Setting up a new routine!

Ah September in San Francisco! The worst of the tourists go home, the sun comes out (well, hopefully), the kids are back in school, and the vacations are done for the most part.

With most of the distractions out of the way, it's the perfect time to set a new routine. The Good Health Guidelines tells us that we should move at moderate intensity most days of the week and that is for health, not necessarily to lose weight. It might be a good idea to aim toward a little more than that.

In theory that sounds beautiful, but in practice sometimes it's not that easy to achieve. Playing taxi driver for the kids, work meetings, house work, emails, homework, everything seems to get in the way. That's where setting a routine becomes extremely helpful. If you do the same thing, at the same time everyday, it becomes almost automatic. We don't forget to brush our teeth before bed because we do it every night, so if we don't something is missing. Getting your work out in can become as natural to you as brushing your teeth before bed is, if you stick to your routine long enough.

There's a few things to consider when setting up your routine:

What do I want to do?

It's a good idea to have a basic work out (or a basic activity) that you will do regularly. You can add to it on the days that you have more time, or when you are feeling bored, but the basic routine makes it easier to build a work out in which you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time. It is also a time saver on those week when you don't have time to be overly creative. You just go and do it, without having to think about it too much.

When do I want to move?

That's the big question! Are you a morning person? Can you work out after work? What about a Lunch time work out? There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The best answer is the answer that works the best for you. If the thought of getting up early in the morning gives you nightmares, then maybe you want to think about stopping by the gym on your way home after work. If you hit a wall every day at 4:30 and body and mind just stops functioning, an after work work out might not be ideal.

What can I realistically commit to do?

You are far better to start small and build up your routine than to commit to a huge work out 7 days/week and feel like a failure 4 days into it because you couldn't keep up. Depending on the kind of activity you decide to practice, and the intensity of each work out, you might want to start with 2 or 3 work out per week, and then add to that when you are ready.


The bottom line is that you want to be very honest with yourself and realistic about your expectations. Nobody goes from couch potato to  athlete overnight. None of us, I think, is getting ready for the next Olympics, the old adage of "No pain, no gain" does not apply to us (or to anybody else anymore for that matter). So set up a challenging but realistic routine and see where you can go from there. Take your time, and of course enjoy yourself!