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How to Schedule the Most Important Meetings of Your Week

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It’s Monday, party people, and it’s time to get moving! Seeing as Sunday is a reset for many, many, many Mamas, Monday should be used to plan, commit and execute your fitness plans. You need to take a few moments today to plan your week, schedule your workouts and commit to moving your body. If you haven’t thought about committing to your workouts for the week…DO IT NOW.

My job? Teach you how. I’m going to take you through the step by step of planning your workouts for the week and some tips on how to actually follow through.

Lindsay’s Guide to Workout Execution:

Step ONE: Plan. Take out your calendar, daytimer, Mommy-calendar, phone or whatever you use to schedule and track what you have on the go for each day. If you’re a pen and paper gal, grab a different colored pen (I prefer hot pink, obviously) than the rest of your calendar. If you organize your life on your computer, change the color of the text to something bold and bright. Can’t do that? Use a different color to block your workouts in your calendar. Oh yes, there’s a way around all of your buts.

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Step TWO: Get Specific. In the notes section of your calendar write down the number of workouts you plan on completing throughout the week. Be specific. For example, I’m going to workout 6 times this week. Two workouts will be at least 45 minutes and will include intervals and strength. Three workouts will be intervals and will be at least 30 minutes. My 6th workout is going to be my long run and I will need about 2 hours for that. Whatever you choose, write it all out.

Tip: Not sure what workouts you want to do? Ask someone to do something new and different this week! Doing something new helps keep you on track for the week and takes a bit more preparation. More preparation usually leads to a higher level of commitment

Step THREE: SCHEDULE your workout. Look at your entire week in its totality. Note what days are crazy busy, what days are less scheduled and what days are best for your longer workouts. Now, block the time in your calendar. Again, be specific. Decide what classes you’re going to take and schedule them in your daytimer like you would any other meeting. Not going to a class but going for a run instead? Great. Block that time, as well. You are no longer available to anyone but you, your body and your soul during that time.

Tip: Be sure to include any travel time you may need and/or shower/changing time as part of your scheduled workout time. 

Step FOUR: Book into your classes. If you do go to fitness classes (obviously I recommend Hot Mama for your family fitness classes!) that require your to show up at a specific time and “register”…GO REGISTER. Don’t wait to do it, put your name on the list as “COMING” and commit to it. Working out with a friend? Great! Schedule the meeting time and place NOW with him or her and commit to one another.

Step FIVE: Set reminders. If you schedule your workouts using an online calendar, set notifications to remind you at least one hour before your workout is scheduled. I highly recommend you schedule a two hour prior and a one hour prior reminder to your workout. If you’re a pen and paper gal you can schedule emails, texts or other notifications to be sent to you. And yes…reminder are necessary. You’re a busy person and the more you’re reminded of your meetings with yourself, the better.

Alright now Mama, you’re set. You know how many times you’re going to workout. You know how long you need for each workout sesh. You have blocked the time in the calendar. Now comes the tricky part. COMMIT to your plan and follow through. Don’t let anyone schedule over you.

You’re important and so is moving your body. The workouts you’ve scheduled are important for your health, for your fitness, for your soul. There should be little else that takes precedence over the importance of taking care of you.

Mamas! It’s Time to Put the Wine Down

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Yeah. I said it. It’s time, Mamas. You can do it. You just…set it down. Better yet, go wash your wine glass right now and put it in the cupboard. Put it in the back of the cupboard. Waaaaay back.

While you’re at it, put down the Caesars (Bloody Mary’s for my American friends), the gin, the sangria, the vanilla-infused vodka, the margaritas, the beer, the all of it! It’s time. Time to get back to feeling great and nourishing your body the way it needs to be nourished so it can work and function the way you need it to function. Life gets busy(er) in the fall so it’s time to help your body out and fuel it properly.

Like many Mamas this summer, I permitted myself to just let go of the rules when it came to nutrition. I still worked out (although granted, it was less frequently than usual), but nutrition? No, I had no time for that. The best part? I simply permitted myself to let it go for a bit. I can be quite strict with my nutrition and this summer I simply needed a break from my own strictness. And break I did!

Bread, peanut butter (gasp! the sugar-added peanut butter!), chocolate for breakfast, white flour muffins, smores, chips, cheese, naaachoooos! Oh yeah, I did it all. Did it feel good at the time?! You bet your sweet buns it did! Does it feel good now? Um…no. Hence the reason it’s time to put it all away and get back on track.

Do I feel bad that I “took the summer off”? Nah. And neither should you. I’ve been talking with my friends over the past few weeks and they’re all feeling guilty about the food they ate over the summer, the drinks they drank and the snacks they hoovered around the campfire. Consider this your permission to let it go. Give yourself a break, won’t you?!

Did you have fun? Did you laugh? Were you silly? Did you enjoy those cold drinks in the heat of summer? Did you make wonderful and hilarious memories? See? It’s not all bad. So stop talking poorly about yourself. What’s done is done.  I’m a fitness professional, for goodness sake, and I know how to fuel my body properly…I simply decided not to this summer. And you know what? I say “GO ME!”. If I can let it go and not feel guilty about it, you should do the same. Okay?!

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The flip side to all the gluttony? Well, now I feel blech. My jeans are much too tight (thank the good Lord for leggings!), my arms jiggle a bit and my energy levels are kaput. I feel tired and sluggish. But I continue to refuse to berate myself. And so should you.

It’s okay to take a break every now and then. Give yourself, your body, your rules a break and don’t feel bad about it! Celebrate it! And now we make a plan.

I know the nutrition plan I will be following (it’s not even a plan, it’s just healthy eating) and I know the workouts I will be doing. Now, it’s all about prep. I need to write out my monthly meal plan and I need to schedule my workouts in my calendar. I encourage you to do the same. Make a plan, schedule it and let’s get back to feeling amazing, shall we?

Personally, I’m about to hit Hot Mama’s 28-Day at-home workout, IGNITE – Burn Level. It’s a good reset program and has a serious metabolic kick to help boost my sluggish metabolism. That’s what I’m going to do. What about you? How are you going to get back to feeling great this fall? I’d love to hear about it!

And Mamas…seriously…I hope you’ve enjoyed your summer! Don’t ruin it by guilting yourself about the choices you made. Embrace them, laugh at them and now make a plan to start feeling better. It can truly be as simple as that!