How to get out of a rut.
Smarter Sundays - #245.
If you’re someone who’s struggling to get out a rut, and have been annoyed with how every day passes by without you getting in the workout that you intended to, then here are a few tips that has helped my clients:
Start small.
Many people approach their first workout after a break with a singular mindset:
“This one workout should right all the wrongs of the past X weeks of missed training. This one workout will return me to earlier glory and help me regain my lost strength and muscle.” and other variations of this.
This puts an unnecessary burden on your first workout. Instead, do the opposite and start small. In tech circles they have an MVP (minimal viable product), a version that has enough features that are usable for early users/testers.
Similarly, create your own MVP (minimal viable program). It doesn’t need to be the most sophisticated, well thought out workout program. Instead, start small. Start easy, choose movements that you are already adept at and move at an acceptable intensity (60-80%) for your first few sessions.Forget the past.
Don’t hold yourself to the level you were at before your break. (Or to someone else’s level if you’re a novice).
Focus on what you can do today, and then build up from there.
More on this below in #4.Choose movements you enjoy.
Often I see folks wanting to put themselves through the grinder for no apparent reason except that they were told to do ‘hard things’. In the gym this can take shape in the form of choosing movements that:
a) Don’t come easy to you,
b) Are technically challenging and require focus and experience, and
c) Not necessarily fun for you to perform.
This boosts the ego but doesn’t get you the results you desire.
Focus on choosing movements that you enjoy, movements that you have good technique for, and ones that don’t require a lot of thinking. These workouts will remind you that going to the gym/training can be fun and enjoyable, and once you string in a few workouts then you can start adding in additional movements.The Gain > The Gap.
Thinking about and focusing the gap between where you are currently and where you need to go is a great form of procrastination since it will paralyse your decision making capacity.
Instead, focus on the gain you made from yesterday. Even a 10 minute workout is a gain of 10 minutes of activity over yesterday.
Now repeat it.Reframe what success looks like.
When you’re learning a new language, speaking or writing a line is considered a huge win. When you’ve learnt the language and are fluent, the expectations are much higher. A line won’t suffice, but an essay might.
Likewise with training. If you’ve past experience of training, you’re likely to anchor your expectations to that but when you’re coming out of a rut this can weigh you down.
You have to reframe and redefine what success looks like. Training after a break of 10 months could mean that even a 10 minute workout is a success.Reframe what consistency looks like.
Similarly, you will have to reframe what consistency is. You will have to brush off linking consistency with a number and instead link it to behaviours.
Are you consistently seeking better health? Are more of your behaviours now health seeking as compared to earlier?
If so, you’re headed in the right direction, even if the speed is slower than what it once used to be.Finally: Make it exist first, and then worry about perfecting it later.
PC: Visualise Value/Jack Butcher. What I enjoyed reading this past week: “There goes my hero.” A touching Eulogy.
What I enjoyed listening to this past week: Craig Mod on The Real Japan, Long Walks, and being possessed by spirits. Youtube - PocketCasts
What I enjoyed watching this past week: The latest episode of ‘WTF is..’ with two of the top cops in Bengaluru was a fun watch. I especially enjoyed listening to IPS Anucheth on how the traffic police are currently dealing with issues using technology. Youtube
