The Daily Ten

I don't know about you, but I cringe when I hear the word "daily." To me, this word represents my biggest challenge: taking care of myself (and my life) consistently. I have a really difficult time carving space for myself even when things aren't very hectic (which, admittedly, is hardly ever the case), and as soon as life gets crazy what little time I've managed to convince myself to allocate seems to melt away. This may seem hilarious to other people...I mean, I'm a personal trainer! My whole entire JOB and passion is encouraging and aiding people in taking good quality care of themselves! And here I am, totally unable to do it for myself! Meh. So I've come up with a strategy to help me do what I've told tons and tons of clients to do before this, and I want to share it with you. If you have the same issues as I do in 1. making time to do something good for your body and 2. figuring out the best use for that time, this post might help! Here's a walk-through of what I did to come up with this daily plan:

* Write a list of things you'd like to work on, no matter how big/small the ideas might be. What kind of results are you looking for? Don't worry about measurables yet...this is just a kind of slightly-more-practical-wish-list. It doesn't have to be technical at all - you can say "I want my love handles to be effin' GONE" and that's fine!
What I wrote: increased shoulder/hip flexibility, stronger core, more activated/stronger mid-back, smoother body integration

* Brainstorm about these ideas...what knowledge do you have about exercises that could help you work on these things? Write down kinds of exercises (like "core stuff") but when you can, try to be more specific. This is where a knowledgeable friend or trainer can help, but chances are you already know what you need to do...it's just actually DOING it, right? ;)
What I wrote: stronger core (planks and side planks, Pliates stomach series)

* Decide how much time you want to spend doing these things. Remember that it's a daily thing - try not to bite off more than you can chew! You can devote a separate time frame for the things on your list, or use them as a warm-up or cool-down along with another workout - whatever works best for you and your schedule.
What I decided: My routine takes about 30 minutes all told, but I've given myself permission to break it up into as many segments as needed, so I only need 5-10 minutes at a time. As long as it all gets done!

* Using your time guidelines, figure out how many exercises you can use and how many sets/reps you're going to do. Now that you have a time frame, you might find yourself prioritizing your list. You might realize that it's more important to you right now to work on decreasing your chronic knee pain than it is to improve your top running speed. You'll end up including more exercises and set/reps for the squeaky wheels - this is a good thing, as it'll help you make progress on those things faster! And you can always re-priortize as you start to see results.
What I ended up with: more exercises and time spent on core strengthening and a little less for hip flexibility...I realized that my core imbalance post-C-section was really getting in the way of my training, and I wanted to focus on that at the moment.

* Go through the routine you've come up with. Do the exercises you chose feel like they're working on the areas they're supposed to target? If not, take some more time to think of/research different choices, or have someone look at your form to make sure you're performing the moves correctly. Did it take the amount of time you estimated? If not, figure out what you can cut/add on at this point, keeping your priorities in mind.
What I found: I've got a lot of experience creating programs like this, so my first run-through went pretty well...I decided to cut down the amount of time I used the foam roller, though, and added in another mid-back mobility move instead.

* Finally, take a look at your finished list and think about how you're going to measure your progress. If your goals are vague, like mine are ("increased flexibility" doesn't have a set end point, for instance, just a continuum), find some metrics you can use whenever possible. Then decided when you're going to evaluate yourself - it doesn't have to be weekly, or monthly, although those are fine choices. If you can, set specific goals based on these ideas!
What I decided: I want to increase my core strength, so I put side planks into my workout. I timed myself on each side the first day and found that number way below what I would like it to be, so I set a goal for myself that the next time I test (in a month) I will double that first time. Some stuff, like the shoulder flexibility, I'm keeping more as a "how does this feel/how well am moving" thing right now, but I might come up with a flexibility test later on.

The hardest thing for most of us is giving ourselves the time and energy we deserve. Even for an experienced athlete or weekend warrior, our emphasis is rarely on the everyday things we can do to keep our body performing at its best. Putting something like this together, and committing to it, can bring your awareness into your body and even encourage you to work hard in other areas of your life. At least, I'm hoping it'll do those things for me! :)