There’s a phrase we hear quite often when it comes to health and fitness:
Consistency is key.
And it is important. The things we do regularly tend to have far more impact than the occasional burst of enthusiasm.
But I think there’s something missing from that conversation.
Consistency doesn’t have to mean doing exactly the same thing all the time.
Sometimes, being consistent means being willing to adapt.
Life changes – so why wouldn’t our approach change too?
Midlife rarely stands still.
Our bodies change. Our energy changes. Our priorities shift. Things happen that we planned for, and plenty happen that we didn’t.
Yet we can be surprisingly reluctant to change the plan.
Perhaps you always exercised three times a week, so anything less feels as though you’re not doing enough.
Perhaps you used to lift a particular weight, walk a particular distance or exercise at a certain intensity, and you’re frustrated that it doesn’t feel right at the moment.
Or perhaps life simply feels fuller than it did six months ago and the routine that worked then no longer fits now.
Changing what you’re doing isn’t necessarily a step backwards.
It might actually be exactly what allows you to keep moving forwards.
Alternatives aren’t lesser versions
This is something I talk about regularly in my classes and Personal Training sessions.
An alternative exercise isn’t the “easy one”.
It’s simply another way of achieving what we want from the movement.
You might change your position, reduce the range of movement, use a chair or wall for support, choose a different weight or perform the movement at a different pace.
Sometimes we adapt because of pain or injury. Sometimes it’s balance, confidence or fatigue. Sometimes our body simply tells us that today isn’t the day for that particular version.
And sometimes we adapt in the other direction.
We add weight. Increase the range. Remove the support. Slow the movement down. Try something more challenging.
That’s progression too.
The skill is learning to recognise what your body needs rather than automatically assuming that harder is better.
Your foundations give you options
This is where our August theme of strong foundations comes back in – (here’s the link to last weeks blog about What Are We Building Our Strength For?)
When we’ve developed strength, mobility, balance and body awareness, we have more options available to us.
We’re not trying to create a body that can follow one perfect exercise programme.
We’re building a body that can respond.
That becomes particularly important when circumstances change unexpectedly.
Illness, injury, an operation or medical treatment can mean that what was appropriate last month isn’t appropriate today. During cancer treatment, for example, someone’s energy, strength, symptoms and ability to exercise can change not only from week to week, but from day to day.
The goal doesn’t have to disappear.
The route towards it can change.
There might be a day when a strength session feels appropriate and another when a short walk or a few mobility exercises are enough. There may also be days when rest is what the body needs.
Being able to adapt without feeling that you’ve failed is a strength in itself.
Rest can be an adaptation too
We tend to associate adapting with finding another exercise or another way to keep going.
Sometimes the adaptation is stopping.
If you’ve been running on a full tank of responsibilities for weeks, adding another thing to your list might not be what you need.
Recovery can take many forms.
It might be an earlier night, a quieter day, time outside, five minutes sitting without your phone, some slow breathing or booking a massage and allowing someone else to look after you for a while.
These aren’t rewards for getting everything else done.
They’re part of looking after the system that allows you to do everything else.
There’s confidence in knowing you can change the plan
Perhaps one of the most useful foundations we can build in midlife isn’t an exercise habit at all.
It’s trust in ourselves.
Trust that we can recognise when something isn’t working.
Trust that changing direction isn’t the same as giving up.
Trust that we can do less when we need to and build again when we’re ready.
And trust that our health and wellbeing don’t depend on following one perfect plan.
So, if something that normally works for you isn’t quite working at the moment, perhaps the question isn’t:
“How do I make myself stick to it?”
Maybe it’s:
“What would work better for me right now?”
Strong foundations aren’t there to keep us rigid.
They’re there to give us the confidence and capacity to adapt when life changes.
And life will always change.
Caroline
Get in touch to book a discovery call if this is something you would like to explore further