Creating a Back-Up Plan
Don’t forget to check out Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 if you haven’t already.
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
We’ve spent this week establishing that there are no secret tricks to increasing motivation, and that progress will likely come from improving our relationship with exercise, improving our self-talk, and budgeting motivation.
However, no matter how well prepared you are, your motivation will eventually fail. We may have delayed the process, but sooner or later you will renege on your goals/action plans. Even if we’ve controlled every variable, you will:
- Miss a fitness milestone (like lifting a certain weight or looking a certain way);
- Fall off the bandwagon with your action plans;
- Have a terrible day that leaves you stressed/sore/exhausted.
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When this happens, you will find yourself wondering what the point of all the hard work was. Alternatively, life might throw a bunch of logistical barriers your way, such as:
- A busy period at work;
- A babysitter cancelling last minute;
- The car breaking down.
Obstacles such as this that are completely out of our control can be just as damaging to your fitness motivation as emotional stressors if they throw you out of routine; even more so, because it can lead to feelings of powerlessness.
So What Now?
“Success is not in never falling, but rising every time you fall.”
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Before we go further, here’s a quick reminder:
- These challenges exist in isolation;
- They do not define us, or future chances of success.
- Progress is defined by what happens the majority of the time, not all the time.
We need to deal with the problem, and get back on the bandwagon when we can. Where possible, we need to turn the negative into a positive.
The problem is, we often lack flexibility when planning the route to our objective, and programmes need flexibility in order to bend with the circumstances. Things that don’t bend are liable to break. This is where a back-up plan comes in handy.
Be Flexible
Expecting to adhere to your action plan all of the time is a sure-fire way of feeling lost when fitness motivation is low. This is why quick-fix diets or workouts rarely solve fitness motivation problems. Many of them rely on you operating at 100%, so if something knocks you down to 75%, giving up becomes incredibly appealing.
Once something has disrupted your routine, every new decision you have to make will drain your mental energy slightly, making it much more likely for you to throw in the towel. That’s why back-up plans are so useful: these solutions have already been prepared.
Be Honest With Yourself
Creating a back-up plan is simple. When planning the lifestyle changes you intend to stick to, be honest about where you might fail. You’ll be more likely to find solutions this way. Here are some examples:
| Disruption |
| 1) I’m meant to do a lower body workout tonight, but I’m too exhausted/don’t have time to do the full plan. |
| 2) I’m following a set calorie goal, but some nights I crave a whole pack of biscuits. |
| 3) I love boxing classes, but sometimes I miss the class if my partner isn’t around to look after the kids. |
| 4) I don’t know what workout I feel like doing tonight/I don’t like taking myself through a through a gym workout. |
| 5) I didn’t get the results I wanted at my latest check-in, so I might as well just not bother. |
| 6) Some nights I get home late and really don’t feel like cooking. |
| Solution |
| 1) Do your key exercises (usually the first one or two), or the bits you enjoy most. Change the weight if need be, but adhere to the sets and reps. |
| 2) Remember that a calorie deficit is a long-term game. Most deficits can accommodate the occasional lapse, provided you get back on track when you can. Accommodate the things you like into your meal plan to prevent guilt/shame/binging. |
| 3) Look for a free online HIIT or Circuit workout you can follow another night, just to fill the gap. |
| 4) Make or buy a programme, or get some sessions with a trainer. You can’t do everything yourself! |
| 5) Ask yourself what other progress have you made, i.e., better technique, stronger, etc. Don’t underestimate how long results take to show. Remind yourself that the days between milestones are the most important. |
| 6) Identify some quick meals or takeaway options that allow you stay close to your nutrition targets. |
Note:
The solution needs to be easier than the original plan, because using the back-up plan must mean that either motivation is low or something has gone wrong. If you didn’t have time for your 1-hour boxing class, a 20-minute HIIT class is more realistic than a 45-minute run.
Redefining Success
Overcoming our fitness struggles requires that we alter our roadmap to success, or shift the goalposts a little. This may lead to you feeling disappointed for only being 50% in line with the original plan (for example), especially with that persuasive “no-excuses” mindset we’re told we should have in fitness.
However, 50% adherence is better than 0%. Being at 50% for a long period of time is far better than the stop-start approach that many of us struggle with.
Giving yourself a break is not a sign of laziness, and compromising on your plan is not a sign of weakness.
Task: Create Your Own Back-Up Plan
From part 3 of this series you should now have a list of goals, and an understanding of the underlying behaviours that will help you reach them. You should also have a list of the actions you are prepared to take, your non-negotiables, and your workarounds. From this list, you now need to perform some pretty difficult tasks:
- Select the action points you are most likely to fail at or give up on.
- Detail how and why you may fail on these points.
- Double-check one more time that these are essential for your success in building a habit at this moment, as opposed to being hype-fuelled fitness myths that you can actually drop.
- If they are, remove them from your action plan for now, or mark them in some way so you know they are more flexible stages in the plan.
- If they are essential, make a back-up plan for if you fail to stick to these points. Use the table above as an example.
Series Summary
If you’ve read this far, then well done! It’s not easy to look so deeply into your motives and plans as we have in this series. However if you have, you should now find yourself with a far better understanding of your goals, and your route to achieving them.
If you need a refresher in future, take a screenshot of these questions to bulletproof your motivation:
- Where does my goal truly originate from?
- What would it mean to me to achieve this thing?
- Are there positive or negative motives involved?
- Am I doing it for myself, or someone else? Is it reasonable to expect this thing of myself?
- What preconceptions do I have about myself when it comes to this goal?
- How many of these thoughts are true or fair and how well do they stand up to logic?
- How am I going to achieve this goal?
- Is this approach sustainable?
- What are my non-negotiables?
- Which steps are absolutely necessary?
- What are the biggest obstacles to me following the plan to the letter?
- What is my back-up plan for when things go wrong?
Good Luck
The overriding theme of this series should be that nothing is going to go perfectly. Your struggles are valid, but they need not stop you completely. The fact that you’ve struggled with your fitness motivation does not guarantee that you always will struggle, or that your goals are impossible. You cannot fail.
The most important goal of all is that you are happy and healthy in your fitness journey, not just the destination.
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