But with the closing of the pools and beach season over and the there's usually little motivation to continue on a healthy diet and exercise program. That plus getting started on a new routine for getting everybody back to school or work may take a lot of your focus on away from maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Personally my daily training is going to have to take a definite back seat to Graduate school and bow hunting season (hey, girls got to feed the fam!).
However, that does not mean stop training all together. It just means I need to do a little more pre-planning. Since this is technically the 'off season' I'm not worried about making any significant improvements or changes to my physique, I just want to maintain it.
Both strength training and cardio are still essential for maintaining, I'm just going to make them less intense.
My plan is to run 3-4 days a week. I'll do most of my runs of the treadmill, but I always look forward to my weekend runs when I can take it outside. I find it so refreshing and therapeutic running in the brisk, cool air through beds of fallen leaves and just taking in all of God's beautiful creations.
I'll strength train 3 days a week, only using bands or kettle-bells instead of all my big heavy dumbbells and barbells. Since I've dedicated nap times and after the kid's bedtime for school work, I need to wake up early and get my workouts in before the kids wake up. This may still seem like a lot but really it's only 30-45 min out of your day, plus it will give you more energy and improve your overall health and could help you live longer.
And let's not forget about eating healthy. Being the off season, it's easier to forget about watching what you consume. This is the season for warm, homemade, comfort food. I love making my own stews and casseroles for the cool evenings, however, there are very few that could be considered 'clean'.
On top of the comfort foods, there's Halloween right around the corner with candy pretty much jumping into your mouths, followed by Thanksgiving, and then it's Christmas. If you're not careful that could be a lot of weight gained in just a few short months - believe me, it sneaks up on you way before you know it.
And don't get me wrong, I think you should enjoy those days and stuff your faces full. What we don't want to happen is to eat like that every other day of the week. Too many times we get so far off track that we just say 'screw it' and decide to quit our healthy lifestyle and wait until the New Year to start again.
DON'T WAIT! You don't have to wait for a new year to start over, just wait for a new day!!
So maybe I'll munch a little more than what I've been allowing, and we'll probably even incorporate a yummy (unhealthy) casserole night each month, but I still plan to commit to 80/20 of clean eating.
Starting over is so hard, so don't quit. Do what you can when you can, stay healthy, and MAKE YOURSELF!
*let me know if you would like me to post my new workout program for fall.
*I also plan to do a lot of experimenting with making clean, yummy comfort foods this fall and will post the recipes!!
