Reset, Reframe, Repeat: Turning Setbacks into Comebacks

 Karen goes solo to share honest, practical advice for staying motivated to exercise. 

Drawing on personal experience and research, she explains why willpower alone fails and why harsh self-judgment sabotages progress. Instead, she recommends self-compassion, reframing setbacks as restarts, and focusing on small, sustainable actions—short workouts, enjoyable activities, and consistent frequency. She emphasizes creating a written plan, a backup option, and tracking progress as information (not shame). 

Real-life examples—gardening, kettlebells, and swimming—illustrate how to build a routine that fits your lifestyle and produces lasting benefits without injury or burnout. 

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Stance for Health Podcast with Dr. Rod and Karen Wirth. Where becoming healthy is not complicated. Control your health by focusing on six areas of life that we teach you so you finally have the energy you want and have to do what you want instead of being a victim of your age. I have over 20 years' experience working as a chiropractor, and Karen is an author, speaker, and longevity coach. We've seen how a tiny change in your habits today can open up your life to a powerful future. Start today and take your stance for health.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Hi there. This is Kieran with Stance Care Practic doing a solo podcast. Doc is really busy with a lot of different things, and so I wanted to come out here and talk about my own experience anyway. So that's why I'm doing it solo, but I do miss him. We do have fun doing these podcasts. What I want to talk to you about today is how to stay motivated to exercise. And the reason I'm doing this is I'm the one that needs motivation to exercise. And when I met Dr. Rodney a little over 10 years ago, he was already exercising like a champ. In fact, he was over-exercising. We've talked about that a little bit before. And that he was doing long distance rides and riding 100 miles in 100-degree weather, and did that four years in a row. In case you don't know, we're both widowed. And uh we met uh almost 10 years ago or so. And one of the first things he asked me to do was if I wanted to come exercise with him and do a paced workout, it's a high-intensity interval training before he would go to work. And I said, sure. So I showed up and we did that. And I just want to talk to you about the motivation to continue to do that. Because I know if you're like me, you start in January and by February, sometimes March, you're doing great if you make it to April. But most of us by that time, we stop. And I just want to let you know that this isn't about willpower. And if everybody showed up that has signed up at gyms, you would not be able to get in. And that's kind of the way it is in January, but then it wanes away. So, first of all, you need to feel like your workout is worth it. And that's probably one of the things that I found right away. And by the way, I have done the lowest level for all this time and I began to see a difference. So, what is our motivation to exercise? Well, for me, I was enjoyable, and I was connecting and getting to know the man who would become my husband. And so it wasn't out of guilt or fear or even that I wanted to change something about myself. It was more about a personal value that made me feel like I like this guy. My experiences were so positive during this. I wasn't getting incredibly sore. A lot of time people go into exercise and they work out so hard and then they're hurting, and so then they stop. But I began to get more and more confidence. My balance got better, my back felt better. And basically, it wasn't that intense. I think some of one of the mistakes that we can make with exercise is that we think that more is better. In other words, I didn't work out all week, so this weekend, I'm gonna be that weekend warrior. I didn't walk any day this week. So now I'm going to walk five miles all at once. It doesn't matter if it's hot. I am going to push myself. Instead, it's giving your body what it needs. And I love that. One of the things that I like so much about the way that we have exercised, having someone to do it with is really important. And we rotate it. And that's something we're going to talk about when you develop your own exercise plan, because I think that's important to have a plan. The thing about exercise or any health discipline is not to beat yourself up when you stop. Because the research on motivation and how to form habits show that harsh self-judgment gets you stuck in that negative response. If you're listening to this podcast and you're saying, Oh, I so admire what you and Dr. Rodney have done, I want you to have some self-compassion. I want you to talk to yourself the same way you would talk to your best friend. So would you be telling your best friend, oh, you're terrible. I can't believe you stopped. Why did you ruin this? Instead, what is one realistic thing you would offer to a friend as encouragement? Setbacks and things that we go back to old patterns need to be reframed. Because when we reframe it, we say, oh, I stopped exercising. Instead of that saying, I took a small break, I'm starting again today. Now, the other thing about it is that we've heard that it takes 21 days to create a habit. How about 59 to 66 days? So that's what I want you to think. You built that 21-day habit, but it has to be repeated several months, not just once. Here's what I want you to focus in on. You need to create positive patterns for your brain. Physical activity maintenance model shows that prior exercise frequency is often the strongest predictor of what you're going to do in the future. And that's where doing a little bit every day is better than not doing anything all week and then just doing the weekend. What are you interested in? What is safe for you to do? Is it fun? Would you love doing that three to four times a week? And that's what I want you to look at because we want to be able to develop our own exercise methodology, not just what other people are doing. It's not a competition here, it's your body. And that is what you want to do is that your motivation comes from inside. So let's look at what's going to be an exercise routine for you. What do you like to do? For me, part of what I do for exercise is go to the garden every evening. That is not that strenuous of exercise, although in this Texas heat this summer. It has been a little bit much because even going at 8 or 8:30, it's still almost 100 degrees. But I figure, uh, if I haven't made it to the sun, I have a built-in one, right? Let's look at some ways to make your exercise routine easier to return to. What's going to help you to do that? I say, what do you like to do? Do you like to take a walk? Do you enjoy music? Do you like to dance? Do you like to swim? We have a one of our health partners that swims consistently, and her goal is to swim at least three times a week. And when she stops, I encourage her to go back at least once a week, then the following week do two, and the next one do three. And I think she's probably one of the best examples of learning to be nice to yourself. I want you to start out with that. I'm going to be nice too and fill in your name. I'm going to be nice to Karen here. The other thing that you want to do is you want to make your exercise session or your workout small enough that you're not overwhelmed. Something that we've started recently because we were getting the heart rate up with the high intensity interval training. But while we have been doing kettlebell, and that has been actually very fun. It's 10 minutes. We have an upper body workout. We have one that's for the entire body, different personalities presenting the YouTubes that we do, and we alternate those. And so that helps. I have noticed a real difference in the strength of my legs, especially and in my hips. And another thing to do, don't make exercise so formal. Build it around your life. Go for a walk. Go do something that you love to do. Go play with your grandkid. Go to the garden. And set some goals for movement, especially right after you eat, because research is showing that that is really, really important. What happens when you miss? Treat it as information. If you're keeping an exercise journal, which I highly recommend, by the way, because you're going to be harder on yourself than you thought you are. If you'll go back and see the pattern, give one reason, not an excuse, but got to bed late, uh, did not sleep well, or we were traveling, or I was I was sore or had too much on my schedule. It doesn't matter. Just replace the beating yourself up to self-criticism with a restart. So this is what I'm gonna do to restart. I'm gonna ask you some questions. Why did you quit exercising the last time you were on a routine? And that's going to tell you a lot about what happened. I think if you analyze why you quit, you will be able to move forward a little bit better. Second question. So, first one is why did you quit exercising even when you knew it was good for you? I mean, no one has to convince you that it's good for you, but why did you stop? And most people, when I ask them this question, they give a lot of excuses. I'm too busy. We have another health partner that I asked as we're headed into the long weekend. You'll be listening to this at a different time. We had Labor Day coming up, and she was headed with her family to the lake. And I said, Are you going to do your exercises out there? And she said, Oh no, I'm going to be too busy. I can't do that. And there's she just started and I said, How about you choose one thing and you do the one thing when you first get up? And she looked at me like, you're right. And so I want to give you a plan for how you can do a reset of this. Because you need to reframe in your mind how you're going to get back to the habit of exercising. You did it for a while, you stopped. This is a pattern. Maybe not so much in the fall, but especially January, and then just before the summer, where people are thinking about wearing shorts and swimsuits, people start thinking again about exercise and eating right. But I want you to be doing your exercises because you know that you will feel better. What are the benefits you will get from that if you're consistent? So, first of all, make a plan. Number one, make a plan and write it down. So explore which you like. And it can be walk when you're going to walk. It can be high intensity interval training. You can pick the YouTube, it can be alternating between that, the high intensity interval training and weight training. Whatever you do, I want you to write your plan down. And what are you going to do for a backup? So let's say you oversleep one day and that's your time to do the exercise, then make time that night to do what you missed in the morning. Now, if the backup plan doesn't come through, track the progress on a calendar. Just you did an exercise that day. This is the step that's gonna make the difference. When you go back and look over the days that you've missed, I want you to add to that list information. Not beat yourself up, I'm a terrible person, I have no discipline, all that negative self-talk and still. I want you to say, I stayed up too late, I was binge watching TV, I uh didn't eat right, I didn't sleep well, and just see if you're having a pattern with that. Here's the other last point. Keep going, start over without beating yourself up, just start over. Tomorrow's a new day, and you can do it. I think that as you begin to do this, you're going to begin to notice all the benefits that you're receiving from the exercise. I know I have, but I love it. I'm confident now. Getting in and out of the car, getting up off of the chairs, walking, all of these different things. And realize that as you take your stance for health, your consistency is going to matter more than your intensity. Consistent is going to make more of a shift in your health than if you become obsessed with becoming a weekend warrior. Actually, that's going to then cause injuries. By the way, if anything is hurting, please come see us here at Stance if you're in the North Texas area, because that's a big deal too, is you want to get your alignment, you want to do all of these different things. But as far as exercise, what are you doing for your body? What is your plan? Write it down. I want you to learn to have a backup plan and track your progress. It can just be even a check mark or an E on a calendar. When you miss, why did you stop with just merely information? No beating yourself up aloud and keep going. I love this little talk. It went by super fast. And I did miss my co-podcast host. He'll be back next time. This is Karen, the Hope Lady, reminding you to take your stance for health by creating the habit of exercise.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Thank you for joining us at Stance for Health Podcast, where getting healthy and staying that way are not as complicated as you might think. Subscribe now and discover steps and small changes that can increase your energy and open the door to vibrant health and longevity. This podcast has been helpful. Please write a review. We'll see you next time.