Have you ever found yourself floating in the water on a warm summer day? You know those days where you are enjoying the sun on your face without a care in the world? Then, when you come around and pick your head up you realize you have drifted away from where you wanted to be? This may have taken you laterally along the shore or even farther out to sea. This is called “drifting,” and this is how I relate to overtraining or getting into a rut.
You never wake up and say, today is the day I am going to overtrain or today’s the day to start to eat really bad, or I think I’m going to choose to create poor health markers with in my body and decrease my level of fitness to a point that will shorten my life span. You get into these stages from “drifting” through these bad habits.
Too often I see people who are doing really well with their training, but then something happens and they go on a hiatus. So, what causes this? It can come from a number of different things— stress inside and outside the gym, maybe an injury, maybe a financial situation that causes them to adjust some spending, etc. Then what happens to these individuals? They end up drifting away from doing anything. How often do you hear, “It’s been so long and I just can’t get back in the groove,” or “ I don’t even know where to begin anymore.” 
So, what I want to do with this blog post is list a few things that you can do to help avoid the “drift” that can lead to not staying fit and healthy. If something happens and you find that you need to take a break from your normal routine, the last thing you should do is nothing. When you do nothing, you WILL shift into bad habits that will continually snowball over time. So:
1. Stay active through movements or exercises that excite you. This may be just going for a walk along the beach or starting something new. Starting a new program can cause excitement in the brain, which can spark a new desire and passion inside you.
2. Re-adjust your eating habits to keep it fresh and clean. You don’t want to eat poor if you are in a position that doesn’t allow you to move around.
3. Avoid sitting down all day. They say sitting is the new smoking. The longer you sit, the lazier you will become.
4. Monitor what you drink and how you hydrate. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Along from the natural healthy reasons, this can also trigger the feeling of health inside your brain to keep you on track.
5. Exercise your brain. Read a book, challenge the left and ride side of your brain to be creative.
6. Do something fun! This is probably the most important. When you are getting into a “drift,” work on doing something that will bring a smile to your face. Play a sport you used to love when you were younger and just haven’t had to time to do lately. Try a new sport or activity that you have been thinking of. Go for hikes with loved ones to have good conversation and “unplug” from the world.
The bottom line here is that you never plan to “drift” into bad habits or put yourself in a situation that can cause harm or health risk. Always try to be aware of yourself and where you are. If you pick your head up and analyze what is going on, you will be able to get back on track. You don’t want to sit idle; get up and just start moving a little each day and you can do wonders to stay on track, even though it might not be your original track that you thought you were meant to be on.