Do you feel as though you are stuck in a rut?
Don’t worry, it happens to us all.
I have been there myself recently, and so have many others in our gym.
I’m sure it’s not always like this. At times, things seem to go swimmingly well. Results come fairly easy, the food side of things is a breeze and you have so much energy.
These moments are great and I suggest you ride the waves for as long as you can…but more importantly, you celebrate these moments and make the most of them.
BUT!
You also get those times when everything is difficult. When life seems like a struggle, you have zero energy, no time and you feel as though you’ve lost your mojo…and you just feel like you’re traveling around in circles and stuck in that rut, unable to get out…
it would be just as easy to give up…
Sound familiar? Then join the club!
You’re not alone. You weren’t the first and you certainly won’t be the last! What’s important is how you act when these difficult times arrive. Because arrive they will. And your choice at that time will determine how you go forward…or in some cases, go backward!
The way I see it is you have a few choices,
Now, this may seem a little black and white, but I like to keep things simple!
So here’s my very simplistic view on the choices you have:
1 – You can give up and stay in the rut
I think we’ve all been here. Life gets tough, everything becomes a chore and we give up on that thing we’ve been working on.
With health and fitness, this tends to be the exercise regime or the healthy eating plan.
At some point, when the going gets tough, we simply think…
‘What’s the point anyway’?
And it’s only when the dust settles and we realise the damage that has been done, that we understand how much e have slipped backward and how much effort it will take to get back to where we were.
And thus we start again…over and over again!
2 – You can dig deep and try harder
This is the polar opposite of giving up. You’re so determined this time that you are willing to fight ALL the problems that you face. You work harder, you get up earlier, you go to bed later…You skip meals so you can get more into your day.
And for a short period of time this seems to work, but then, at some point, you start to feel the strain
The weight of your efforts starts to take its toll and things just get worse. You start to lose your motivation, your results start to stall, your stress levels increase and you get angry and irritable at the smallest of things?
Does this sound familiar? I know I have been here so many times…
And what happens next is that you give up! You end up back at the start or worse, even further back and because you have put in so much energy and resources into carrying on…you find it takes you much longer to recover this time…
or
3 – You can back off a little and analyse the situation
This is by far and away the hardest to do…because it feels so wrong! This requires you to take a step back and dare I say it, use a commonsense approach!
This approach means that you ACCEPT that you cannot always be on your game and there are times when things go wrong. And this can be a prolonged period too. You also accept that there are times when there is so much going on in your life that you simply need to divert attention elsewhere.
Now that doesn’t mean that you quit things or give them up. It simply means that you don’t go as hard, or as fast or expect as good results, or dare I say it…that you accept that you will not advance with your results at all in this time…other than to MAINTAIN where you currently are.
And if you can do this, then you need never go backward again, or feel the need to start all over again…
Because this means that you are able to keep going at a pace that suits you, whilst allowing you to do others things or to divert your attention elsewhere.
It doesn’t mean giving up. It doesn’t mean stopping. It doesn’t mean feeling sorry for yourself. Or blaming external things for your results.
It may mean running on the spot for a short time, but at least you’re not going backward, or sliding down the slope back to the bottom of your rut.
So how do you do this I hear you ask? This is for the next email. This one is long enough already!
Well, we keep it nice and SIMPLE! That’s how
Here’s what to do to climb out of your rut…
1 – Recognize when it’s time to back off
You stop, take stock of the situation and you look for the signs:
- Increased Fatigue
- Building Stress Levels
- You find it hard to find time to do the things you need to
- Your enthusiasm levels are down
- You feel like giving up and you’re wondering what’s the point
When you recognise these symptoms in yourself, you need to…
2 – Go back to basics to get out of the rut
- You go back to the information that you know and you read and re-read it so that you are fully aware of the basics that work
- You turn up train and then get out again
- You put in the effort it needs to get it done and not much more
- You follow simple nutrition principles
- You plan and prepare to ensure you can stick to it
And when you have gone back to the basics and
3 – Accept that progress will be super slow or non-existent and stick to the plan
- You set yourself some goals outside of your health and fitness progression
- You look to sort out the issues in your life that are burdening you currently
- You accept that there will always be peaks and troughs
- You stick to the basics
- You learn to enjoy yourself again
And that’s it…sounds super simple, right? Almost too simple to be fair. And that’s why you will dismiss it and feel as though it won’t work.
And you will likely make choice number 1 and/or number 2 instead of number 3.
But I’m here to tell you that choice number 3 is the way to go..
To get out of that rut…
All you have to do is believe in it…
And believe in YOURSELF…
So what’s it going to be?
The choice is yours…
