Training Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

“Yourworkout is our warm-up!”

“Grip it and rip it!”

“We don’t need machines; we are machines!”

I’m sure you’ve all read or heard one of these quotes or any number of others telling you workouts have to be all out.That you should leave nothing in the tank. That the way to make progress is to put yourself in the pain cave and stay there. Not only have I heard them all, I’ve no doubt said most of them as well—and probably meant it at the time.

But it’s not true all of the time, and for most of us—especially with a decent amount of stressors in our lives already—it’s not what we need to be a healthier human being.

Exercise is a wonderful thing with so many benefits, but we need to be mindful that it puts stress on the body. If you already have a large number of pulls on your energy from your home life, worklife, constant negative news etc, don’t beat yourself up if the last thing you want to do is a workout that grinds you into the ground.

Just because you normally go all in on your workouts doesn’t mean that anything less doesn’t count. Doing a workout at 50percent of what you normally would is still a deposit in your well-being bank. Just doing the warm-up and saying “that’s me done” is still doing something.

I speak with plenty of people who are struggling to find motivation to train all the time. Sometimes exercise is the highlight of their day but at others they just don’t feel like putting on their gym kit. I own the bloody gym and I struggle to find motivation to train sometimes. Don’t be too hard on yourself for feeling that way. It’s perfectly normal, and I promise, you’re not alone.

Try reframing why you’re training. The end goal doesn’t have to be a 150kg back squat or a sub-6 minute mile. The goal can just be to move. To have some time to yourself. Or to have some time with someone else. Doing some exercise is still a huge positive even if it doesn’t feel like you’re going to break a world record doing it.

If you are struggling with training or have completely given up, here are a couple of suggestions that might help.

Exercise in the morning. I’m a dad of two young boys who think getting up at 5:30 is a lie-in, so I’m fully with you if the idea of doing this sounds ludicrous, but stick with me. We’ve all got a set amount of willpower and it often depletes as the day goes on. If you can get your exercise in before you start your day when your willpower is at its strongest, the chances of you doing something are much greater.

Pick easier workouts. A 20-minute walk counts as a workout. Three rounds of 10 press-ups and 10 squats counts as a workout. Working out while you mentally figure outthe shopping list and how your 11am meeting is gonna pan out is definitely an acceptable option. In fact I’d highly encourage it if that’s the only way you can get something in. Move. Pick something you love doing. Forget doing things because you want to be better at them or because they’re your weaknesses.Training should be fun—sometimes we have to remember that.

If you’re struggling to come up with workout ideas:

Press-up/sit-up/squatgrid. Draw a grid on a sheet of paper, like noughtsand crosses. It can be as many boxes as you want, but the more boxes, the harder it is. So start with just nine. Pick a movement. While you’re watchingTV or catching up with friends, do a set of that movement. Write the number in the grid. Rest and relax. When you're ready, do another set. By the time your programme has finished, you’ll have done nine or more sets without even realizing it.

12-minuteEMOM (every minute, on the minute)

Minute one: squats

Minute two: press-ups

Minute three: lunges

Minute four: plank

Aim for just 20 seconds of work each minute, giving you 40 seconds of rest.

Train with someone. If you live with someone, see if they want to do some exercise with you. It doesn’t matter if you have vastly different fitness backgrounds or abilities. Training with someone means you’re accountable to someone, and if you live with them it’s not like you can screen their calls.

There’s more than enough going on around the world taking its toll on you. Don’t add to it by being hard on yourself when it comes to exercise or the lack thereof. Just aim to do doing something.

If you don’t manage it today, that doesn’t matter. Try again tomorrow and the day after, and the day after. In fact keep trying for the rest of your life you definitely won’t regret it.

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