There will always be days when despite good intentions, prioritizing, motivation, etc exercise doesn’t happen because we are just too tired…
Shakespeare wrote:
- Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed. The dear repose for limbs with travel tired.
When our fitness plans fall like a house of cards, then it’s time to “call it a night” and go to bed.
It’s been a big week of self-reflection for me, and last night I was so tired, I was in bed before the kids at 7.30pm!
Battling with self-awareness and exercise
Knowing that we should exercise and then actually do it, is the difference between morning and night.
Our busy lives can leave us worn out and fatigued, and we often feel too tired to exercise, or don’t think we have the time.
It may seem strange, but scientific research has shown that tiredness and fatigue can often be alleviated not by resting, but by exercising.
Being continuously “too tired to exercise” puts us into a downward spiral of ill health making us less inclined to exercise.
Getting into the habit of regular exercise can be difficult, but the more we exercise, the more energetic we will feel.
When “too tired to exercise” becomes your feel-good relief from ongoing stressful and busy days, then it’s time to take a deeper look at how you want to live your life.
Physical exhaustion versus mental fatigue
A British study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers found that when the participants were given mentally challenging tasks before exercise, they reported feeling more tired by the exercise.
The study was interesting as the level of exercise prescribed hadn’t changed, but the participants felt it was harder and more strenuous, for their already tired mind.
Real physical exhaustion is objective and easy to identify, for example; not enough sleep or having had a hard day of physical work.
Mental fatigue is harder to pick. Therefore you need to be brutally honest with yourself.
Do you have the power to change yourself to exercise?
The ability to answer this question comes from your willingness to understand the real reasons behind “why” you are always tired for exercise.
If your “why” makes you cry, then please, please, see your doctor there may be something that is beyond your control and its worth further investigation.
If your why is “I just don’t feel like exercising” then; let’s get started with my foolproof strategy to get you exercising every day!
Learn to become a morning person without being horrified!
I have learned; if my day is an accumulation of too many decisions, leading to not enough time, then at night my brain is fried, and I just won’t exercise. (Full stop!)
Having learned this, I only schedule exercise in the early morning.Becoming a morning exerciser was painful, horrible, nauseating and terrifying….
…..it started with letting go of who I was (NOT a morning person) and accepting that this is what I had to do for my wellbeing.
I still do not call myself a morning person, and given half a chance I will sleep until 10 am!
But I recognize I am not a teenager; I don’t have that luxury, I am a big girl with responsibilities to myself, family and friends for my health.
Two steps to becoming a morning exerciser
Step 1: Schedule your morning exercise.
Step 2: Go to bed at least 9 hours before you need to start exercise.
It indeed is that simple – but it’s just not easy!
Starting the night before makes morning exercise plausible and here is my strategy:
- Have a printed training program. If you don’t have one, revisit the 2018 challenge workouts click the following links to download | Challenge Week 1 | Challenge Week 2 | Challenge Week 3 | Challenge Week 4
- Pack your exercise gear ready to start.
- Have a no snooze alarm clock.
- Prepare a glass of water to drink on waking up. (Coffee is also a must for me.)
- Have a mantra that resonates with you. Mine is “No thinking,” no thinking, NO! Thinking….
Having said all of this, and having done all the preparation the night before, if I wake up feeling that I just can’t cope, I then go back to bed, guilt free!
Over the years of consistent exercising, I can trust myself to miss a workout and not let that be the start, of the end, of my fitness journey.
Fitness, like anything worthwhile in life, is about practice and not perfection.
Let’s enjoy our fitness journey together with its ups and downs – even when we don’t feel like it.
Find out more about our 9 minutes to fitness and to down load your “wake me up” program click on the link below.
Live well with fitness!
Anna
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