Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Staying Consistent with Exercise Through Soreness, Blisters and Illness
Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Staying Consistent with Exercise Through Soreness, Blisters and Illness
by Charlotte Siems
Have you ever secretly believed the myth that those who find success with T-Tapp start losing inches from the first day, have superb health and sail off to an inch loss rainbow in the sky? There’s a temptation to think that some “have it” and some don’t.
Here are some notes from the calendars of workouts that I kept during my first year of T-Tapp, on the way from size 22W to size 6. I made a small note on a blank calendar page of the workout/moves I did that day, and any notes of interest:
Shaky and nauseated
Knees sore
Knees sore and crackling (new shoes—Skechers Energy)
Tired—Sophie up last night
p.j. pants fit weird
ER for allergic reaction
Sinus pain
4 days off to heal and rest
20-minute walk—blisters! (Note: this was on the first day of the 60-Day Challenge that year and the blisters were quarter-sized. Ouch!)
Blisters still healing
Diva Derriere (first time—whew! Weak legs!)
January 2008 – the note was “sick” 18 days, “recovering” two days
Sick children
Tired
Feel weak but refreshed
As you can see, it wasn’t all rainbows and roses.
My knees were actually slightly sore for about four months. Not painful, just a little sore. I had my share of illnesses and physical issues. Toddlers were up at night, children got sick.
On a “sick” or “tired” day I either took an off day or did just Primary Back Stretch. Sometimes I did Basic Workout Plus but I suspect my form left a lot to be desired. There were many weeks of 2-3 workouts.
Sure, there were months when I made a harder effort. But there were lots of months when I didn’t. To me, harder effort means workouts 5-6 days a week, plus extras before bed. I could hold that about a month, then life happened and I was back to 3-4 short workouts a week.
The key is that I didn’t stop for very long. Yes, I was kind to myself and took days off and rested. No, that didn’t stretch beyond a few days. A whole week off was (and is) very rare.
Sometimes we console ourselves into quitting something because we think someone who has done it successfully must have had it easy or had special powers. We don’t want to face the fact that it takes plain ol’ hard work and sticking to it.
Or we fall into a perfectionist attitude that “if I can’t do it perfectly, I won’t do it at all.” Perfectionism just might be a self-rejection issue. Acknowledge that, forgive yourself and move forward.
Dreaming of rainbows is great if your dream is a picture of where you want to go. Just know that it takes consistent (doable, realistic) work to get there, through soreness, blisters and illness. But instead of gritted teeth and being mean to yourself, add some love, pain relief, bandaids and rest, and you’ll be in it for the long haul.
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 Charlotte Siems is a home-maker, home manager, T-Tapp Trainer, teacher, speaker and author. Her story of losing over 100 pounds with T-Tapp has encouraged thousands of people all over the world. She specializes in making home management and T-Tapp “doable” for real people and real life. She is happy to be a wife and mother of twelve children whom she has successfully taught at home for 25 years. |
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Totally agree with you Mrs Siems…. I frequently stopped my Ttapp workouts because I thought I had to do it every days, or every other days ALL the time….To this day, it’s the first year that I am really consistent ; I usually workout 4-5 times a week but December and January have been crazy so I dropped my workouts to 2-3 times a week. And I feel like I’m still losing a little, but more importantly, I’m still very proud of myself, it’s the first time that I’m so regular with my workout and that I kept my schedule going on. Instead of saying “oh just quit it…” I said to myself ” Let’s go one day at a time…and see how it’s gonna work”. I love T-tapp !
Thank you Charlotte, your humble, realist notes are what really encourages me! Thank so much!
Thanks Charlotte. Do I undetrstand that You did mostly the 45 minute training in this early days since you mentioned the 15 minute workout as an easier on you workout? Thanks!!
I did mostly the 15-minute Basic Workout Plus, then after a couple of months I worked up to the 45-minute Total Workout. I did that once or twice a week for about a 5-month period during the first year. But overall, I’ve done mostly shorter workouts.
Okay…you have convienced me, I just placed my order for a T-Tapp Intro DVD.
Yayy!!