Fall typically means change. From personal schedule changes, such as transitioning from the freedom of summer to getting kids ready for school and attending extracurricular events, to that natural rhythm of change that fall brings, you don’t have to sacrifice your fitness as the days grow shorter. After all, if you’ve worked hard all summer and gained momentum—or even if you haven’t—fall makes the perfect time to re-evaluate your strategy and stay on track.
This post helps you prepare before autumn is in full swing. If you have Pilates equipment already at home, you’re ahead of the game, and this post explains how to stay flexible with your schedule and focus your mind and energy on the upcoming changes without giving up the fitness level you’ve worked hard to establish.
Keeping Focused on Fitness Through Fall
Where you focus your energy can make all the difference in how you feel and respond to change. Practicing Pilates allows you to maintain a solid connection with your mind and how your feelings affect your health. So use that to your advantage, and keep your focus for the fall positive by following these steps:
- Recharge your mindset. Consistently exercising with Pilates equipment enhances your mind-body connection and helps you tune in to stress, posture, and tension in your body. In fact, if you’re not a fan of change and you practice Pilates regularly, you may have even noticed that you were carrying extra tension from stress. If you’re normally fearful of change and tend to get stressed over how changes affect your fitness routine, take time now to evaluate your mindset. Instead of thinking about the negative aspects of change, focus on the positive factors so that you embrace change instead of shying away from it. Change can bring opportunities for new ways of working out, new times, and other new discoveries.
- Reevaluate your goals. Fall represents a key time for change, and it makes the perfect time to reevaluate your goals, not only in fitness but also personally and professionally. The refocus you give your goals can help motivate you to continue with the great momentum you built throughout the summer. So take time to reflect on how you feel about your fitness. Think about how it has changed your life and how you’d like to see it continue to change. When consistently using Pilates equipment at home, you should be seeing increased mobility, more energy and better sleep, and more strength, especially if you’re using a Pilates reformer. Consider how well—or not—you’ve been dealing with stress and whether your increased body awareness has been benefitting your posture and daily movements. All of these factors should influence how you create new goals. By doing a personal inventory of your fitness, you gain better awareness of how far you’ve come and where you want to see more progress.
- Reconsider your expectations. Summer tends to welcome late nights, long weekends, and a variety of options for your week and your workout routine. So be sure you look at fall and set realistic expectations for yourself. As the days grow shorter and temps get colder, that early morning run may not be safe or feasible soon. If your schedule gets a bit hectic between now and the holidays, you may have fewer windows of time each day to set aside for working out. So be very objective and realistic as you plan for this new season.
- Recognize the symptoms of seasonal depression and talk to your doctor. If you don’t feel interested in hanging out with friends and getting your regular workout in, don’t shrug off these and other symptoms and accuse yourself of lacking motivation. Take a personal inventory to discover if you’re consistently withdrawing, tired, or depressed, then reach out and talk to your doctor. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is also called seasonal depression, could be the culprit. If you notice your physical and mental energy has changed with the season and you’re struggling to make sense of it, your doctor can help. Don’t overlook your symptoms or put off reaching out to your doctor to discuss them.
Tips for Keeping Fit Through Fall
Because of fall weather changes, such as more rain and colder temps, as well as shorter days, keeping flexible and staying prepared can help you handle the change without setbacks to your fitness routine.
- Keep track of your progress. This may sound basic, but especially if your fall means your schedule heats up, you may not think you have the leisure to track your fitness and measure your progress. However, keeping track of how you’re doing helps motivate you and keeps your fitness momentum rolling. While you don’t have to create a high-tech spreadsheet to track every movement and measurement, you can make tracking goals simple and easy. If you have a Pilates reformer from Frame Fitness, you can easily track your progress right on the machine with the Bluetooth-enabled display.
- Control your schedule—don’t let it control you. You may find yourself running through the hectic week without taking time to meet your health needs. Instead of allowing your week to drive your agenda, have your agenda drive your week. The stress of change originates from not having a plan as well as not sticking to your plan. So think about how your schedule might face changes this fall, and don’t forget things like shorter days and cooler temps if you rely on being outside for your cardio. Once you anticipate the changes you may encounter, plan for how you will deal with them. If you make a schedule now, you take away the catalyst for stress as fall approaches because you already know what you’re doing. To further fortify yourself against the stress of change, plan for options. You can’t always anticipate hiccups in your week, and you don’t want the perfect workout week ruined by a late night at work or a surprise win at your child’s sports tournament that means another game this week. Especially if you’re the type who feels suffocated and pinned down by making a schedule, having a plan that can flex with your week, gives you options so that can make adjustments on the go.
- Use an at-home option for your workouts. Working out at home provides convenience and peace of mind. You know you won’t have to wait for room at your favorite machine, and you know your workout is ready whenever you are. So getting Pilates equipment to use at home can be a great option to carry your fitness momentum through the fall. As the holidays creep closer, life gets busier. So establishing an at-home routine now can ensure you stay on track with your fitness through the fall and even into the new year. A Frame reformer offers a sleek, space-saving design that allows you to easily move it if necessary, like when you have company, and it gives you the opportunity to create your own, unique workout environment. With this piece of quality Pilates equipment, you can stream workout videos straight to your display for a one-of-a-kind workout experience. Customizing your workout routine enhances your experience and increases your motivation to continue.
- Get plenty of rest. Your body follows natural rhythms, and the more you pay attention to them, the better your body can heal. You may think that resting goes against the idea of maintaining momentum, but rest offers an important factor in healing. You need sufficient rest for both your mind and your body to reset. You can’t see what’s going on inside your body, but those complicated systems work nonstop, and they work best while you rest. You may find it easy to skip a little sleep or skip your rest day from working out because you’re not reaching your goals, but rest enables your mind and body to come back stronger. So resist the urge to skip sleep and get the rest you need to recharge your mind and body.
- Find a friend. Connect with someone who shares your fitness goals so that you have someone who can hold you accountable and encourage you. A friend who enjoys fitness like you can lend an objective lens to your thoughts, your goals, and your expectations, and a friend can also tell you when you need to slow down and rest. Having a friend who shares your fitness mindset can also detect when you’re going through changes or struggles that maybe you don’t detect. So if you have a friend that you can count on to be honest with you, connect over fitness this fall.
Planning for the changes that you’ll encounter in the upcoming season is critical to reaching your fitness goals. If you want to stay on track and continue getting your mind and body into better shape, create a schedule that works and for how this season affects your routine. Ensure you add in flexible options that allow for change and keep your focus on fitness positive through fall.
