Progress - A Re-adjusted Mindset

So I've been having a lot of the same conversations at the moment. So I thought I'd A) share my perspective and thoughts and B) write this so you know you're not the only one feeling this way.

The general vibe I'm getting right now is: I'm fucking exhausted!!! I just need to get to the end of the year, to the holidays and to a break from everything.

If you're feeling this way, frazzled, pulled in a million directions with a billion things happening in life and in your head. Then just know that you're not alone.

The 'silly season' (i actually cant stand this term but there you go) and lead up to Xmas and the end of the year is really hard. It's soooo real. And we're just bloody tired.

So what's the point if my email. Well what I really wanted was to try and help you shift your mind set a bit for this period of time, manage your expectations and hopefully feel a bit better for it.

A lot of the time, we hit the gym to see little wins and gains and use those extra reps, or weight as our measures of progress. In some way we’re always looking to improve and this can come inn many forms.

During this period of fatigue and exhaustion, I believe the measure of progress should be aiming for consistency with your training. Readjust your expectations on how you're performing in your gym sessions but show up nonetheless. During this busy phase just showing up is the win and that consistency will be the progress that you need.

The exercise will give you energy and have a positive impact on your mental health when everything else is feeling super tough. I know it can often feel like the last thing you want to do, but trust me when I say it is always a good decision.

For example. We've had some sickness is the house of late, which always leads to poor quality sleep and its safe to say I was feeling so tired.

I usually train in a Tuesday night and it could have been easy to miss it knowing I probably couldn't give 100% but I adjusted my expectations to show up anyway, but just move, because my body and mind would be happy that I did.

And  guess what. It was so good. I didn't push myself as hard as usual. But I still worked up a bit of a sweat, focussed on movement quality and felt great afterwards.

Was it a waste if my time. Certainly not. The progress was showing up to that sessions when in the past I could have easily skipped it. That's still progress and has helped me deal with my week with a much better mental state.

The showing up IS the progess. Don’t worry about your output, how much weight is ont he bar or how fast you ran right now, if you’re tired AF and crawling to the end then showing up is all you need to do.

I know the to do list is longer than you can comprehend but you will get through it with more energy, gusto and mental clarity having exercised.

I hope this helps in some way. If you need to vent, give me a shout and i’ll arrange a drink and vent session at the gym!!!!

Lawrence x