> ... I missed some miles. No big deal — I could make them up
Nope, it's common advice not to try and make up missed runs or miles.
This is actually one of the ways people get into ruts: they fall behind their plan a little and "need" to catch up. But needing to catch up makes them overwhelmed, so they actually fall behind a little more, leading to a downward spiral.
Fitness, like weight-loss and hobbies and other things, is very long-term. Years or decades long-term. So the short term - days weeks, even a month - barely matters. Yes, you can literally spend an entire month not exercising and you'll barely lose any fitness (like maybe a month's worth, doesn't mean you should).
Working out is a routine. A rut is also a routine of not working out. The key to not falling into a rut is to maintain the routine of working out. Even when you're not working out, whether because of laziness or injury or something else, you can still maintain the routine. For example, you can just do stretching or go for a small run - anything which convinces your mind you're still in the routine of working out. And if you do find yourself falling off of the routine, get back into it, not by doing a huge workout or anything, but just start working out again as if you never took time off. Not meaning to belittle anyone or sound rude here, getting back into a routine is hard - but in a way it's also not hard, because you put in the same amount of physical effort the day you're back into the routine, as the next day and every other day and so on.
If you approach every day with the mentality "I plan to workout today", you don't get into ruts. Because it doesn't matter whether you skipped yesterday or the last week or you're on a 500-day streak, you planning to work out today is the same.
> getting back into a routine is hard - but in a way it's also not hard, because you put in the same amount of physical effort the day you're back into the routine, as the next day and every other day and so on.
A bit of a tangent, but as I've gotten into my 30's it's been interesting to observe how easy it is to "reactivate" a routine. For instance, at various points in my life I've been quite in to going to the gym, bouldering and biking. During pandemic I took some time off of almost everything, and it took a little mental effort to motivate myself to go back to the gym, but the first time setting foot inside my body already knew what to do, and two days later I found myself packing my gym bag almost automatically. And now that it's summer after the first bike ride, I find myself getting on the bike almost automatically after work is finished every time the weather is right.
This is the crux to doing and learning anything. Just a little bit of practice everyday, don't get competitive, don't pressure yourself and adjust to your lifestyle. Be fully engaged in the doing and don't allow the mind to wander. You will automatically develop a beneficial routine.
Nope, it's common advice not to try and make up missed runs or miles.
This is actually one of the ways people get into ruts: they fall behind their plan a little and "need" to catch up. But needing to catch up makes them overwhelmed, so they actually fall behind a little more, leading to a downward spiral.
Fitness, like weight-loss and hobbies and other things, is very long-term. Years or decades long-term. So the short term - days weeks, even a month - barely matters. Yes, you can literally spend an entire month not exercising and you'll barely lose any fitness (like maybe a month's worth, doesn't mean you should).
Working out is a routine. A rut is also a routine of not working out. The key to not falling into a rut is to maintain the routine of working out. Even when you're not working out, whether because of laziness or injury or something else, you can still maintain the routine. For example, you can just do stretching or go for a small run - anything which convinces your mind you're still in the routine of working out. And if you do find yourself falling off of the routine, get back into it, not by doing a huge workout or anything, but just start working out again as if you never took time off. Not meaning to belittle anyone or sound rude here, getting back into a routine is hard - but in a way it's also not hard, because you put in the same amount of physical effort the day you're back into the routine, as the next day and every other day and so on.
If you approach every day with the mentality "I plan to workout today", you don't get into ruts. Because it doesn't matter whether you skipped yesterday or the last week or you're on a 500-day streak, you planning to work out today is the same.