You Don't Have to Like it - You just Have to DO IT!!!

So you haven't been able to work out lately? Whether it's because of an injury, work, travel, or personal reasons, getting started back up again can be tough. Really tough. Reasons to delay like, "What's another day of not exercising going to do," or "I'll start back again on Monday" play in your head as your waistline slowly expands. Here's my 1-2-3 to getting back on track and what you can do to help yourself stay there.

1. DON'T PUNISH YOURSELF. Whether you've been away from the gym for days, weeks, or months, trying to compensate for this through increased excersise and/or decreased eating won't work. These two extremes will lead to hunger, burnout, injuries and depression. Move forward and don't look back (do this for break-ups too).

2. PREPARE. You know what you need to do and how you need to do it. Get your schedule in order, plan your workouts, and take time to go food shopping. Prepare as much food as you can ahead of time so that you aren't making rash decisions about what to eat in a state of hunger. This time-saving step will make the transition of regularly incoporating the gym a lot easier. You'll know what you have to do when you get there and have a healthy meal waiting for your after. Perfect.

3. GET THERE! Look, getting to the gym is half the battle, right? If that initial motivation is holding you back, enlist help! Make a gym-date with your friend or hire a trainer for the first few weeks to stay motivated. With a trainer you are motivated because someone is expecting you to show up and you've made the financial commitment to do so. Other ideas to help you stay motivated are to set-up a rewards system so that if you complete each planned workout to the best of your ability, you reward yourself with a massage or a pair of shoes for example. Another idea is to put money aside in a jar every time you skip a workout. When you reach your goals, you get your money back. In psychology/psychiarty there exists a saying, "Change your behavior and your mind will follow." This means that once a consistent pattern of behavior is established, that behavior will become easier and normal to that individual. You know those "crazy" people who wake up super-early to work out at 6am and actually like it? It wasn't easy for them the first few weeks to wake-up and hit the gym, but over time, they established a routine. Now it's no problem for them at all and they come into work boasting about how great it is that their workout is already done. You might be sitting next to him/her right now. Other proven ways to stay committed are to share your goals with others so you are held accountable and to write down your goals and keep a diary of your progress towards those goals. Visualization is also a helpful tool. Put up photos of the body you'd like to have, or hang a pair of jeans you'd like to fit into.

While psychologists and psychiatrists have their saying about establishing a routine, I think the one that works best was one my mother used to tell me as a child (and sometimes still) regarding doing things I don't want to do ... "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it." Get to the gym and before you know it, you'll find yourself back into an easy, healthy routine.