Should I Start My Program Over or Keep Going?
Here’s the deal, we all have events that may get in our path that causes missteps in our fitness program. There is a key mindset that we must hold to be able to reach our ultimate goals for fitness and a healthy lifestyle. The problem with thinking of starting over is the mindset that your health and fitness is limited to 21 days, 60 days or 90 days. if you think of things in terms of LIFE CHANGE and a healthy Lifestyle, you begin to not think of things as “Starting over”
Yes, the programs I coach are placed in time increments so they do have a start and a finish. The reason for that is for progress checks and to help people move from level to level. This approach also helps add variety to your plan. You can take as long as you want with the programs though. I coach a lot of people that do multiple rounds of 21 day fix back to back for example. I completed 3 rounds of Les Mills Pump Back to back when I was on the path to losing 68 pounds and getting more energy. I liked the progress checks and the feeling of accomplishment from week to week and month to month.
I encourage you to think in terms of moving forward and the awesome sense of accomplishment that comes from committing to and finishing a program.
What If I Miss Workouts or Fall Of The Nutrition Plan?
Things will come up in your life that may lead you to have to decide to miss a workout or postpone it. I advise that it is a last resort to miss a workout. If you are committed to a program you should put 100% effort and planning 
in place to try not to miss workouts. Schedule your workouts like any other important appointment. You also have options. If time is an issue, maybe only do half of the workout or (especially of you have On Demand) choose a different workout that will fit your schedule or uses no equipment if that is the issue.
That said, if you must miss a workout due to injury or illness or travel schedule, child care needs etc., the best thing you can do is pay careful attention to your nutrition plan and stay as active as you can during the day. I see often in myself and my clients that if we have a misstep we throw away the other aspects of our plan like the nutrition plan or just keeping active. Remember some of a workout is always better than the workout you skipped 🙂
It is better to just log it as a missed day on the calendar and move forward. if you are on a 60 day plan maybe that becomes day 61!
Should I Double-Up on Workouts the Next Day if I Do Miss My Workout?
This would fall under punishment mentality in my opinion. You do not want to make your fitness a punishment. Psychologically we should look at it as doing something good for our bodies and helping our body perform the way it was intended and designed. If we look at exercise as something we have to do because we gained weight or our clothes are not fitting as well then we will see it as a punishment and mentally resist it. That is one of the reasons people do not stick to their program. If you force a doubles day that could be a punishment trigger and have you resist the program over time.
There is no real evidence that doubling up will help you reach your goals either. In fact, it can even hurt your progress by over training or worse getting hurt. Your body can only burn so much fat and build/repair so much muscle during a 24 hour period. Adding extra stress to your body is not typically the right answer.
What if I Miss 3 Days or More of my Workouts?
If missing a few days in a row has you concerned, maybe repeat the week or better yet tack on a week at the end. You will want to let yourself experience completing the program. Track all of your progress even the missed days. Then when you look at your results, you can look at how well you did with the workout schedule and the nutrition plan and determine what adjustments you want to make next time. If you were able to drop 5 pounds over the 4 weeks but missed several days or were off your nutrition plan for a few days, let that motivate you to do better next round. It is about being honest with your results and your goals.
It would not benefit you to start all over again even if you missed a pull week. Just regroup, add the week on the end or repeat that week number and move on. If
you missed a day of your job because of sickness or took a weeks vacation, you do not quit and have to get a new job. You just pick up where you left off.
By treating your program as a part of the overall journey you will be able to celebrate your success better and that will give you more energy to continue. If you do not hit your goals, you will also have a good honest look at how you did and be able to adjust for the next time.
So, Should you start over? I say no, just keep moving forward, track your results and make adjustments as needed. You are on a life journey for living a happier and healthier life.
Should you make every effort to stick to your commitment to the plan and not make excuses for missing days or falling off your meal plan YES!
