Willpower Exhausted Is Real That’s Why Keeping A Schedule Works

I hear people and my clients often say how easy it is for me to workout but not always the case. This post is an insight to how my brain works and how you just have to make exercise happen.

I forced myself to do the video below whilst my brain and body were still out of sync from a recent road trip. It is a reminder of just how much willpower I usually have day in and day out that maybe not everyone is blessed with the abundance I usually possess.

This is why it is important to have a schedule in place so you don’t have to use willpower to “get your workout in” or to “eat healthy” or “drink enough water” or “stretch daily”. Most of us have so much coming at us in terms of emails, texts, calls, children, house chores, etc. that we can become mentally and physically paralyzed at keeping or creating healthy and lasting movement and nutritional behaviors. A schedule quickly becomes simply automatic and just what you do regardless of if you emotionally or physically don’t feel like doing it. You know that the scheduled habit(s) will make you feel great or feel better. Everyday is a chance to move towards better health and away from illness, disease and poor mental health.

Here’s how I used up my willpower.

I drove on a Saturday in which I still exercised, taught 3 fitness classes then once I drove the 8 hours I walked to shake it off with some former neighbors that were also clients and now are lifelong friends.

That time on the road with my body & brain between switching back and forth Central to Eastern time in 5 days and driving over 1500 miles just threw me off. Sitting for long periods of time really is a risk factor for illness.

A few things that changed for me was that I didn’t want to stop a lot for bathroom breaks so I drank less water than I usually did which lead to a little dehydration I’m sure. I wasn’t thirsty but could just feel my brain a little more exhausted. Did you know that you are deemed 15% smarter when you are properly hydrated?

One friend asked me since I don’t do coffee or caffeine what did I do to stay alert on the road. Well, friend I will tell you that eating lots of carbs would have just made me sleepy. Too many drivers on the road are carbohydrate drunk and this clouds your thinking and can make you sleepy. I personally don’t want to be barrelling down the road at 70-80 miles per hour for hour and be carb drunk having that insulin spike then drop. I just used my trigger point balls moving around at different spots on my spine, glutes and legs to keep me alert as well as switching the radio to better songs, listening to news stories and doing facial exercises.

The first time I stopped for gas and got out of the car I could barely walk normal as my glutes hadn’t been firing for hours. I decided to change that in the subsequent stops by flexing each of my glutes like blinkers to get them fired up before getting out of the car again. It worked!

I slept in 4 different beds in the 4 night trip for my grandmothers funeral in Arkansas. On the return I arrived at 10:30 to my hotel with a 5 hr 40 min. trip the following morning. I took a bath, got up and did a light workout when I really just felt like sleeping but was already awake and ready to get the drive over with. Once I got home on Wednesday afternoon and before bed I laid out my clothes for my 5 am weight training workout. For 2 nights I felt a little nauseated because lack of quality sleep and being just so tired. I forced myself to stay on my regular workout schedule which means I also swam 30 minutes on the weight training day even though I put off till late in the day. The next morning instead of running 4 miles of same pace I forced myself to do track sprints because at least I could get breaks in between. I track my running with my garmin watch. I happened to study the cadence of the first mile and then once I neared finishing 8 quarter mile sprints. My gait really did change for the better once my glutes started firing properly again. The cadence went from a slow 149 and max speed of 8.1 (9:05 pace) for 1 mile warm up to 165 cadence max speed 10 mph (6:01 best pace average 7:08). A big improvement that will add to my feeling healthier jar.

As I am typing this post I have been home for 3 days now and still not back to my normal. I really missed getting my normal amount of fresh veggies and warm food and now back on track.

May this post be a reminder or a prompt for you to get on a regular schedule and stick to it to get the body and energy you desire to live your “best energetic” life and be able to pick up your kids or grand-kids without back pain, move furniture, unload groceries, hike, golf, tennis or whatever it is you can and will do.