How To Turn Bad Training Weeks Around

Life happens. No day, week or month is perfect. Curveballs constantly threaten to throw us off track, and they do if we let them.

Setting yourself up for success means acknowledging that life is inconsistent, our routines change, and we fall in and out of habits. It’s about being realistic and honest about what is going on in your life, what could happen and how you can mitigate those things from derailing your health and fitness goals.

If you’re not hitting your training program, it’s time to reflect. We often say to ourselves that we’ll do better next week, but unless we make the necessary changes, we don’t give ourselves a fighting chance. I can guarantee that next week will also bring challenges, distractions and new priorities. If you failed last week, you will likely fail again if you simply attempt the same routine without adapting.

And when we fail, we lose faith in ourselves. The negative self-talk starts, and that’s hard to come back from. It’s the beginning of a spiral that can see you stop training for weeks or months.Instead, we need to think about what’s achievable, be accountable for those actions, and start rebuilding self-trust and self-esteem.

So how can we make next week better than the last? Here's what to reflect on.

Time

Time is the biggest barrier for most people to exercise. We’re time-poor with pressures and distractions coming at us from all angles.

That said, time is also an easy excuse to deprioritise. So be honest with yourself – how much time do you really have?

If your program of 3 X 45-minute workouts isn’t doable anymore, that’s ok. What is doable? Can you squeeze in 3-4 X 20-minute sessions instead? What’s required to maintain (or even make small progress) is probably less than you think.

Is the time of day you exercise still working? If you usually train in the evening, but you’ve been working late, or summer social engagements have been taking over, can you switch to morning workouts? The earlier your train, the less chance of something else derailing it.

If you can’t work out in the morning, treat your exercise window like you would a work meeting. Don’t cancel on yourself. Book out the time, lace up your trainers and move your body.

Sleep

‍Good sleep makes everything better, especially motivation and energy levels. The opposite is true with poor sleep. If you’re tired, you probably won’t train. Are you getting a good night’s sleep (average of 7-9 hours per night)? If not, what can you do to improve it?

Sometimes it’s as simple as going to bed half an hour earlier. It could be leaving your phone outside to charge overnight or even investing in some blackout blinds for the summer months. There is usually something within your control to improve your sleep.

What’s more, when you’re tired, the reward centres in your brain go haywire. As a result, high fat, high salt, and high sugar foods are more appealing than healthier alternatives.

No one eats a chocolate bar and feels like working out afterwards (I've made this mistake many times). Which leads me on to…

‍Diet‍

How was your diet this week?

This isn’t a judgement question, and we don’t demonise food here. But how you eat and fuel your body does affect how well you train.

Eating junk food makes you more likely to have an energy crash, feel bloated and recover poorly – the general effect is not feeling like you want to train.

Keeping your diet clean and healthy will help you train better, which helps you sleep better, which helps you eat better, and so on. It's a virtuous cycle. Eat nutrient dense, high protein, whole foods, and snack on fruit and nuts rather than crisps and biscuits. Even if it's just Monday to Friday it'll make a huge difference.

Exercise some willpower, ride the wave of any urges you have to binge, and after a few days of great training, deep sleep and healthy diet you'll feel like a million dollars; and the motivation to continue will be much stronger.

‍Share with your coach‍

If you have a coach, be open and honest with them. When you share your reflections with your coach, they can tweak your program to be more achievable and address any changes in schedule, location, equipment or injuries/niggles. They have seen it before and can help.

The coach's role is to listen, apply their knowledge and experience to your situation, and provide a roadmap and support to help you reach your goals.