A glimpse of my long weekend

Set, swing, hit, split. Set, swing, hit, split.

Two small logs chopped. It’s not even a fraction of what I need to heat the cabin and cook the day’s food.

Dragging fallen trees through the forest had already worked up a sweat. Pushing and pulling the saw through the logs—even more sweat. But hoisting the 8lb sledgehammer over my head with power and accuracy is really brutal. After two hours of twisting, swinging, and slamming the hammer, I’m exhausted and I really stink.

There’s maybe an hour left before darkness sets in. If I am going to wash up before dinner, I have to go right now. The swimming hole is a 20-minute hike away.

Forest. Bathing. And also forest bathing.

It’s 2 degrees Celsius outside (I’ll never get used to Fahrenheit!!). The only way I will bear this cold is to practice some fire breathing I’ve learned from the Wim Hof technique. After 30 seconds…60, max…I’m out of the water, feeling clean and fresh. Naturally I shake, bounce, and breathe with focus and intention.

I can feel my metabolism going into overdrive. It needs to! My core temperature is so low, the only way my body can bring it back up is by aggressively burning calories.

Hiking back to the cabin through the forest is like floating. My skin is tingly, my heart rate slow, and my muscles relaxed.

I get back to the cabin with just enough light to get the campfire going. Squatting, kneeling, and bending. I can feel the stretch in my calves, my hips opening slightly to let me sink lower into my squat and get closer to the fire. Feeding the kindling oxygen, by blowing on it as hard as I can, is hard work on the old core muscles.

The pot is heavy. Lifting the cast iron around the fire is awkward. It almost feels like pushing and pulling some kettlebells.

After dinner, it’s time to relax. With no cell service, a long chess match forces me to concentrate and be patient. I fail to do either, and lose the game spectacularly. Staring into the fire, my mind drifts and flickers with the flames. The mesmerizing embers naturally lull me into deep relaxation.

I contemplate consistency, dedication, and motivation — and how they relate to an exercise routine.

How my weekend helps your holiday season

At Uptown Movement, we train for long-term health and longevity of movement. Our goals are often decades from now. While this is a very sustainable from of exercise, it can be hard to stay consistent without shorter-term goals.

We see “6-week beach body” programs all over social media. They are deceptive, but at least they give us a definitive timeline. It can be hard, when you’re starting out, to think “this is going to be a lifelong pursuit.” It would be nice to have a quick project: tackle it once and never deal with it again.

Inconsistency, or feeling like you want to quit, is normal. Voluntarily choosing physical pursuits goes against our biological makeup. Physiologically, we are designed to rest and save energy, as food was hard to come by.

Losing motivation is natural. The gym is a relatively modern concept in our evolutionary timeline. Before, it was a choice between physical effort and death. Now, it is a choice between physical effort and DoorDash.

In my little Adirondack allegory, the drive for constant moving and working is obvious. Simpler times forced physicality without the need for dedication or consistency.

I didn’t want to pull, drag, saw and chop wood. But more than that, I didn’t want to freeze.
I didn’t feel like hiking, doing some fire breathing, or taking an ice bath. But I really didn’t feel like being covered in dirt and sweat all night.
I didn’t particularly want to stretch, squat, and lift. But I really, really (REALLY!) did want to eat.
I didn’t want to exercise my brain or meditate. But a game of chess and gazing at the fire did it anyway.

Our lives no longer give us the natural movement and meditation we need. Nowadays, we have to recreate these scenarios artificially in gyms and meditation centers, or with yoga classes and ice baths.

Going to the gym, lifting, swinging, twisting, pushing, squatting, stretching. It can sometimes feel pointless. It doesn’t have the obvious immediate outcomes you get from splitting timber or lifting stones. But that doesn’t mean it’s not necessary. In fact, it is more necessary than ever.

How can we make it work when it’s hard?

I have found that the easiest way to stay motivated is to be consistent. Just keep showing up, good days and bad. But you can also make the bad days less frequent and less difficult, by thinking ahead and getting support.

Here are some tips to help keep consistency through busy periods.

1. Plan

Look ahead. If you know something is coming up, plan around it.

Big party on Saturday night? Plan to get your activity in before. That way, if you feel good on Sunday, you can do more. And if you feel a little ropey on Sunday, then nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying it. Don’t overestimate your ability to fight through.

For example, I am working on a 3-month strength program now. I have planned my deload weeks to fall on Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks because I know I won’t stay consistent then. I also plan my hardest workouts for my easiest work days.

Plan, don’t leave it up to chance.

2. Look at your month, not your week

When looking back at an inconsistent week, you could easily beat yourself up and think “Ugh! I only got one exercise session in.” This can make it very easy to pack it in and quit. But if you look at a longer period—maybe 10 days, 2 weeks, or a month—you will find that you ARE consistent more than you are not.

You’ll feel calmer, healthier, more resilient, and enjoy the holidays more if you find time to take care of yourself in the gym. Even if it looks different over the holidays than the rest of the year … which leads to Tip #3….

3. Change your routine

If there are some busier periods coming up, you might boost your motivation by doing something new. Change how you exercise: the modality, the volume, the short term goal, etc. Try a class at a different time of day. If you don’t have an hour for a scheduled class, maybe you have 20 minutes for Open Gym, and you just work more intensely. Maybe you start running or walking to work. If you are very stressed, then try less physically taxing sessions, like recovery yoga, or saunas and ice baths.

4. Create accountability

Get a partner: someone you commit to meeting. Cancelling is much harder when someone is relying on you. Even signing up for a class helps keep you on track with your best plans. It’s easier to follow through on the appointment you booked, rather than cancelling and having to find another spot in the week.

Come in and enjoy the motivation from the coaches and your fellow members. You don’t have to do it alone.

5. Remember your WHY

Don’t forget why you started. The reasons are still there that originally got you to commit to an exercise and movement routine. They don’t change just because it gets hard. For most of us, it is literally a matter of life and death. Dramatic? Maybe. But there is enough research out there to make it indisputable. Using physical activity to tax the body in a variety of ways is vital to maintain health as we age.

Your WHY for moving may not involve chopping firewood, but you’re a busy New Yorker, juggling many demands. Make your holidays a time to celebrate and use the strength you’ve built up all year. Keep a space for your own well-being and long-term goals. You’ll finish the holidays feeling better than ever.

5 Tips to stay consistent during the Holidays