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How to Maintain a Sustainable Fitness Routine Amid Life's Chaos
Life feeling overwhelming and chaotic lately? Fall is a time of transition for many, and you’re not alone in feeling challenged by how to fit running around all of your other demands. Embracing a few key principles can make your running routine more sustainable and enjoyable. Let’s explore how you can adapt your fitness regime to mesh with your ever-changing lifestyle.
Many people jump into training plans that look great on paper but are unrealistic in practice. Unfortunately, we aren’t machines, and failing to account for real-life demands can lead to frustration and burnout. Overly ambitious plans often require more time or recovery than what’s feasible, resulting in missed sessions or injury. This is especially troublesome if you’re an all-or-nothing athlete, because the “all” isn’t feasible, so training becomes “nothing”. It doesn’t have to be this way!
Instead, focus on a training plan that aligns with your current lifestyle and allows for consistent, high-quality workouts. For example, while some might thrive on three interval workouts and a long run each week, others might benefit from a more manageable schedule of one intense session and a few easy runs. Doing more will not yield better results if you can’t adequately recover. The key is to find a routine that enhances your life without overwhelming you. The ideal training program is consistently doable, not overly burdensome, and adds to your overall quality of life.
Life changes, and so should your training plan. We’re constantly adapting to new factors such as:
These elements will affect your training capacity and should be reflected in your routine. Be prepared for adjustments and view them as normal parameters to work around rather than setbacks.
One significant barrier to maintaining a fitness routine is decision fatigue. After a long day, the last thing you want is to decide what workout to do. Here’s how to reduce that burden:
Hot tip: Strides Running Store has a few FREE drop-in group options!
Saturday 9:00AM at Fish Creek - group run
Saturday 9:00AM at Marda Loop - group run
Wednesday 9:00AM at Fish Creek - group run
Wednesday 6:00PM at Marda Loop - Hill/Interval workout
Wednesday 6:30PM at Fish Creek - Hill/Interval workout
Expect interruptions in your training—because they will happen! An all-or-nothing attitude can turn missed workouts into feelings of failure. Instead, approach your fitness journey with moderation and realism.
Here’s an example: I coach an athlete who gave birth to twins about two years ago. After recovering postpartum and rebuilding a fitness base, she decided to train for her first trail 50km. We laid out a progressive training plan that fit around her work and parenting schedule, but it became apparent very quickly that this plan would have A LOT of interruptions - her two toddlers were in daycare and that comes with a lot of sickness for everyone!
As the client built towards her race, we decided to preemptively add in additional “floating” down periods, knowing that shewould inevitably catch a cold or have to care for snotty kiddos for a few days every few weeks - we just didn’t know when. By planning for interruptions and building training that was flexible and adaptable, the sickness interruptions felt less like failure and more like an expected training variable which kept her feeling confident in the work she was doing. This individual ended up finishing her 50km feeling strong and immediately set her sights on her next race! By acknowledging known challenges up front, training was sustainable and felt successful, not stressful and forced. She felt empowered learning that training doesn’t have to be and won’t be perfect, but it can absolutely still lead to rewarding outcomes.
Understand that consistent training builds resilience, and injuries happen during a period of over-training or under-recovery. While occasional breaks won’t drastically affect your fitness, persistent interruptions or overtraining can lead to injuries. Remember, physical stress from training combined with emotional stress can heighten injury risk. Training breaks us down, and when the body doesn’t have the recovery resources needed to build back up, things go sideways.
Nobody likes to be injured, and most runners are careful to build up their running mileage carefully to avoid overload. This is important, but don’t overlook other factors that can lead to overload. The body is not great at discriminating between physical stress (like training) and emotional stress, and emotional stress is additive to training load. You simply won’t recover as well from training during a grueling work stint as you do during summer vacation. During crazy-busy life periods you may also be sleeping less, eating poorly, and neglecting the little things like foam rolling and mobility, all of which increase risk of injury. If you fall into this camp, you may be served by reducing your training load to ensure you’re still recovering and adapting adequately.
Case in point: a study from the University of Missouri found that student-athletes were 3.16x more likely to become injured during exam periods (Mann et al., 2016). This study was done in football players, but the same premise would apply to recovery from all sports.
Many of us exercise for mental health reasons. It’s a tremendous release to go for a run after a long and stressful day! With this in mind, it’s critically important to remain healthy and able to run, especially if exercise is a coping mechanism during stressful periods. Avoid pushing the envelope with training when you know that your recovery isn’t optimal so that you can continue to do what you love.
Exercise is not just a luxury—it’s essential for your overall well-being. Health guidelines suggest at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. Take care of yourself and invest in your wellness - this time and energy allows you to show up as your best self in other areas of your life!
When fitness doesn’t fit as smoothly into your life as it once did, adaptability is crucial. By maintaining a realistic and flexible approach, you can keep running as a long-term part of your life.
Written by Jessica O'Connell, 5000m Olympian and MSc Exercise Physiologist. Jess is the coach of the University of Calgary Dinos distance track/XC teams and provides personalized online coaching for runners of all levels through her businessGrit Coaching.