Hello All,
It's been awhile since I've been at the forums; about 4 months actually! AND... about that long since i've swum regularly as well!
This, for the last few years, has been my pattern. I will get into a groove and get into decent shape, then something will happen, i.e. I'll get sick, go on vacation, have a really busy week or two and not be able to go workout, holidays, etc.. and I'll lose it completely for about 2-4 months.. then it starts all over again.
Regardless, I ALWAYS find the pool calling my name after awhile until I absolutely have to get in it again, then of course remember how good it feels to be swimming..
My question is if anyone else has had similar issues with working out regularly, and what they have done, if anything, to overcome this?
Any hints or tricks to help get myself over the little hump and back into the pool quickly before I backslide would be GREATLY appreciated. (I am currently working on self discipline), and any hints on that would be great as well! ;)
Jeanette.
Parents
Former Member
My motivation is that I can't fool myself. Maybe I can fool others with excuses and explanations for why I didn't swim today, but I can't fool myself. (And it's time to start worrying when I find a way to fool myself!)
Some days I can't get out of the locker room into the pool fast enough. I'm eager to fly. I'm convinced that today I will do the mightiest workout I have ever done. I'm hoping that the water temp will be extra crisp and cool so that I can work even harder. Would that every day could be like that! But that's not the day I need self motivation.
It's the day that I got no sleep the night before. The day I have a headache or a hangover. The day after pulling a muscle in my neck. The day after a mighty workout that I'm still paying for. It's the day that I get into the pool and it feels extra cold -- even though it's the same temp as yesterday... "Maybe today I can "treat" myself to a shortened workout. I've earned it..."
It's the day that the alarm clock seems to have gone off two hours early. "Damn, this bed feels warm and cozy. Maybe my body needs to sleep in..."
It's the day that the car is caked in ice and I will have to stand out there and scrape in the bitter cold before I can drive to the pool. It's the day that I have to get into work early. Or work late. It's the day I wake up to find water leaking in the basement. Or the contents of my garbage cans strewn all over the yard by stray dogs. It's a day that my religious practices call for fasting.
On any of these days, I could justify to someone else why I will not (or did not) swim, and to most other people it would seem reasonable. But I can't kid myself. I even swim on Thanksgiving Day and New Years Day because my local pool has limited hours on those days. In fact, I swam on the morning of my mother's funeral, getting up at 4:00AM so that I could be back before anyone else in the house woke up. I knew some people wouldn't understand. And I believed my mother DID understand!
I eat every day because I know how it feels TO ME when I don't. I brush my teeth every day because I know how my mouth feels TO ME when I don't. I swim every day because I know how I feel (both physically and emotionally) when I don't.
Once I start making excuses for any discipline (not just swimming), it gets easier and easier to make more excuses. That's what happens when I kid myself. I can't kid myself. I won't let myself kid myself.
My motivation is that I can't fool myself. Maybe I can fool others with excuses and explanations for why I didn't swim today, but I can't fool myself. (And it's time to start worrying when I find a way to fool myself!)
Some days I can't get out of the locker room into the pool fast enough. I'm eager to fly. I'm convinced that today I will do the mightiest workout I have ever done. I'm hoping that the water temp will be extra crisp and cool so that I can work even harder. Would that every day could be like that! But that's not the day I need self motivation.
It's the day that I got no sleep the night before. The day I have a headache or a hangover. The day after pulling a muscle in my neck. The day after a mighty workout that I'm still paying for. It's the day that I get into the pool and it feels extra cold -- even though it's the same temp as yesterday... "Maybe today I can "treat" myself to a shortened workout. I've earned it..."
It's the day that the alarm clock seems to have gone off two hours early. "Damn, this bed feels warm and cozy. Maybe my body needs to sleep in..."
It's the day that the car is caked in ice and I will have to stand out there and scrape in the bitter cold before I can drive to the pool. It's the day that I have to get into work early. Or work late. It's the day I wake up to find water leaking in the basement. Or the contents of my garbage cans strewn all over the yard by stray dogs. It's a day that my religious practices call for fasting.
On any of these days, I could justify to someone else why I will not (or did not) swim, and to most other people it would seem reasonable. But I can't kid myself. I even swim on Thanksgiving Day and New Years Day because my local pool has limited hours on those days. In fact, I swam on the morning of my mother's funeral, getting up at 4:00AM so that I could be back before anyone else in the house woke up. I knew some people wouldn't understand. And I believed my mother DID understand!
I eat every day because I know how it feels TO ME when I don't. I brush my teeth every day because I know how my mouth feels TO ME when I don't. I swim every day because I know how I feel (both physically and emotionally) when I don't.
Once I start making excuses for any discipline (not just swimming), it gets easier and easier to make more excuses. That's what happens when I kid myself. I can't kid myself. I won't let myself kid myself.
