What about setbacks?

I recently had a friend/client miss some gym time during an especially busy work week for her. When she got back to the gym, she was disappointed to discover that she had lost some ground on her strength. I thought I'd share with you some of what I shared with her...

1. The fact that you can tell a difference shows that you have been making progress in your workouts. When you're pretty new to a regular workout that includes strength training (she had been going about a month so far), sometimes it's nice to be able to actually see you have indeed been making improvement. You don't always realize the progress you're making until you lose some of it.

2. While losing some ground from missing too many workouts can be disappointing, the good news is, if you get back to it in the relative near future, you will find that gaining back that lost ground happens much more quickly than it took to get it in the first place. You're not really set back as far as you might think. Back off a little when you jump back in and work your way back up again. Before you know it, you will be caught back up and making forward progress once again.

3. Expect it to happen; it's inevitable. You're not always going to stick with your routine 100% of the time. Life gets in the way at times, and other things just have to take priority for a bit. Or sometimes we just need a little extra break. That's okay. The key is to not let the break stop you permanently. Don't feel defeated and give up. If fitness is to be a part of your life from now on, then it's just a little pause for a moment in time. It won't affect the big picture if you pick yourself up and dust off, and just get back at it as soon as you are able to again. Your health will thank you for it, and you will feel better about yourself when you get back to your regular routine once again.