No sooner had I told you that my training schedule was better planned than the best military operation than something happened to change it. In this short video lesson I talk about that. It is for anyone who has carefully planned their training, only for life to get in the way.

That is everybody, sooner or later.

Plans Are Useful, but They Will Change

A plan is a good thing. It gives you structure, it stops you drifting, and it helps you balance skill work, conditioning and recovery. But no plan survives contact with real life for long. Work changes, family needs you, you get ill, you get injured, or you have to travel.

The mistake is treating the plan as all or nothing. When it breaks, people often stop completely, telling themselves they will start again when things settle down. Things rarely settle down.

Adapt Rather Than Stop

When your schedule changes, adjust it rather than abandoning it:

  • Shorten sessions instead of cancelling them
  • Change the focus to what you can do, such as shadowboxing if you cannot get to the gym
  • Train what is available, whether that is bodyweight work, mobility or technique in a small space
  • Protect the habit, even if the volume drops for a while
  • Rest properly if illness or injury is the reason, and come back sensibly

A little training done regularly keeps your skills and your fitness ticking over until you can return to the full plan.

Use It as a Test

Real self-defence situations never happen on schedule either. Being able to adapt when things do not go the way you expected is a skill in itself. Training through changes in your routine builds that flexibility.

Review and Rebuild

When life settles, look at your plan again. You may find some parts were not as important as you thought, and other things need more time. Every disruption is a chance to make the plan better.

Take It Further

If you would like help building a training plan that fits your life and still gets results, have a look at Private Mentoring. For structured lessons you can train anywhere, see the Pressure Point Fighting Course.