The biggest difficulty I have had sticking with exercise routines is my schedule changing. I am going a long just great when all of a sudden I get sick, end up with other pans, or maybe take a vacation or business trip. The routine gets broken and my progress slows down or maybe even stops. By the time I can get back to my routine I am less motivated to start again. The longer you miss the exercise the harder it is to get back into the routine. So what should you do minimize the damage?

I had just such an event happen to me yesterday. A friend who I hadn’t seen for a while dropped by the house about mid-day and stayed past dinner. It was great to see him, but it meant that I couldn’t go about my normal exercise routine. It would have been very easy to just skip it for the day. However, when you skip one day, it’s even easier to skip the next day. So instead I decided to modify my routine.

Instead of sitting on the sofa, I sat on the exercise ball. This allowed me to occasionally do sit-ups or various other types of exercises and stretches. When my guest would take a bathroom break, I would do a set of pull-ups or push-ups. I know all this may seem a little weird, but it actually turned out to be no big deal. He understood I was on a training program and even though I was partly exercising while we talked, conversation went on as normal.

The important thing is to know that your plan will probably not go as smooth as you expect. And while it is best to do at least part of the routine, that won’t always be possible. You won’t be able to control getting sick or emergencies. But you can expect that they will happen and create a backup plan.

I wasn’t able to get a full workout yesterday, but I was able to do enough to feel that I didn’t lose any progress. When you plan your workout or any other goal, be sure to create backup plan. This will help you from getting off track and keep you moving towards your goal.

There are two more days to exercise this week. I am planning to runs on both days as long as the weather holds up. I will also be posting pictures at the end of the week.

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