Most of us have been programmed to believe mind games aren’t good things. They make us think of what we used to accuse boys of playing when we were teenagers, or of passive-aggressive “frenemy” situations.
No? Just me?
But sometimes mind games can be good. If you’re having trouble fitting that pesky daily workout into your routine, here are some mind games you can play to ensure he’ll call” er, I mean, to ensure you’ll make that workout happen.
1. Wear your workout clothes to bed.
It’s not like workout clothes are uncomfortable pantsuits you’d wear to work, so why not?
Sleeping in your workout clothes, or even just your sports bra, and putting your shoes next to your bed can help you hit the ground running when your alarm goes off the next morning.
And, speaking of your alarm”
2. Set an extra alarm if you’re not great at waking up the first time.
I always set two alarms, even if I’m not getting up to run in the morning. I don’t know what it is, but I tend to see the first alarm as serving the same purpose as a yellow light on the street: “Please pay attention, but no real action required yet.”
So, I set the first alarm to go off five or 10 minutes before a second alarm (when I actually need to wake up) to guarantee I’ll get moving.
A little strange? Sure. Does it work for me? Every time. (Not that my husband’s the biggest fan.)
3. Keep a gym bag packed and in your car.
Especially on extra-crazy days, part of the problem of fitting in a workout is that you don’t know when you’ll have time. Having a bag packed with shoes and clothes waiting for you in the backseat of your car ensures that the next time your husband volunteers to pick up the kids on his way home from work ““ hey, it could happen ““ you can swing by the gym.
4. Give yourself permission to quit five minutes into a workout.
For most people, even if they start out with low energy levels or not-really-in-the-mood feelings, by the time they get going, they feel better and up to the exercise.
“If you tell yourself, ‘Hey, I don’t have to do this. It’s been five minutes and I’m still not feeling it, so I’m just going to quit today,’ you’ll be more apt to try it again the next day,” said Lindsey House, a dietitian with St. Elizabeth’s Weight Management Center and personal trainer.
5. Give yourself permission to change your routine.
In addition to giving yourself permission to quit, you also can give yourself permission to do something different than what you had originally planned on a certain day.
For instance, if you had planned to run but feel like walking on a treadmill so you can check your e-mail instead, do that.
6. Wear a pedometer and count what you do during the day as your activity.
“I tell my clients that if they can walk out of work having completed 8,000 to 10,000 steps in one day they should congratulate themselves and consider it their day’s workout,” House said.
When it comes down to it, House says, making sure we’re sticking to an exercise plan is all about keeping it fun, keeping it easy, and, of course, using a few tried-and-true tricks that work for you.
