Always Stopping And Starting Your Training? Here’s A Solution

If you find yourself always stopping and having to restart your health and fitness pursuits, consider this:

It isn’t an ‘all-or-nothing’ pursuit, this is a common cognitive distortion (an unhelpful thinking pattern) that can be a major barrier for consistently engaging in the right behaviours. Rather, it should be a pursuit that will always be a part of your life in some form or fashion.

You don’t have to be perfect in your approach.

Having strategies that work well for you in different times allows you to continually improve on your health and fitness while dealing with all of life’s curveballs and responsibilities.

Viewing your training the following way can be one of these strategies:

The Dial Method

The “Dial Method” is an idea that was originally written about by another fitness professional named Dr John Berardi. I have stolen this concept because it fits in well with how I believe health and fitness behaviours should be approached.

It centres around the idea of viewing your fitness and health behaviours as a dial that can be turned up and down depending on what else is going on in your life.

When unexpected events pop up or other responsibilities become urgent and demand the majority of your attention, if you would usually pause your health and fitness pursuits with the plan of picking them up again once things get back to ‘normal’, this is where the dial method can be a great solution.

The emphasis: You’re not stopping, pausing, or ‘turning the dial off’. Instead, you’re either dialling it up (prioritising more health and fitness behaviours) or ‘dialling it down’ (prioritising the other things happening in life but still doing something for your health and fitness).

How do you apply this to your training?

Here’s a good way to implement this concept for your training (you can obviously create your own depending on what you consider a dial ‘up’ or ‘down’):

*A note: There will be times when you can’t train at all and that’s expected, but having your dial ‘on’ every other time is going to be essential for results that compound over time.

Minimum; the lowest end of you dial.

Used when there is so much going on that there’s no way you can fit in a training session:

When you need to dial things down to this level, consider exercise modalities like getting a few of the following isometric holds upon rising out of bed in the morning or in a short break between meetings/to-do’s (just hold them for as long as you can for one or two rounds). These kinds of exercises are also very useful when you have an injury that may be restricting you from training because they’re an effective rehab tool and keep your exercises at a manageable intensity.

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• You could also find ways to get in a few extra steps or movement here and there. This could be something as simple as fidgeting while you’re working, pacing when you’re on the phone, standing when you’re doing some office work or using the steps instead of the lift. The great thing about these small ‘non-exercise activities’ is that accumulated over the day, it accounts for a big portion of the energy you expend (calories burned) and can even end up expending greater amounts than your training sessions! (1)

Minimum to Moderate:

This level on your training dial could be used when you’re going on holidays or a work trip and you may be able to fit in a small session here and there, but training isn’t on your mind (or it’s a ‘recovery week’):

Have access to a gym?

The occasional short, full-body session could be used here.

This would be choosing a few of the exercise machines that exercise different movement patterns (eg pushing away from your body, pulling towards your body, extending your legs away from you, curling your legs towards you etc.) and performing high repetitions with the goal of getting lots of blood circulating your body. It doesn’t have to be too hard and you don’t have to be attempting to break your personal bests or lift as heavy as possible.

No access to a gym?

Go through a bunch of bodyweight movements (like the isometric holds shown above) or you could incorporate some aerobic training sessions into your daily activities like a hike, bike ride or long walks. Guidelines and examples can be found here: Four Ways To Make Aerobic Training (Cardio) Less Boring

Moderate to high:

You could dial your training to this level when you’re very limited on time, but you know you can consistently do a very short session regularly.

These kind of short training sessions (to use the words of strength coach Dan John) are “Punch the clock” workouts that are simple and efficient.

This is a form of “micro-dosing” your strength training where over a week you’re accumulating a total amount of work over multiple smaller sessions that you would have otherwise achieved over two or three longer sessions (2)

What would this look like in the gym?

A quality session where you get in and get out in minimal time!

You could choose four big compound movements (lower body, push, pull and an ab movement) and perform one set (if you’re planning on training on most days) or two sets (if you can only get in a couple of sessions) of 5 reps for each movement.

Simply listen to your body, If you’re feeling great you can go heavy and if you’re feeling bad you can go lighter (but still ‘heavyish’).

eg.

Deadlift or squat: 1-2 sets of 5

Incline Bench Press or push-up: 1-2 sets of 5

Pull Up or Barbell Row: 1-2 sets of 5

Ab wheel or hanging knee/leg raise: 1-2 sets of 5

Perform this workout as often as you can throughout the week!

What would this look like at home if you don’t have access to heavy weights?

Try this program: Short On Time And Training Feels Overwhelming? Here’s A Program For You

High to Maximum:

This point is you at (or close) to your best when it comes to training.

Depending on your training level, this will look different for each individual.

For some it may be 2-3 solid 50 minute-1 hour sessions throughout the week and for others it may be 6-7 days of training.

One thing to be mindful of is that you’re still going to experience life’s daily fluctuations when you’re training at this level. This might make it feel difficult to keep your dial on the ‘High-Maximum’ setting, but ideally we want to stay at this level as often as possible, so here’s a solution:

You can vary a second dial.

This involves varying the intensity and amount of work you perform in your weekly training sessions depending on how you’re feeling and what else you have on.

For example:

One day you may only have 30 minutes to train instead of the usual hour. Rather than giving it a miss because you won’t have the full hour (all-or-nothing thinking), perform your usual training session but with higher intensity (heavier weights) and less rounds and reps.

On another day you may be feeling full of energy, have more time available, and are keen to have a challenging training session. You may want to use this opportunity to perform a large amount of work! (more rounds and more reps).

On another day, you may have gotten very little sleep, you’re feeling fatigued and don’t have the mental capacity to push it too hard. This would be a good time to perform a session where you’re performing slow, controlled movements for 15 reps +, not going to failure and just focusing on the feelings and sensations of the movement.

What would this look like in your trainingprogram?

You could create a ‘heavy’, ‘moderate’ and ‘light’ training session to use throughout the week. Use them based on how you’re feeling on the day and how much time you have!

It will make your training more manageable and flexible and it may even be more beneficial for your strength development. (3)

The Takeaway

If you have a habit of stopping and starting your training pursuits due to reasons outside of your control, the strategy of viewing your training as a dial you can turn up or down will be effective in preventing you from completely stopping or pausing when things get busy and/or out of control. By understanding what your minimum to maximum training levels look like (and what they involve), you can adjust them accordingly, enabling you to continually contribute to your fitness and health pursuits while managing the uncertainties and responsibilities of life.

References

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1. Chung, Nana et al. “Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure.” Journal of exercise nutrition & biochemistry vol. 22,2 (2018): 23-30. doi:10.20463/jenb.2018.0013

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2. Cuthbert, Matthew et al. “Microdosing: A Conceptual Framework for use as Programming Strategy for Resistance Training in Team Sports.” Strength and Conditioning Journal (2023) doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000786

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3. Prestes, Jonato et al. “Comparison between linear and daily undulating periodized resistance training to increase strength.” Journal of strength and conditioning research vol. 23,9 (2009): 2437-42. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c03548

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