Ultimate Get Your Shit Together (GYST) Day Guide | Unlock Peace In Healthy Living
With 2022 being the first summer following the global pandemic that has given people the opportunity to travel, connect physical with friends and family, and slowly integrate back into living life beyond the confines of their home - it’s easy to place health and fitness on the back burner.
While many had so much time during the pandemic to focus on fitness and healthy living, trying to find balance within living life again is difficult. There are only so many hours in the day and there are 2 years of memories to catch up on.
As a Coach, I have watched this first hand with my clients.. Many going to wedding after wedding on the weekends; some going on rebooked trips every other week using pandemic travel credits, and some just enjoying being able to be physically social with their loved ones again. It’s amazing!!
That being said, I know finding balance within this can be difficult. If this summer has made it hard to stay on track of your fitness goals or maintain your results over the last two years - please don’t be hard on yourself!
Hope is not lost and there’s still time to turn things around!
There is always opportunity to bounce back! Two years ago, Jeff Nippard created a very detailed video with thorough research regarding muscle memory and how it is much easier to re-build lost muscle than it is to build new muscle from scratch [click here to watch]. The only time we fail is when we choose to stop trying to reach out goals! Each time we try to get back on track is another time we take control back and tell the world “I’m not done yet!”
With a new year around the corner, it’s the perfect time to create your game plan, realign your actions with your goals, and get back on track!
In today’s blog post, I’m going to be sharing with you a few tips on how to get back on track if you’ve fallen off recently!
Clearly Identify Your Goal
As excited and pumped you may feel to jump right back in, it’s important to clearly identify your goals and aspirations you’re looking to achieve on your wellness journey. Doing so will help you take purposeful action steps that truly align with our goals.
A great example would be the popular goal of “lose weight”.
Losing weight quickly to achieve a low body-fat percentage and compete in a physique competition is a completely different goal and requires different action steps, level of accountability, and strict obedience in comparison to losing weight to increase quality of life and maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.
Specifying our goals roots from digging deeper than surface level. A great exercise I use with clients who feel stuck on this step is the 5-Whys created by Precision Nutrition. This exercise encourages you call upon your inner child and ask & answer 5 why questions.
When we take the time to get specific with our goals, we can also create realistic expectations for the journey. Most of the time, when people feel discouraged by their progress, it is usually due to unrealistic expectations which usually are the result of a lack of clearly identified goals.
Drawing back to the example of “lose weight” - It’s easy to browse social media and compare yourself to others who are also on a generic weight-loss journey. But, when you clearly have identified your goal, it’s easier to remind yourself “Although we both want to lose weight, we still have different goals that require different action steps, timelines, and experiences. Just because I am not progressing as fast as this person does not mean I am not progressing well towards my goals. It just means we have slightly different goals and a different method - and that’s okay!”
Take Action NOW:
What do I hope to achieve by the end of 2021? Why?
Why do I think I have been struggling with consistency? Are their expectations that are unrealistic or unsustainable for my personal lifestyle/needs/preferences?
Imagine it is New Year’s Eve: What milestone would I love to look back and celebrate? Can I realistically achieve this in less than 6 months?
Create Your Weekly GYST Ritual
One of the best ways to stay on track is to plan for success.
It’s unrealistic to expect yourself to do perfect every single day and sometimes life will happen - throwing your routine a little off track. That’s okay.
Creating a weekly GYST Ritual will help you reflect on the previous week and realign before starting the next week!
A GYST Ritual is basically a to-do list or routine created to helping you get your sh*t together - which you do once a week (usually Saturday or Sunday). This can include any actions that will help you prepare for a great week. In regards to your fitness journey, some examples may include:
Grocery Shopping and/or Meal Prepping
Clean Out The Fridge
Creating A Menu For The Week
Washing Your Workout Clothes
Charging Your Electronics (Apple Watch, Fitbit, Earphones, etc.)
Visiting Your Local Supplement Store To Stock Up
Taking An Active Rest Day or Complete Rest Day
Creating/Adjusting Your Workout Plan For The Week
Checking In With Your Coach
To keep yourself accountable, schedule time on the weekend to practice your GYST Ritual.
Take Action NOW:
What weekly actions can you add into your GYST Ritual?
How will each of these actions bring you one step closer to your goal?
What day will I dedicate to practicing my GYST Ritual?
Create Your List Of Daily Non-Negotiable Tasks
Part of creating a habit is doing meaningful actions frequently and consistently.
Creating a list of daily non-negotiable tasks takes the guess-workout of of “What Should I do To Reach My Goals” and keeps you accountable to those actions.
These are tasks that, no matter what is happening in life, you vow to keep yourself accountable for that are directly aligned with your goals. Start small with just one task a day and as you become more comfortable, add more tasks on.
Some examples to start with include:
Spent 30 minutes moving my body
Add one serving of veggies into every meal
Include one serving of protein in every meal
Dedicate 15 minutes every morning to writing in my journal to support my mental health
Start my bedtime routine at 9pm so that I can ensure a full night’s sleep
Eat Breakfast Every Morning
Take Action NOW:
What is ONE daily non-negotiable task you can add into the upcoming week?
Be Kind & Patient With Yourself
It is very easy to get swept up in excitement, create high expectations for yourself, and feel burnt out by the process. We want to see ourselves achieve great things - it’s only natural!
Unfortunately, when we create too high of expectations too quickly, we can become discouraged or disappointed in ourselves if we are not progressing quickly enough or struggling to stay on track.
Flowers do not bloom overnight - and we don’t expect them to. Be kind to yourself and trust the progress. Any action - even the baby steps - are still steps towards your goals!
