Fitness and health are something everyone aspires for and yet they feel so hard to achieve. You decide to go for a run every morning and hardly a week down the line, you’re hitting the snooze button every 10 minutes. Have you ever asked why it’s so hard to stick to your fitness routine? It’s not because exercising is difficult; you could always start with simple things like a jog or slow yoga session. However, the issue is with sticking to the plan consistently. Well, it’s time to take a few simple steps to make sure you don’t give up. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1: Be Realistic
If you’re looking for a new workout routine, you’re either a newbie or getting back to your fitness journey after a long while. No matter the reason, the first thing to remember is not to have unreasonable expectations. The transformations you see on the internet may look amazing but most of these people have a personal coach and an incredibly dedicated, not to mention grueling fitness schedule. While your goal may be 6-pack abs, you need to have realistic timelines to achieve it.
Once you have rooted yourself, in reality, you can explore online resources, DVDs, or talk to a fitness expert to tailor a weekly exercise regimen for you. It is also important to make sure you have the right form when doing any exercise. Watching online videos by fitness experts can help you correct your form and reduce the risk of injury.
Step 2: Schedule Smart
This is where your organization skills come into play. You need plan your workouts around your current commitments. Work, family, and friendships are not something you should sacrifice just because you want to be fit. However, if you keep skipping workouts because of other commitments, you’re going to fall behind within no time.
So sit down and think about how a week in your life looks like and try to figure out where the blank places are. Plan your fitness schedule accordingly. Being fit does not mean going to the gym all the time. You can use your lunch break for a quick walk or take a bike and go to a grocery store that’s a few blocks away instead of the one around the corner. Try to make the most of the time you have rather than sticking rigidly to a morning or evening slot at the gym.
Step 3: Do A Dry Run
As organized as you’d like to be, life has a way of messing it up for you. Your plan may look great on paper but you never know what’s going to come your way once you start. So do just that. Take the first week to see how it goes by giving your fitness program a test run. Stick to your plan as much as you can but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a few sessions.
However, make a note of why you missed and get back to the drawing board after the first week. Also, you could not have anticipated certain situations. Maybe it was a bad idea to go the gym before your kids got home. Your workout may leave you drained not giving you enough energy to take care of them.
Step 4: Figure Out The Problems
Once you’ve done your test run, there are sure to be times when you were not able to stick to your schedule. It could because something came up at work, your kid fell sick, a friend wanted you with them for support. Even if the reason for not going to the gym or that scheduled walk is simply tardiness, it is possible that you’re pushing yourself too hard.
Check if you’re giving yourself enough time for recovery or if you need to take the intensity down a few notches or if your body is experiencing fatigue because of a bad diet. Once you’ve figured out all the reasons why you might skip or miss your fitness routine, you can find ways to go around them. The second week can now be handled better. You might need to troubleshoot this way for a few weeks till you get a schedule that works for you. The goal is to not give up on your fitness journey because of a few roadblocks.
Step 5: Have A Backup Plan
Now that you have a fair idea of what could go wrong, you need to have a backup plan so that you can stick to your schedule as much as possible. These small things you can do to make sure you don’t completely give up just because there was an unexpected situation. If you need to travel, make sure you have a few workout videos on your phone or tablet. Check if the hotel you’re staying has a gym.
If your biggest hurdle in lack of motivation, buddy up with a fitness partner, someone who’s in the same boat as you. Having someone to motivate or compete with makes a huge difference. If work keeps getting in the way. Find a gym close to your office so that you can get a quick workout when you have the time. Sometimes, just the thought getting back home, changing, and then stepping out again to go to the gym can pull you down.
If you’re serious about not quitting, you need to accept that including your fitness schedule is going to demand a change in lifestyle. These steps can help you ease into your new lifestyle and any counter hurdles without giving up on your schedule.
