Don't Fall At The First Hurdle

​Today I talk about an incredibly important subject for any hiker who is starting the year with big training intentions.

​Want some extra help with your trainnig for hiking?

Check out the Online Summit Program here: https://www.summitstrength.com.au/online.html

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Episode Transcript:

[0:00] Alright, hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen, and in today's episode, we are talking about getting off to a good start in the new year.

[0:09] Now, at this time of year, at the beginning of January, many of us start the year with big, big, big expectations for our training and our exercise. Now, when we go back to December, for a lot of people, you know, this tends to be pretty quiet for the majority of the population, just as a generalization when it comes down to training and exercise. Obviously, we've got holidays, we've got finishing up work, we've got family, we're tired, all of this stuff. And a lot of us are like, well, I'm just going to use December to calm down, chill out, don't really want to start anything new. And a lot of us use this time, and particularly if we do get a little bit of holiday time and a little bit of time to relax, we use this time to really come up with big plans for the new year. And we start thinking about, okay, when it comes to January, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. I'm going to be really, really good. I'm going to make all of these changes. I'm going to make this year the best year ever in regards to this. And a lot of people will hit the ground running in January pretty well. And this is common all around the world in every situation imaginable.

[1:11] For some, the first weeks or months will go smoothly. You set your goals, you set your plans, and day after day, week after week, you work through it. But for others, and this is what we're talking about today. Some others out there, they run into an issue almost immediately.

[1:31] And while they started off with great intentions, they started off with great expectations, within a week or two, they get sick. Or within a week or two, they go back to work and they're like, oh my gosh, a drama's happened at work and I'm really stressed out. Or maybe they just get super busy. Or maybe they've signed up at a brand swanky new gym and they go there and they just have a really bad experience or whatever. It could be one of a dozen different things. And so many people will have this first hurdle of the year and it will completely derail them. It will completely throw them off their original plan. It'll completely throw them out of whack. And ultimately, they never end up picking things up. And it may be two months, three months, four months, six months, even 12 months I talk to people until they actually get out and try again. And so many people I talk to start off the year strong. And they're like, you know what? All last year, it just didn't go well for me. So this year is going to be my year. And they start off and then they hit a hurdle and they fall off the wagon. And it's just so sad to hear. And I've heard this story year after year after year after year. I've been coaching for over 15 years, and I hear it every single year, of people looking back at the last 12 months and like, oh my gosh, it wasn't what I wanted.

[2:52] I wanted to make a change, and all of a sudden, I'm off the wagon again. Now, I'm recording this eight days into the year, on the 8th of January, and I've already talked to three hikers who were in this situation, who planned for a really, really big 2025, who started off with things, who ran into a hurdle, and already,

[3:12] they've been their own worst enemies. Already, they're on the verge of giving up. Already, they're like, you know what? I just can't handle this.

[3:20] It's really really really sad to see and for those who aren't having this happen immediately a lot of people and almost all of us will run into this at some stage in the next few months and we'll run into this after a month or two months or whatever may be something will come up and it'll get in the way of things so today laying out that situation i want to talk about some really really important things here at this time of year in january it is all well and good to set big aspirations in the year. It is all well and good to set yourself big targets, want to make big changes, because this can be really motivational. And for a lot of people using this motivation and this momentum at the start of the year, it can be super useful. And it's all well and good to do that. But also just go in with the awareness that life is never smooth. Things will come up. Things will make things difficult. Things will get in the way. and when they do you need to be aware that this is expected you need to make sure it doesn't completely derail you you don't want to be looking back six months from now or 12 months from now and be like oh my gosh it's just been another year nothing has changed instead please please please please try to be flexible.

[4:39] If you run into an issue and it gets in the way of your original plan, adaptation is the name of the game. I'll give you a few examples of this. If you came into 2025 and you were like, you know what, I'm going to try and train every single day. I want to do seven days a week and fit something in seven days a week, which a lot of us do, and that's not doable.

[5:03] Then maybe change your plans. If you run into an issue, instead of completely falling off and going absolutely nothing, thing, maybe say, you know what? Seven days a week was a bit too ambitious. Maybe I'll just do four days a week or three days a week or whatever may be. And if I end up doing more at certain times, that's fine, but I'm going to reduce my expectations. Or if you wanted to do 60-minute sessions and you were like, you know what? I'm coming into new year. I want to dedicate a full hour to my training sessions. And you realize, you know what? I'm just super busy. This is not doable. Then adapt. Reduce them down. Take them down to 40 minutes, 30 minutes, 20 minutes, even 10 minutes or whatever it may be. That's totally fine. Or if you plan to train in a brand new gym and you're like, yeah, I'm going to join up. I'm going to use the equipment. I'm going to get in a good routine. But then you get in there and you're like, oh, I just don't like this environment. Maybe you had a bad experience with someone or maybe it got really busy or maybe it was stinky or maybe something didn't work or whatever it may be. Then again, adapt. Say, you know what? Maybe the gym is not for me. That's cool. Put to yourself together a home or an outdoor routine. Or maybe you set yourself the target of the 52 hike in the year, and you're like, yeah, I'm going to do this, and already you're a week or two behind because you got sick, then maybe reduce it down and say, you know what, actually, that's just not going to be doable. I'm going to put so much stress on myself to make this happen. Maybe take it down to 26 hikes in the year or whatever it is.

[6:23] When you run into issues, and I've said this again and again and again on this podcast, and it's so relevant now, reduce your expectations. Do what you need to do. Do shorter sessions, take the intensity, do whatever you need to do to work around things. Because time and time and time again, I have seen over the years that the people who do this, who are adaptable, who are flexible, who know that these things are going to come up and take the effort to work around them, they're the ones who consistently see long-term results they want. And even if they only end up doing a tiny little amount of training during these tough times, even if they only do five minutes a day when they're super busy, it just makes such a difference.

[7:02] That boom or bust, that all or nothing, it's just your own, it's the worst thing. And it's so relevant right now. So please, with the new year here, with 2025 just around the corner, don't let the first hurdle completely throw you off. Whether it happens now, in two weeks, in four weeks, in six weeks, in eight weeks, whenever it comes up, because I promise you it will, don't let it completely throw you off. Don't let it make you completely fall off the wagon. And don't let future you be so disappointed that you started off with all these good intentions and you just fell out of it and it never got back to things.

[7:40] Future you will be very disappointed and you don't want to fall into that trap. Now, one final thing to finish this up is I will say on this topic is if you are not confident that you can be adaptable around this, if you're just aware that, look, the way I operate is I'm all or nothing. I just can't do that. Or I just don't know how to change things around when needed. Or, you know, you're just aware that that is going to be tricky for you. I strongly, strongly, strongly urge you to get some extra support. Now, support could come in many different ways. It might be a family member and you might be like, you know what, actually, I'm going to get a family member who's going to join me on this journey. We're going to have a discussion together saying we're going to aim for these things. But we're also going to have that discussion and just say, when something comes up, I want to be able to lean on you. I want you to be my support. I want you to help me through so we can actually work things through. Have that support. If you don't have a family member or maybe someone's not keen, which is absolutely fine. This might be a friend. You might be able to find a friend in your social circle who can be a training buddy. And again, have that conversation. Say, we're going to aim to do this. We're going to aim to train together or at least just talk about it. And then if one of us runs into something, We're going to be our support structure to help us adapt, help us work through, and keep us moving forward.

[8:58] Or, and this is what I do, this might be a coach. This might be a trainer, someone you work with, whether it's in a local gym or whether it's an online personal trainer or whatever it may be. You know, this is what we do with hikers every single week, 52 weeks of the year, helping people through these things. We provide them not only with the training to get them towards their goals and actually make sure they know what they're doing with their training, But when things come up, we are in their corner to work around. The way things work is if something comes up, you just send us a message, send your co-sign messages, let us know what's going on, and we adjust and adapt things. If you're too busy, we adapt things. If you're sick, we adapt things. If you've got family members visiting, we adapt things. If you hate the gym, we adapt things, or whatever it may be. And essentially, we make it our job, because it is our job and it is our business, to keep you moving forwards no matter what comes up.

[9:49] And beyond the specialized training that we do and the education we provide, this simple thing of just having someone in your corner who can keep things flexible and adaptable and give you the support you need, it can just be so valuable for so many people. So with all that being said, I just really, really want this to be top of mind at this time of year.

[10:09] If you do run into a hurdle, it's completely expected. Try to stay flexible. Try to stay adaptable. If you're aware that that can be tricky for you, find some support. get a family member, get a friend, or whatever it may be. And if you're interested in getting a bit of support from a coaching perspective, and you're interested in having a little bit of a chat, then I personally would love to speak with you. Now, at this time of year, at the beginning of January, we are doing a big, big, big enrollment drive for our signature program, the online summit program. Now, specifically, we are looking for hikers who want to get fit, strong, and resilient so they can conquer any adventure, whether it's a big trip you have coming up, or whether it's just a regular hiking or whether you're just trying to get on top of an anchor pain which is holding back your adventures or anything like that, I would love to speak with you. If you fall into any of those categories and you're interested in potentially getting a little extra help in 2025, then what I'd like you to do is go to summitstrength.com.au slash online.

[11:06] Now on that page, there's a video. You can have a little look that talks about the program, but on top of that, there's also a button where you can book a call with our team where we can sit down, get to know each other, learn a little bit about your situation, and ultimately, if we feel like we can help you, talk you through one of our packages, which may suit you, and you can make a decision if it's going to be right for you there.

[11:25] So if you want to learn a little bit more, if you want a bit of support, and you want to hit the 2025 strong, go to summitstrength.com.au slash online, and we can take it from there.

[11:35] So with that being said, thank you so much for listening today. I hope this helps a few people. I hope it sort of is a good reminder, and I really just hope it gets a few people over that first hurdle of the year. So thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you very, very soon.