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“I’m going away for work/holiday in three weeks and I’d like to do more before then, but is there an

Amy Gorman

Of course!


The big thing in this question is the desire to do more. It’s not a question of “I feel like I should/need to do more”.


A client asked me this at the start of the week. We’ve been working together with a once-a-week PT for a few months now. Slowly we’re building up her strength and adding some fitness where possible. In her own time, she’s reviewing what’s going on with her eating habits and I’ll assign her things to do alongside our training.


She has been great at consistently showing up every Tuesday morning - something she really struggled with before.


We both know that for her to start seeing the results she wants, she needs to do a little more. But the first step was getting her to consistently show up for her PT and try to get to a weekly Spin class when work travel allowed.


Now that her Tuesday routine is nailed down and travel isn’t causing as much disruption (it’s present, but it doesn’t rock her routine as much because she doesn’t allow it now), she’s making a conscious effort to eat more protein and veggies. We can look at building on it.


On Tuesday she asked me if there was any point in her doing more now because she’s going away for a lot of May, so maybe it would be better to do more afterwards.


My immediate response was, “ABSOLUTELY! What do you feel would be enjoyable and achievable for you to do?”.


If you have the desire to do more and that has never been something you wanted to do - lean into it! Take the opportunity when it arises to make your body feel great. The other advantage is that you will get more used to moving and eating better, so when you travel it will be easier to hold onto some of those good habits and then slot back into them when you return.


Knowing that going for a short walk at lunch or doing a few push ups every hour makes you feel good will help when you’re not in the usual routine to find things that make you feel good.


I can’t emphasise enough how hard it can be to get into a healthier routine initially. So if you suddenly get a rush to do one more session or eat a little healthier, give it a try! It’s also key to remember you don’t suddenly have to do it all at once.


  • Add a portion of veggies a day

  • Add a portion of protein

  • Add one session a week

  • Add a short walk every other day


Had this question been from someone that already exercises a lot and they were asking me because they felt they should do more or needed to do more, then it would be a much longer conversation. I would want to understand what was making them feel they needed to do things instead of being driven by the desire to do them.


I’d be looking for potentially unhealthy or unhappy thoughts they were having about them self and encouraging them to work through them.


If they were feeling stressed or overwhelmed about the holiday and things that needed to be done beforehand and exercise was a tool to switch off, I’d be encouraging them to take more rest so they don’t go away feeling burnt out and broken.


The answer to the problem isn’t always “do more”. In fact, in many cases, it’s completely the opposite.


For the stressed person that potentially wants to lose a small amount of body fat for the beach and is willing to trash themselves in the gym for three weeks to achieve it, the response may in fact be to eat more, train less, and find a good book to help their body relax and bloating to reduce. Totally not the response they may have expected.


I hope this helps you to pick a path to confidence before your next trip!


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