– For most people, the hardest part of working out is… working out.
The most common excuse, being “I’m too busy.” There’s no denying that life makes it tough at times to stay consistent. Especially after a long day and all you feel like doing is relaxing. So, how do you find the motivation and desire to work out consistently when it’s hard enough just to get started? Well, it’s about making it a habit. This is the only way to make it a consistent routine. The good news is, there are proven strategies to build habits, which is one of the things we focus on with our clients, to make sure we ensure sustainable results.
Whether you’re making a new years resolution to work out more consistently, or just want to get in shape, these 5 strategies will help you stick to the routine and crush your fitness goals!
1. Keep it simple
In a word where being busy is often rewarded, we just make it complicated.
Take working out for example. We can technically workout anywhere.
You can go for a brisk walk, a run, or even take the stairs. The accessibility to tools, information, and videos to not get injured, has never been more advanced, and yet, we are too busy to work out. You don’t have to train like an athlete every single day. Just decide on some sort of movement. All you have to do is commit and act.
2. Less is more
Many people struggle to stay consistent because they over-commit.
Most people want to go from 0 to a 100. They sign up for a 12-month membership, and tell themselves they that from tomorrow on, they go to the gym 6 days per week. But they haven’t done any activities over the past few months. You get excited and motivated because it’s new, but chances are you’ll hate it after a few weeks. This will result in you throwing the towel in the ring, never setting another foot in that horrible gym.
After all, consistency is more important than anything else.
Remember, we are building habits and routines, so the most important thing is working out consistently. So choose manageable or sustainable over “going hard or going home.”
3. Preparation
The simple truth is that by preparing, you eliminate a lot of excuses.
Most people fail because they don’t take the few minutes needed to prepare.
Because they aren’t prepared, they feel stressed and anxious, which leads to them wanting to so they just cancel their workout plans.
This stress can very well be eliminated by preparing ahead of time.
4. Put it on your calendar
By scheduling your workouts(no matter how short or long), you’ll more likely to stick with it.
This simple action makes it a little commitment to yourself and will show you that you do have time in your day for it.
5. Make it a lifestyle
Reaching your goals, and more importantly maintaining your goals, is a life-long process. You can not workout for 2 months and expect to achieve your desired shape and keep it forever. Fitness is a lifestyle.
And just like everything else in life, you will have ups and downs. There will be times you will hit it out of the park. And there will be times that other areas have a bigger priority and that’s fine.
Having this mindset helps with consistency and longevity of sticking to the plan, because it alleviates a lot of pressure.
Just like point #1, if you can’t make every workout the best workout of your life, that alright.
A small step forward is better than doing nothing that day. Do the best you can in each situation and understand that one workout isn’t going to make or break your results.
6. Reflect and reward
This is a very important part. Most of the times, we commit to something, and put our head down until we reached the end result. It’s important to acknowledge your wins.
Unfortunately, most people only think about when they mess up. They don’t take the time to stop and think about the great work they’ve already put in.
It’s important that if you don’t get your workout in, reflect why it happened. Most people get frustrated when they mess up. Instead, it would be better to acknowledge that you had to change plans, think about how you can prevent that in the future. So don’t get frustrated that you didn’t get your five 45-minute workouts in this week. Acknowledge that you were too busy, and lower the bar. Slowly but steadily you’ll win the race.
Conclusion
You might have read all of these and thought, “Well, that’s sounds quite easy…” That’s because it is easy. The strategies aren’t that complicated, it’s life that makes it challenging.
Especially in the fast-paced world we live in, commitments we have, and hobbies we enjoy…
But by consistently practicing these strategies and making them your habits, you’ll be amazed by how easy your workout routine will become. It’s sometimes hard to identify which area you want to become consistent in. Do you want to focus on weight-loss or muscle gain? Do you want to eat healthier or just eat less? What kind of tasks should you execute to get great results?
It can be challenging to identify what the first step should be, and where you should focus on. That’s why we’re offering free consultation calls to give you some clarity and get you started.
If you could use some help, you should book a call with one of our coaches to talk about your goals.
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