“Get over yourself” was the gist of a response to a blog post that I put up on Linkedin recently.

The post was about me getting stuck in Dundrum Shopping Centre with an ex girlfriend for 6 hours, how hard I found it and the lessons that could be applied to our fitness.

The response I got could be summed up as “get over yourself and make the best of a situation”.

In the past I might have gotten slightly defensive and replied about the fact that it was all tongue in cheek. Now however I’ll try and make the best of the situation and think “it’s great someone took the time to read my post. And even better that they were moved to comment on it.” Also maybe they have a point and the feedback could be used the next time I’m in a relationship and stuck somewhere like Dundrum for 6 hours.

Every day we get feedback on things like our relationships, work and health and fitness. Us either getting over ourselves and taking action or now will have a big input in deciding whether our fitness will improve or deteriorate. Examples of warning signs often ignored include:

The Belt Slightly Tightening: You’d be very surprised how many people start a Personal Training program saying things like: “I’ve no idea how I let myself get so out of shape.” That’s because it is often such a gradual thing. A slight tightening of the belt progresses to loosening the belt to getting a new belt and bigger pants to go with it. Similar to getting back into shape, this doesn’t happen overnight and the best action is preventative with a good exercise regime and healthy eating plan. If the pounds start coming on and your belt begins to tighten, a fitness class where you are getting regular measurements and food tracking is a big help.

You love training usually but are slightly lacking motivation or are struggling with your workouts: This one is simple – you’re more than likely over training slightly. Take a few days off, ease up on your workouts a bit (tell your coach if you’re with one), switch up your workout to a bit more stretching etc are all options here. But if you’re usually very motivated and suddenly struggle with the above, it’s important to ease up short term. Otherwise you’re potentially headed for injury/illness/an extended exercise break.

You’re training X number of times a week but are getting little or no results: You may be putting in the time but are not getting the right quality of work in. First off are you doing the same program for an infinite amount of time? Then you probably need to change it up – this can be done by manipulating everything from exercises to reps done to rest periods to time under tension when doing the exercises.

Second are you genuinely pushing yourself during the workouts? In other words are you constantly coasting and while you are getting some exercise done, is it as intense as you can make it? If not you need to up the game.

Third, are you looking after yourself outside the gym? Because everything is connected and if you aren’t getting enough sleep in, are stressed out of your mind or drinking too much alcohol during the week then you aren’t going to get the training results you deserve. Then you need to start looking at things like your sleep habits and maybe getting some meditation into your daily routine.

I’m no relationship pro but could probably say that our health and any relationships we have are similar in that they need to be taken care of and nurtured.

Getting over ourselves to heed the warning signs and enjoying the process will make looking after both much easier and more effective for the years to come.