It’s late January. You have been hitting the gym 5 days a week and while you are feeling stronger and more energized, the visual results haven’t been what you expected when you decided to never eat a carb again. Monday workouts are no longer something you look at as a “great way to start the week.” Your somehow skinny friend has been enjoying beer and nachos during the NFL playoffs while you have been avoiding a social setting where you might break your dry January streak and ruin all the hard work you have been putting in. Still, your pant size hasn’t dropped a singe-digit to the odd-number scale. Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend and along with a hopefully great game comes an equally as great spread. Dry January will be over and your no-carb diet is hanging on for dear life. Is it time to give up and indulge as any true American should, or do you stay the course and pray this all pays off come Memorial Day?
I’m here to tell you, enjoy yourself!
Goals are not reached in a linear manner. Weight-loss, strength gains, and flexibility don’t improve on a daily basis over the long-term. Not all aspects of your training will increase at the same rate so we can’t expect one day of indulging (or over-indulging) will ruin your progress. If anything, this might be exactly what your body and mind need. Like a mini vacation from the routine of eat healthy, workout hard, drink protein, sleep 8 hours. Much like returning from a vacation and feeling motivated to kick-ass at work, sometimes a vacation from your fitness and diet program motivates you to get back in the gym and doing an extra set of everything.
Come Super Bowl Sunday, start your day with a long run (60+ minutes) with some hill sprints thrown in or a dynamic METCON workout at your local fitness studio (i.e. Fast as F*ck | @glidetrainingco) to establish an increased metabolic rate for the rest of the day. Then show up to the party with a 6 pack of your favorite beer, enjoy some wings, and hope you win some money in a super bowl pool. Then Monday morning do a workout to get the week started off great.