Even if you’re someone who loves working out, and has found a routine, it’s easy to get to a point where workouts become mundane or you need to check in with yourself about whether or not you’re workouts are getting where you need to be.
That’s why it can be helpful to have checkpoints for your workout routine. These are like the mile markers you see when your run a race; they help you to see how far you’ve come, what you need to do to continue, and where you’ve still got room for improvement.
Here are just a few tips on how to do get the most out of checkpoints.
1. Don’t feel like you have to make them numerical
A checkpoint can be developing a skill, working out more often, or for longer, doing one more set when you feel like you’re at the end of yourself. Try to think outside your body; instead of it being achieving a weight or fitting into a specific size, you could make it about lifting a heavier weight, or increasing your run time.
2. Use them to keep yourself accountable
If you’re someone that regularly works out alone at the gym, or someone who trains alone; checkpoints can be a way for you to push yourself when you need it most. If, for example, you set a checkpoint to achieve pull ups without assistance, that might be the push you need when it comes to going the distance in your upper body workouts. Or, if you’re goal is to run a 10K, that might be extra nudge that helps you lace up your shoes and actually go after a long day at work. They can become reasons to workout in their own right.
3. Let them give you the momentum to move forward
When you reach a goal, it can be easy to think you’ve made it and that it’s time to take a break. Checkpoints are great because they don’t work in this way; they aren’t dead ends; they’re more like rings on a ladder that has no end. Once you’ve reached one, you have to ask yourself, where is the next one and how can I take steps to get there? With each checkpoint you pass you are able to look back and see the progress that you’ve made; there was a time when you couldn’t lift a weight, now you can; there was a time where you only managed 5 reps, now you can do 10; pull-ups used to be your worst nightmare, now you show others how to do them; all your wins are just that, wins, and checkpoints help you celebrate without getting stuck.
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