"Pin THAT" - A Modern Fairy Tale

• Posted on 18 January 2023
• By Jenny
• Posted in fitness, motivation, trainer, Winter bike training, winter riding
• 0

Once upon a time, there was a girl who ran cross country for eight years, then she ran the Chicago Marathon, and she stayed wildly in shape for the rest of her life. The End.

Ha. A fairy tale indeed.

What REALLY happened was that girl graduated from college, worked night shift for a few years, got married and had babies, and any semblance of being in shape fell to the wayside.  Long runs and strength classes at the gym were replaced with fatigue, discouragement, and the battle for sleep, punctuated with eating to just stay awake.  Several years later now, the babies are half grown and her work schedule is much better, and she’s able to work out most days of the week, and is able to take much better care of herself.

That’s such an oversimplification, though.  She - I - didn’t just leap back into the fitness “routine” seamlessly, now that there were so many more demands on my time and energy… and life was so much different from my largely self-focused single days.  ALL I could do at this new stage was one day a week, and I admit that that fact alone was quite discouraging.  ANYONE knows that you can’t accomplish weight loss or any semblance of health and fitness by only committing to one day a week, and that made me a little upset.  One day a week was not going to amount anything and seemed pointless.

Go ahead and jump on Pinterest-  or any form of social media - and you don’t find many “one day a week” challenges.  You find thirty day challenges. You find influencers touting the fact that “real” change happens with 4-5 sessions a week.  Habits take 21 days to form, so get crack-a-lackin’ and don’t quit.

So let’s take the thirty day challenge, for starters.  A few months ago one of my friends decided she was going to commit to a thirty day walking challenge - just walk thirty minutes a day for the entire month.  It sounded reasonable enough… until three or four days in, the weather was terrible and going for a walk was out of the question. Without access to a treadmill or a gym, the thirty day challenge already fizzled.  Friend throws her hands in the air in frustration (“See?! I can’t even commit to WALKING”) and gives up less than a week in and feels like a failure….which is both relatable and ridiculous, because how can ONE day thrown off result in a failure?  

You know what I want to see?  The “four times in one month” challenge.  Pin THAT.  Commit to doing something - ANYTHING - once a week. The secret sauce here is a bar set really LOW at first.  Anyone can do that. Anyone can dedicate twenty or thirty minutes once a week for a month to walk. Or hike. Or ride their bike. Or do a workout video. Whatever is life-giving for you.  If the weather is terrible or your work day runs late or your kid pukes on the day you set aside, do it a different day.  Zero failure felt.  You’ll meet that goal and check it off your list and feel pretty good with yourself. Maybe you even overachieve that week and go TWO times, but you don’t have to. Just once.

Now you’re rolling up on month number two and you’re thinking, “Check me out.  I bet I can walk/hike/unicycle TWICE a week this month. I’m gonna go for it,” because that one day per week last month felt so invigorating, and you’re figuring out you’ll be able to fit that in a couple times now.  Don’t go overboard yet, just commit to those two times and boss those two times.  Next thing you know, it’s the third month and you’re digging this so much that you’re ready to make it three times a week, maybe even FOUR - and do you see what just happened? You’ve developed the habit.  You’re one of those people with a “fitness routine.”  You’re feeling exceedingly pleased with yourself because you made it happen and there was hardly any chance for failure because you set a sustainable goal.

One day a week is NOT pointless and WILL set you up for success to start making this a habit.  Thennnn you can start to form bigger goals, or you can choose to keep it leisurely - as long as it is joyful and life-giving for you! It’s no fairy tale but it’s simple and life-changing, so perhaps that’s about as close to living happily ever after as we can get.