Winter is over and Spring is here.  If you dialed it back some during the winter and are coming out of hibernation mode then be sure to ease into the Spring with some good exercises and a solid plan. Always work on your goal of staying healthy; shedding weight, adding muscles, getting more rest, drinking less booze, whatever your thing just have a plan.

The colder Winter months are good for training differently. Warmer weather is here. What are you going to do in this new year with Spring’s arrival? Thoreau’s plan was to work on himself all the time.  As he said, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not when it came time to die, discover that I had not lived.”  

Not all of us have the luxury of being in a cabin for a few, full-year working on getting peaked for the Olympic moment of our life, but we shouldn’t just let it ourselves go. Thoreau was onto something. Self-reflection can beget some killer thinking about improving yourself. Let the ideas flow. Whether you’ve spent the winter months training or you’re just getting started after a long hiatus doesn’t matter. Do something with this time.

Our health is one of the most important aspects of our life. I like to start early and hate to plan on January 1st. Spring is a good time to return to the same type of activity we did before. Spring is a good time to try mixing it up too. If you like the outdoors maybe add some bicycling into your daily routine. If you want to make Spring work for you take small actions that are doable. You don’t need to tell yourself to drop 30 lbs in 2 months time. Pick something simple such as walking for 1/3 more time than you usually do. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Add burpees or pullups into your routine if you’ve never done them before. Feed off of new stimulus.

Embrace this time. Don’t roll back into excuse making if you have been doing that. Here you go:

Have a Plan

1. Make your plan specific enough so you it becomes manageable.
2. Write out your plan in a calendar/notebook or use a phone app to keep track of your goals.
3. Set short-term goals for long-term results. Losing or adding weight can be broken down into months (2-4 lbs a month is roughly 40 lbs of fat a year or 20 lbs of muscle). Do this in small blocks of time to get to the larger goal. Maybe run a marathon? Do a PR in Crossfit?
4. Schedule time for your resolution. A schedule can keep you on track (ex. M, W, Friday 5 am-630 am swim in the pool)
5. Visualize success. I do this when I go to bed and it’s the first thing I do when I wake up. I see myself executing properly every part of a particualr exercise movement.
6. Change your environment. If the gym you’re at isn’t invigorating you try doing your workouts outside. Also, think about frequenting certain places less and finding more positive environments to be around.
7. Employ the buddy system. Where’s that wingman? Where’s your Goose to your Maverick? This is your strongest resource. As iron sharpens iron, so a wise friend sharpens another. Encircle yourself with doers and not talkers. Find friends that keep you accountable.
8. Stick with It. Stay with your goal for a few weeks until it becomes habit. Go back to Step 1 and look at your reasons for having this resolution. Are you honoring a fallen friend? Did you make a promise to someone who is no longer here? Why are you even bothering to have your goal? What is your root motivation?
9. Stick with It. I promise you good results will come.

Read more about journaling here. Start planning now and prepare to stoke that hibernation ember into a freaking inferno.