Build Auto-regulation Into Your Routine For Long Term Results

“Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but, because of lack of commitment.” –Vince Lombardi

The only way to ensure success in anything is to stick with it long enough to reach the tipping point where all the hard work done before begins to accumulate wins at a faster rate.

In fitness there is not such thing as failure, only quitting.

It can be difficult to continue pushing yourself when it doesn’t seem like there is anything to show for it, or when everything just seems to be draining you both mentally and physically.

These are the moments where critical decisions are made, whether it’s to give up and conserve energy or to buckle down and push yourself.

Utilizing the concept of auto-regulation within your exercise program maximizes the benefits of giving yourself a break when it’s necessary while still feeling like you’re putting in productive work.

How does it work within a set routine?

The best part about using this concept is that you don’t have to think on the fly about how you should change the workout.

A well-planned training routine will have heavier days and lighter days built into the week, and they will have more intense phases followed by easier ones.

That means that on a day-to-day, week-by-week, and month-by-month basis the difficulty of your workouts should increase and decrease.

With this in mind if you show up to the gym and your mind and body are just not into it, rather than skipping the workout completely just switch the goals for the day.

If the outline of the workout was a heavy set of 8 reps or lower, just move up the reps to 12 or 15 and decrease the weight.

Keep all the same exercises you were planning on doing the same and only manipulate the reps and weight. Then substitute the heavier day into the next workout to make up for it.

This will give your body and mind the little bit of a break it needs while still adding quality exercise to the weekly routine.

By the end of the week, you will have completed a lighter day and a heavier day for that given workout.

Best of all, planning heavier and lighter days is a great way to program your exercise and it gives your body a chance to recover without taking days off.

Giving yourself the freedom to substitute days based on how you’re feeling will help maintain consistency while keeping exercise fresh.

There have been many times I have substituted a lighter day for a heavier day and left the gym feeling like I got an even better workout than I would have if I stuck with the original plan.

Post workout I feel even more prepared for the heavier day that will be coming a few days later and I never skipped any of the necessary work I needed to accomplish for the week.

I just rearranged it to fit my current state, whether it be from a poor night’s sleep, getting off work later than expected, or just feeling a bit more exhausted than usual.

The benefits are both mental and physical

Mental

Staying in an exercise routine is all mental even though it requires physical activity. We first have to win the war in our minds to make everything on the outside possible.

This means having a strong mental game will result in a strong body.

It may not have to be in the form of willing yourself into the gym and pushing yourself through a grueling workout when you’re feeling sick or run down.

Sometimes a little tough love is what we need to give ourselves but not always.

On days when it’s appropriate to change the goals, the motivation for a new plan can instantly provide a much-needed boost in the short term.

In the long term, the flexibility in scheduling will add a sense of autonomy which increases the likelihood of sticking with it.

Changing around the workouts in a given week will not affect the kinds of gains that result from months of hard training.

What makes the biggest difference is accumulating months of hard training.

It’s nice to know that the opportunity to change workouts is there if we need it, instead of feeling like we have to do something that doesn’t feel right.

An honest assessment can take place when you ask yourself “Can I make this workout productive by sticking to the plan or would it be more productive to change it?”

No one wants to feel like they’re letting themselves down, if the answer is honestly a yes to sticking with the plan then buckle down and make it happen, but if it’s a no then shift the focus and attack the new plan head on.

This awareness will increase your confidence and increase the likliehood of sticking to an exercise program long term.

Nothing in life occurs on a linear path, it’s filled with ups and downs, starts and stops.

Giving yourself more freedom within your training program will provide the most productive workouts in the short term while ensuring you will continue making progress going forward.

Physical

As training age increases so does the need for variability within the exercise routine, meaning there should be a systematic progression over time with periods of high and low intensity.

These can be broken down into months, weeks, or days depending on how frequently you plan on changing the intensity.

This is good for your progress for multiple reasons, the first is that you give yourself extra time to recover from stressful workouts without actually taking days completely off.

It also gives your body a novel stimulus every time you’re in the gym. Having this concept pre-built into your exercise routine will allow more freedom to switch one higher-intensity day for a lower one whenever it’s necessary.

Eventually, the momentum of having great workouts is going to slow down, it’s inevitable, by continuously adding intensity day after day will only lead to burnout or injury.

These periods of lower-intensity exercise provide a valuable reset for the body without losing any of the progress you’ve made.

One thing I like to say to my clients is that fatigue will always dissipate faster than your fitness. If the workouts have been intense and consistent for weeks to months, taking a whole week off to recover and start fresh will only decrease the amount of stress you’ve accumulated over that time.

You may feel a little more out of breath than usual and the weights will feel slightly heavier than before but by the end of that first week, you will be feeling rejuvenated and stronger than before the break.

Having pre-planned breaks is the best way to structure an exercise routine but it’s best to listen to your own body and make adjustments as needed.

Sometimes we just can’t make it one more week for a lighter phase and the best thing to do is to reduce the intensity sooner than planned.

Exercise should last a lifetime, it doesn’t have to be condensed into a month of hard training.

Listen to your body and push yourself as much as you can but rest when it’s necessary.

Final thoughts

I often hear people tell me how consistent they have been for months at a time only to fall off because it rained, or they felt too tired and sore to workout one day.

One day led to two days off which started a cycle of not showing up at all.

I get the impression that these self-perceived failures in the short term create a mindset of defeat that destroys all progress and future gains.

Taking a day off or making the workout lighter than originally planned becomes productive when it’s used to improve recovery so you can exert more effort the next time.

It’s when the next workout happens a month later that a decrease in performance is present.

Don’t let a spontaneous alteration of the program make you feel like you’re a failure because the consistent routine you’ve been in was just ruined.

Have the mindset that fluctuations in your routine are not only okay but are even necessary from time to time.

Having an exercise routine is in your best interest so make it your own and change the rules as you go, because the most important thing is if you’re happy with it.

You are in control of whether or not that’s true for you.

• Summary of main points

1. Utilizing the concept of auto regulation within your exercise program maximizes the benefits of giving yourself a little break while still feeling like you’re putting in productive work.
2. If you show up to the gym and your mind and body are just not into it, rather than skipping the workout completely just switch the goals for that day.
3. An honest assessment can take place when you ask yourself “Can I make this workout productive by sticking to the plan or would it be more productive to change it?”
4. Periods of lower intensity exercise provide a valuable reset for the body without losing any of the progress you’ve made.
5. Taking a day off or making the workout lighter than originally planned becomes productive when it’s used to improve recovery so you can exert more effort the next time

• Call to action

Plan on having fluctuations in your routine moving forward, that way you can have the freedom to change things when you need to without feeling like you’re breaking your streak.

Having a lighter day and a heavier day within the same week is a good way to structure your workouts anyway.

When you need to adjust the day’s workout on the fly automatically make the next workout more intense and you’re back on track.

Planning a light week in advance is also a good way of staying active while giving your body and mind a chance to recover.