demand library?
Check out a free week of MFF’s at-home, bodyweight-only HomeBody classes HERE.
3) Your plan didn’t factor in the inevitable personal and professional disruptions.
Brains are funny. They always assume things are going to go well.
In fact, this is a known “cognitive bias”: planning fallacy. We tend to assume everything will go smoothly. So we fail to plan for the slings and arrows of life.
Planning fallacy actually has its advantages. If most humans really grasped how hard it is to do stuff, we wouldn’t start businesses, have babies, or renovate our kitchen.
Having said that, we need to build in allowances for disruptions to our plan. When you’re designing your week of fitnessin’, consider what will get in the way. Don’t be too optimistic about how perfectly your week will go. Create back-up plans for both training and nutrition so you can stay on track when life happens. And consider training, shopping, and cooking first thing if that makes it more likely to get done.
4) You tried to go it alone.
None of us are an island.
If there’s one thing we’ve seen in behavior change research, it’s this: social context matters.
Some individuals have freakish willpower. They can grit their teeth and leverage discipline to adopt new fitness habits. And this is impressive!
But most of us are mere mortals. And that means we succeed with the help of a supportive community.
This can look like a lot of things.
It can be an informal pact with close friends.
It can be joining a community-oriented training space (like MFF!!!).
It can be joining a fitness-oriented community (also like MFF!!!).
Most powerfully, it can come in the form of a coach who offers guidance, support, and accountability.
Whatever your choice of modality, fitness is best pursued with the support of other humans.
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You can do this. I promise you can,
Mark
PS: Snatched I and II are sexier than ever.
And as usual, we want to incentivize taking action. So if you sign up by Tuesday April 16th, you’ll save up to $250.
To learn more and see what sessions have spots remaining, go HERE.