In honor of this weekend’s Olympic track and field competition, I couldn’t help but think about my own track adventures over the years. It’s only fitting that I share my absolute favorite action shot from running the 100M hurdles for my high school track team. Though I’m not the hardcore sprinter I once was, I’ve tried to stay in shape over the years by competing in 5Ks.

Fast forward to today, I’m currently a little below my pre-baby weight and I’ve set a goal to lose 10 more pounds before the end of the year. While doing this, I wanted to share my commandments for restarting your workout routine.

• Know thy self – Don’t start off with unrealistic workout goals.  While it’s great to have an end goal in mind (i.e. running a 5K in 30 minutes), but don’t start off on day one with a plan to run a 10 minute mile if you’ve never done it before. Ease into your first workout by assessing your current state and create a plan to increase your performance week by week.
• Be consistent – When you’re starting off, nothing is more important than consistency. You also need to determine what consistency looks like for you. Consistency could be working out for 30 minutes every day or scheduling your workouts for specific days and times. Whatever it may be, find a way to keep going on a regular basis. Since I’ve restarted my workout, I found that setting a weekly mileage goal has been most motivating to me. My plan is flexible, yet gives me enough pressure to get up and make sure I reach my goal.
• Don’t stalk the scale – I’m so bad about this! I weigh myself almost everyday. Though I like to follow the number on the scale, I’m actually more concerned with how my clothes fit and how my body looks. There’s a ton of studies out there reflecting how different weights and body styles can appear.
• Find some friends – What’s better than working out with friends? In 2013, my friend Lilia and I set a goal to run 13 5Ks. It was challenging to have a race every month, but we accomplished it together and it felt great! Currently, I have a weekly workout that I do with my BFF Ashlee and next week I’ll be starting a workout challenge with my friends Kayla, Kim and Valisha. Not only is it fun to workout with your friends, but it also holds you accountable to your goals.
• Have fun! – Mix up your workouts so that you don’t get bored. Like everything else in life, a workout plan can fizzle out if you aren’t enjoying yourself while doing it. YouTube, Pinterest, even your cable provider can provide varying exercise options to incorporate into your workout plan. I know I’ve been wanting to check out SoulCycle since it came to Dallas earlier this summer.

While I’m confident that I probably won’t have my old track body, I feel great about keeping up my exercise goals. I’ll definitely be glued to the TV watching track and field when it starts on Friday.

What workout goals do you want to accomplish?