I came across the term Hybrid Training around a year ago and was immediately interested. Hybrid training involves doing equal parts cardio and strength training exercises every week. This has been found to provide a holistic element of strength and wellness that is very appealing to me. As someone who has only recently got into running and wanted to get stronger in other elements, I wrote this off as a one or the other choice you had to make. When I discovered many folks successfully adopted a training regime that implemented both, I read and watched everything I could about it.
At first, I was inspired and motivated. If you have ever wanted to start exercising in any capacity, I think most of us have been in this honeymoon stage.
If you have ever felt inspired to start exercising, go on a diet, or adopt a healthier lifestyle in any capacity, chances are you have watched or read something that inspired you to do so. While initial inspiration and motivation are great, they are fleeting and rarely carry you through to the point where your goal is realized. Why is that?
I can only speak from personal experience, and it took too long to realize this for myself, but it was simple. The examples I saw were not realistic for my own life. Sure, who wouldn’t want to wake up when the sun’s warm, go to the gym for two hours, eat breakfast at 10am, work for an hour or two, then go to the pool or sauna for another few hours?
I continually saw these examples and romanticized how great it would be to have that level of autonomy. However, few people do. I had to consider the source; most of the content I consumed was created by fitness influencers or people with highly autonomous careers who often did not have family commitments.
As a father of two with a full-time job and a wife who also works full-time, I had to accept that I would never have the level of autonomy that these people had. I had to find a way to fit exercise into my life, not the other way around.
Why
For anything to stick, you need to honestly have an answer for that oh-so-simple question: Why?.
You will stop at the first sign of friction if you don’t know why you are trying to adopt something new and difficult.
My why evolves a bit; however, the constant why is the mental health benefits I have reaped from exercising regularly. As a software engineer who works remotely, I rarely see real human beings at my job. And if I do, they are on a computer screen.
This missing human interaction really caught up to me a few years ago, and I knew I needed to do something about my mental health. Otherwise, a fully remote lifestyle would have never worked for me. I would be miserable.
It is not a perfect fix for this; however, pushing myself physically and naturally releasing dopamine into my body has helped me tremendously professionally and personally.
I have run half marathons and regularly lift weights, something that Martin from five years ago would have scoffed at.
The why does not have to be complex or overly sentimental. It can be as simple as I want to be more active so I can keep up with my kids, or I want to lose weight so I can feel more confident in my clothes.
The main thing here is to be honest with yourself. Do not try to think of something worthy of a Pinterest board; the only person you need to impress is yourself.
How
David Goggins’ videos are intense and motivating. However, most of us are not ex-military ultra runners. So, how do we apply these inspirational stories to our own lives? I think there are two pieces to that answer: planning and saying no.
Fitness influencers seem to have all the time in the world and almost no time-bound responsibilities. If you have a family and a typical 9-5 job, you will almost certainly run into friction if you try to adopt something you see a fitness influencer do.
You need to take the inspiration from this content and let that motivate you to plan something that will work for you and your family. If you can’t stick to something or if it will make your family or work suffer, it won’t stick around. It needs to fit in your life.
Does this mean you will have to wake up earlier than most people or start your workout after work when the kids are asleep? Probably! You have to make it work for you.
This reality brings me to my second piece: saying no. Some things will have to go if you wake up earlier or fit this routine at night. It’s that simple. This might mean less Netflix binging or less social plans with your friends.
Although this sounds restrictive and boring, I have found that when you start to say “no” to more things, the things you say “yes” become more meaningful and fun. Make “no” your default answer to make room for the things that matter to you.
Will this mean potentially disappointing some people? Yes, but it is your life, not theirs. They will come around, it is an adjustment. Not just for you, but the people closest to you as well. And the people who really care about you will understand and support you, not make you feel guilty.
When
When it comes time to put this routine into place, it is going to be uncomfortable and hard; there is no way around that. There will be plenty of days you do not feel like doing that, and that is okay and completely normal. I often think of a quote that my wife has on her mirror: “Keep going, it is always the hardest at the beginning”.
Try to stay as consistent as possible, but also give yourself flexibility. You will get sick, have a bad day at work, or last-minute plans will sideswipe your day and that is okay. When this happens, try to embrace it and not get frustrated. Do not let it snowball, either. Get up the next day and apply your routine.
Expectations
There is another quote that I think of often: “I would rather be consistently good than occasionally great”. I keep this in mind on days that I don’t feel like showing up. It won’t always be easy, but I never regret doing it.
There is a fine line between pushing yourself and falling into a rigid mindset of linear growth. You must recognize that you do not control most of what happens in your life, only how you respond to those things. That is why on days that you don’t make it to the gym or have to cut a workout short, it is super important that you are nice to yourself and allow yourself to be proud for showing up.
This is an evolving process, but setting myself to a high standard while allowing life to happen is paramount for keeping my routine. I acknowledge that I won’t hit every workout and run, but I will remain consistent over time. For me, that is what matters most.
Conclusion
Feeling frustrated about sticking with exercise? Not sure how to fit this into your life? I would love to talk with you and help! I am not a wonderful example, but I am always willing to hear what works for you and what does not.
If you take anything from this, remember: keep going; it gets easier.