Day 256: Does Daily Accountability Have A Hidden Power?

G’day,

Sometimes our daily (and weekly) training plans don’t pan out. This could be due to factors within our control (subpar planning) and outside of our control (illness). In the past few weeks I have had experience with both!

I was out for 10 days with a head cold last month (right before my first triathlon). This week I effectively put myself out with poor planning (and possibly waning motivation).  While a lot of fitness gurus effectively say the same thing when you miss a day or two, “Forget about it, just get back on the horse!”, many of us still beat ourselves up. 

This tendency is strongest in the early stage of a Mission, when the slightest misstep can lead to all four wheels coming off! I have been there many times before and know how tempting it is to say, “This week is now gone, I’ll start again next Monday.” 

Unfortunately that Monday never really comes. What’s more, the “perfect” set of days and weeks with no distractions or hiccups never really comes either. I think we all know this deep down.

So, what’s the solution? How do we get back on the horse in the shortest time possible? Well, I don’t have a “one size fits all” solution but I do have a couple of things that worked for me. 

The first is to find the positive in what you have already achieved on your Mission. This may be decreased weight and body fat, an increase in strength, or a combination of both. 

Another positive you may be able to draw is your overall activity level even when you missed a workout (or two). For example, even though I missed two workouts this week I could draw some solace from the fact I passed the 20k step mark on both of those days. 

The last tip I can give you really only applies if you do daily/weekly accountability pictures. Your pictures not only give you daily feedback on your progress, they also tell the story of how far you have come.  

This really hit me when I was doing up the pics for the two days this week where I missed my training (Tuesday and Wednesday). As you may have noticed I have two sets of comparison pictures, one for the current Mission and one from the start of Mission 1. 

The Day 1 picture puts my journey into a larger context, where I can see tangible progress over longer period of time. While there is a certain amount of happiness in seeing the transformation what hits me harder is all “blood, sweat and tears” it took to get where I am today! 

In this context there is absolutely no way I will allow all that effort to go to waste!

I will not start the regression to my former physique on the count of two missed workouts.

I will put the missed days to one side and get back on the horse (today, not Monday!)

This is the exact feeling I had in the last two days when I saddled up again for weight training yesterday and cardio today. I am now in a good headspace again for the weekend.

I highly recommend giving this approach a crack if this is a recurring problem for you (as it was for me).

Until tomorrow,

AJ