Sometimes it’s tough to get going

There are times when I can’t face a workout. I love training, and I think it’s something we all should do, both for the fitness benefits and the good of our general health. I don’t think it’s necessary to train like a professional athlete, but I reckon we should all find the level we’re comfortable with. Having said that, there are times when I have to admit I’m not up to training that day.

My energy level is just too low, or I just feel a bit spaced out, for one reason or another. Maybe I’ve got things on my mind, and we sometimes don’t realise how much that can affect our eagerness to train. Whatever the reason, at times like that I often still try to do something, even if it’s only one exercise, and even if it only lasts for a minute or so. I know a minute’s exercising hardly sounds worth doing, but the more you think about it the more you realise that minute or two is time very well spent.

And one of the the exercises I come back to again and again is freehand squats. There’s no weight involved and it’s a very simple exercise. There’s no strain involved and, in fact, the entire exercise is fairly easy-going …at least, till you get near the end! For the last ten reps or so it can start to feel a bit of an exertion. In fact, if I find I’m getting into it by now, I sometimes choose to push it at this stage, and then I find I end up doing far more than I originally intended. Which is great, because it’s a mind trick – I didn’t feel like I was forcing myself to train hard, so it wasn’t a big deal to make a start, but it sometimes becomes more than you intended it to be. And remember, this is on days when I’m not really up to par. So if I can do this on those days, it might be worth you considering making it one of your standbys in case you don’t feel up to a proper workout.

Freehand squats – a simple but effective standby exercise

Freehand squats – a great standby exercise

I spend a few seconds bending and stretching and easing myself into it, then I start to squat. I clasp one hand round the other clenched fist and hold them in front of me at about eye level (or sometimes just reach forward with both hands). This keeps me upright and balanced. The only way to squat properly is to keep yourself fairly straight and your eyes to the front (or even a little higher) and keep the whole movement smooth and steady. You don’t want to bend forward as you squat, and you don’t want to squat shallow (unless you’re nursing an injury, or your knees tend to give you trouble). Then I start to squat, and I go as deep as I can. No rush. And no bouncing up once you hit bottom (which could be very bad for your knees!) In fact, it’s far safer and more effective if you take it slower.

I go deep, then, as soon as I hit bottom I start to rise up again and keep going, making sure it’s smooth and not rushed. At the top I start to squat again, and I keep up the reps with no breaks, till I’ve done a good long set. Now, if it’s a day when I’m really not able to do much of anything I might only do a set of 10-20. I know, sounds a bit pathetic, but it’s 100% better than doing nothing at all. On better days I’ll manage 50 or more. But the thing is, this exercise is do-able even when you think you really can’t do much. It feels easy (for most of the time anyway), and you know you can manage it. It’s just in the last 20-40 seconds that the reps start to feel hard, and it’s important at that point to keep going.

Even a couple of minutes exercise can set you up for the day

You might only manage 20 seconds or so once you reach that point but by the time you’ve given up on that set you’ll feel like you’ve actually done some training. Now I know it’s not much, and in fact it can be over in a minute or so, but like I said it’s far better than doing nothing. And you’ll feel like you’ve really exercised; your breathing will be faster, your pulse rate will be elevated, you’ll feel more awake, you’ll feel your muscles and your joints working smoother and more efficiently. All in all you’ll feel 100% better than if you’d decided to just do nothing.

And this is well worth remembering. Because the way you drift into long periods of doing no training at all is by going whole days where you’ve done nothing whatsoever. Do a little bit (if you can) even when you’re not really up to it, and you’ll find you’re still ‘in the groove’, as far as training goes, even if your slack period grows from a day or so to a week or so.

Keeping at least this minimal training going all the time (as far as possible) can make the difference between getting back into proper training or drifting into a long, miserable period of almost total inactivity. And when you shake yourself up and decide to start training again, it can feel like a huge effort is needed. Keeping the momentum going, even if it’s by doing just a few minutes’ training each day, can save you having to make that huge effort. You can slip straight back from that lowest gear to a much higher gear with barely any effort at all. It’s a lot like pushing a car – even if you can only keep it moving very, very slowly … it’s infinitely easier than stopping and having to overcome inertia to get it moving again. That can make the car feel almost impossible to shift!

Make inertia your friend, not your enemy

Inertia’s always at work, whether you’re doing something or doing nothing. The natural tendency is to stay in that state, whether it’s active or passive. If you let yourself slip into a period of doing nothing, inertia becomes your enemy – and it can be difficult to overcome it in order to make any headway at all. But it you can keep moving forward, no matter how slowly, inertia becomes friendly to you. You’ll find it very easy to keep moving forward, steadily and stealthily, and easy to move up a gear when the time is right.