Pop Quiz time! What season do most people struggle the most to stay healthy and fit?

Is it:

A) Winter (including Christmas)

B) Spring

C) Summer

D) Fall

I can almost guarantee that you are saying “A” right now because of Christmas, and and to be honest with you, when it comes to totally falling off the wagon you are probably right. But having been in the fitness industry for over 20 years and when it comes to the overall timeframe of dumping or temporarily discarding fitness habits, summer time wins out because for 3 months most habits get severely disrupted for most people.

Let’s face it, we are creatures of habit and when our schedules get disrupted so do our fitness habits! We have a tendency to put ourselves last when life get’s busy, so today I want to arm you with some weapons that you can use so that you don’t keep falling into the same “screw it because it is summer” syndrome!

Summer Strength Tip #1: Set Your Self Care “Non-Negotiables”

The main reason that your fitness takes a nose-dive in the summer time comes down to the fact that it is NOT a non-negotiable. In other words, you negotiate away your health and fitness when you are faced with a disrupted schedule, summer parties, kids sports, barbeques, and other derailments.

The solution here is to make your health and fitness a non-negotiable!

This means that it will remain a top priority in your life REGARDLESS OF EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES! Let me be clear here. A non-negotiable is just that! I have clients tell me all of the time that they are “committed” to their health and fitness but when “life happens” they often relent and their self-care takes a back seat.

When you make the commitment to yourself that your health and fitness is a non-negotiable it needs to be just that! This means that when “life happens”, you will find the time for your health and fitness no matter what!

It’s a mindset that is entirely up to you. Easy? No. Required for the results you are looking for? Absolutely!

Summer Strength Tip #2: Calendar Your Self-Care & Be Flexible Only When Needed!

This one is a little tricky because if you don’t have a good sense of self-integrity (i.e., you do the things that you tell yourself that you will do) then things can corrode into a pile of smoldering rationalizations rather quickly…trust me I have tested this myself and I am an expert…haha! 😉

I want you to pull out your phone right now and commit to a time that you will exercise and do your self- care (including getting to sleep and doing your meal prep). Literally put it in your phone and put it as a recurring event. And if you are thinking, “I get the point Griff but I don’t really need to put it in my calendar”, I love you, but you are wrong! This is part of making it a priority and conditioning your subconscious mind that your exercise and self care is just as important and all the other hectic stuff that is going on in your life. Trust me…it works!

Last but not least, you only want to be flexible with your self care but only when you absolutely have too! Let me give you two scenario’s to illustrate what I am saying here. Scenario #1. You have calendared your exercise for 6:00 a.m. but you know you have a super busy day in front of you, so you reason with yourself that you will just “get it in” after you accomplish your tasks for the day. Scenario #2: You are on business trip and you have a meeting in the place of your exercise “appointment”.

In scenario #1 you would not want to change the time of your exercise because it pulls you out of your routine and makes it far more likely that you will will not accomplish it later in the day. That is how breaking a good habit and forming a bad one begins!

In scenario #2 you can’t get out of your work meeting so you quickly pivot and “calendar” it in your phone as soon as possible so that your day does not get away from you. Remember Tip #1…it is a non-negotiable and you MUST get it in for the day regardless of the moving parts.

Summer Strength Tip #3: Have a Goal & An Accountability Partner!

These two elements are self-explanatory but cannot be overstated! Set yourself a goal for the summer specifically! It could be as easy as saying something like “I am going to exercise 5 days per week no matter what from June to September”. Of you could make a weight loss goal, nutrition goal or whatever else will give you a finish line to start chasing after!

Once you have set your goal be sure to enlist an accountability partner to help you accomplish your goal! Grab a friend or somebody that you know will not let you off the hook! Its even better if they will do it with you! You should report to them at least 3 times per week about your progress.

Well there you have it my friends! These 3 tips have helped hundreds of our Lifelong Fitness clients over the years to become more healthy and fit during the hectic summer months!

Please COMMENT here because I would love to hear your thoughts and your progress!

Life is Good!

P.S. If you would like help staying consistent during the summer we would love to help! You can click here for a free consultation. We will show you how this is possible and get you started on a sustainable lifestyle that will last you for the rest of your life! https://www.llfit.com/consultations/