June 15, 2025
a movement routine for crazy days and other stories
Stay Strong, Even When Life Gets In The Way
What if three movements could keep you strong - even on your busiest days?
I get it. Life happens. Your calendar explodes. Deadlines attack. The kids need help with school. And that workout you swore you'd do? Gone.
Most people skip it. Then guilt creeps in. Then they promise to "make up for it" tomorrow. But tomorrow brings more chaos.
Here's what I recommend.
The Permission Slip That Overthinkers Need
Clarity doesn't come from forcing answers - it comes from giving yourself permission to not know yet.
When I started writing on Substack, I wrote for myself. But I started overthinking it in the recent past and my regularity has suffered.
I need(ed) to give myself permission to be clueless.
Here’s what I told myself
Pause the pressure.
Stop pretending you need to have it all figured out. You're not behind - you're just early in the process.
Write to explore, not to impress.
Some of your best work happened when you weren't chasing metrics. That's not an accident. That's your compass.
Set a direction, not a destination.
“Anyone with a fitness habit” is a good enough starting point. You can refine it as you go.
Why
Overthinking thrives in ambiguity - but so does creativity.
When you stop demanding instant clarity, your brain can play again.
Growth requires grounding.
You can't grow an audience from a place of inner tension. Start by restoring trust with yourself.
Deadlines create focus.
Give yourself permission to figure it out - but within a container. I started being regular by writing daily. Posting daily. Even if I felt it was not “great”.
When in doubt, go back to what worked.
And the smarter thing might be to keep sticking with it.
Your Rep is Your Coach
You want to get stronger.
So you train hard, push yourself, and chase progress.
But somewhere along the way, you become your harshest critic.
It's not just the weight that breaks you - it's the voice in your head.
The one that says, “That was sloppy.”
The one that says, “You should've done better.”
The one that turns a rep into a referendum on your self-worth.
That voice isn't helping you. But what if you didn't have to silence it either?
What if you could just watch it?
Self-criticism
I've spent years coaching students who want to get strong - not just physically, but mentally.
They show up, give their best, and take their training seriously.
And yet, when a rep doesn't go perfectly, I see it in their faces. The flinch. The frustration. The self-directed anger.
They're doing the thing. But they're punishing themselves for not doing it perfectly.
I get it.
I know that spiral intimately.