What’s the best workout?
What workout should you do today?
What kind of mood are you in? Is that even a consideration? Do you already have your workouts planned for the day, or week? Is there a class you want to take, or a program you are following? Do you have a set time you plan to go to the gym? Or, are you in the dark- you want to work out today, but you aren’t really sure what to do (and maybe might not do anything)?
Planning your workouts is an excellent tool for staying consistent with your goals, but a rigid plan for each day can be defeating. Because each day is different. Some days you are going to have the perfect energy for the perfect workout, but a lot of days, you just won’t.
Some days you will be exhausted. Some days you will be nervous, agitated, or stressed. Others, you might be feeling down or depressed. Movement is a powerful antidote for all of these moods. Pairing the workout to the mood is essential. I liken it to how we pick out our wardrobe. We have comfy sweats for those dark and cold days, tailored power suits for when we need to feel confident, stretchy pants for the day after Thanksgiving, something trendy and flattering when we want to impress, and well, you get the point.
We should take this approach when we pick out our workouts for the day. A long, vigorous stretch session for those days when we are tired and achy; a short HIIT session for when we have nervous tension; a calming, centering yoga class when stress is overwhelming; or a heavy lifting session when we need to feel strong and powerful.
When we tailor our workouts to our mood, the workouts feel better, and are more effective. While a workout should include a challenge, the qualities of the challenge (intensity, duration, etc) should match our current situation (mood, energy level, time schedule, etc). Having flexibility in our workout routine enhances the experience and increases our level of commitment and long term success.
It’s important to build a thoughtful and well planned workout wardrobe, just as you would with your clothes. That means becoming familiar with, and gaining experience in a wide variety of different types of exercise. If you spend most of your time exercising with weights, learn yoga, try swimming, explore hiking. If you are an avid yoga enthusiast, take a weight training class, add some jogging. Whatever your current knowledge base is, always be willing to explore new types of exercise so that you have the flexibility to adapt to each day’s situation. Then, exercise goes from being a ‘to do’ item, to an enjoyable self-care activity you will look forward to.
The 5/10/15
Fuel, Energize, Unwind - on Your Time