What To Do When Your Workout Doesn’t Work Out
Things in life never go as planned—and that is true for workouts, too.
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This morning I woke up ready for some cross-training. It’s my least favorite thing to do (after putting away the dishes) but I was looking forward to trying a class I already know I like, with a new instructor. I was hoping her music would be awesome and already thinking up some of my favorite songs I heard during my last fitness class.
But when I got to the gym I saw a sign that said the class was CANCELLED! Call the waaaah-mbulance—I was bummed. It’s not the end of the world, but I am trying to make strength workouts a priority so I can be a better runner and stronger overall.
As today is a rest day I didn’t want to jump on the cardio machines—I wanted a strength workout as planned. So instead of crying as I did cardio, I decided to create a full-body strength routine for myself. I did squats, lunges, bridges, ab work and upper body. It wasn’t a complicated session, just the basics and I felt the burn.
I felt good after. My body felt strong and just as importantly, I was proud of myself for sticking with my schedule.
Sometimes during marathon training things out of your control happen—your running partner cancels, you can’t get to the gym before work, you have a meeting during your favorite fitness class, you get sick—you can count on at least one or two things to go wrong during the average month, right?
Being flexible is important. Sometimes you can’t ‘make up’ for the workout that day. If it’s an important training run (like a speed session or long run), see if you can work it in another day and swap it for another workout. If it’s not a ‘make or break’ workout, then let it pass and get back on track tomorrow.
Everyone’s body and schedule is different, so it’s very important that you are in tune with what YOUR BODY needs and also that you have a workout plan. It’s easy to let days or weeks go by without getting in a good sweat session when you’re not working toward a goal. You don’t necessarily need a race to train for, but maybe a certain number of times you’ll workout in a month (or something similar).
When your workout or run can’t happen for whatever reason, don’t get mad—get even (with your schedule). See you out there!
Read More From Run Eat Repeat:
Four Tips To Motivate Yourself To RUN!
For When You Just Want To Stop Running