Not enough hours in the day!
The title of this blog is the most popular phrase in my vocabulary at the moment. I have just come back from a sunny Easter week off where there was lots of family bike rides and trips to the zoo but even though my days were busy I still fitted in ALL my training last week.
Sometimes holidays and fitness just go together, as there’s no school runs/pick-ups this automatically gives me an extra 2 hours in my day and those 2 hours really are like gold dust! These are the hours that I then use to make the time for my sessions so I can then fit in quality time with the family.
This week though, has been tough in terms of sessions and time, it makes me frustrated and stresses me when I am finding it tough to fit them in. When you look at your diary and booked client sessions and see a window where you can fit the 60+ min row, then you grab it and NOTHING will get in the way of that precious time. The problem is that sometimes, my head doesn’t appreciate the pressure I put on it to DO that session at that specific time. On holiday as my time is more relaxed, then so is my mentality so I am more relaxed going into the session. When it’s a working week and I have that slight window of availability, my mental strength has to become even stronger and I just have to get on and do it, no mulling it over, just get on and finish it. That is tough. When it’s done though it feels good, believe me!
Trying to fit in 2 sessions a day for a working mother of 3 is difficult but not impossible. My focus is more intense then the normal gym goer, BUT if you want to see the results and progress you have to find the time to work for them. To help me sort out my week, I plan my sessions on a Sunday evening, now my week can change from day to day, but to have those sessions written in my diary gives me a structure to my training and helps me get my head around the amount of hours I have to put in around work, family and other jobs around the house.
This way of planning my week works well for me, and I am also lucky that my husband will help out if my session falls around mealtimes. It’s definitely team work - I start it, he gets home, I jump on the rower and he finishes the meal! It works great and it works the other way round when he goes off to the gym early in the morning at weekends or on holiday. As in all relationships a little give and take goes a long way to help both partners fulfil their fitness commitments, and help them feel positive and good about themselves, this also helps make the atmosphere much more relaxed in our home -well as relaxed as it can get with 3 kids under 11 yrs!
So my advice to you is to sit down and plan your fitness, put that time aside for YOU, organise a babysitter, ask your partner to take over the running of the house for that precious hour you have. If you plan your time to move then the time spent moving will be much more enjoyable!