How to stick with it and have a successful fitness journey.
Your workout routine is all about building a habit that’ll make you show up even when you don’t feel like it.Consistency is key when it comes to fitness and results. But it doesn’t mean it has to be boring.
Here’s how you can create your morning routine perfectly tailored to you.
1. Find something you enjoy
Working out doesn’t have to look the same for everyone.
For the longest time, I thought I didn’t like working out because I assumed it meant running. I believed if I didn’t enjoy jogging, then I just wasn’t a “sports person”. But I was wrong.
Training is not a one size fits all situation. To each their own.
So what does that mean in practise?
As the goal is to create a routine that you’ll stick with week in and week out, don’t make it any harder with an activity you hate.
If you enjoy running, good for you, put on your sneakers and go for a run. And instead of running on the treadmill or the same path every time, maybe try some different tracks with sceneries.
If you feel like you could enjoy going to the gym, don’t underestimate the importance of your choice of gym. Don’t just sign up to the first place you come across.
Some gyms can be stinky or dark or boring. Pick one that you feel good in and that’s convenient for you. Chances are if it’s not on your way to or from work or it’s not next to your home, it’s going to be easy to skip.
Maybe you don’t see yourself playing with big machines at a gym, but you might want to consider classes. Then you can follow the lead of the instructor that will keep it diverse and fun hopefully.
You might not be comfortable working out in front of people, then consider home workouts. You don’t need much to get started and it’s a safe alternative on rainy days.
And if none of that seems appealing to you, don’t forget all the outdoor sports available: hiking, cycling, surfing, rowing, climbing, swimming, etc.
Create your own workout routine that works best for you.
2. Be knowledgeable
If you want results, then you should be intentional with your training.
Do some research to understand how your body works and what the different muscles are.Each muscle can be targeted in many different ways. Build your knowledge with a variety of exercises to pick from.
Try to see each exercise as an item à la carte to create your own menu depending on what you’re craving that day.
The more exercises you know, the more you can keep your workout routine fun and varied.
3. Just move your body
Some days, you might not feel 100%. Getting to the gym or going for a run might feel like an impossible mountain to climb.
On those days, try something different. Go for a walk or take your bike and cycle around, or try a yoga video from your living room.
If you feel like you don’t have time to allocate a specific time to working out, incorporate movement in your daily life.
If you have kids, instead of driving to the park, try to walk or cycle there. And once you get to the park, don’t just sit on a bench watching your children, play with them, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can break a sweat.
If you’re not in a happy mood, put some good music on and dance to it. Dancing is a very underestimated training. The calories you burn are legit.
Be intentional every day to move your body. We all heard before to take the stairs instead of the elevator, and it might sound boring. But it really comes down to choosing a lifestyle with intentional movement instead of a sedentary one.
4. Slow and steady wins the workout routine
By now you should have a few activities in mind, it’s time to make a game plan.
If you think going to the gym is a good option for you, and you’re currently not doing any type of sport, don’t start working out every single day.
Professionals recommend increasing your activity by 10% every week not to strain your body.So don’t go cold turkey all or nothing on your workout routine. You want to create a habit not a 2 week thing that you quickly forget about.
Start small and build your way up.
It might sound too easy in the beginning to go to the gym once a week, but the goal is to create a habit.
If it’s so simple working out once a week, you make it impossible to skip it. And then you become the person who has a regular schedule to go to the gym.
After 2 or 3 weeks, think about adding a second workout session. You already have a habit of going to the gym, you know what to do and how it feels. Now you’re only building your way up to the lifestyle you deserve.
Again, 2 or 3 weeks later, add another session, maybe a class or an outdoor activity. And so on and so forth, until you reach your desired level of activity.
It might take you a few months to get there, but you’ll do so with a strong habit that can survive motivation low tide.
5. Have skill goals not physic goals
Most of us will start our fitness journey with a physic goal in mind. But I don’t believe that’s the most motivating one to have.
A physic goal will have you compare yourself to others and maybe resent your workouts instead of enjoying them.
What I call a skill goal is a movement goal or a specific posture you want to achieve.
Common ones are handstands and splits, and I’m currently working on both because I’m that original.
Specific movement goals are a better drive in my opinion because you can have way more fun with it. You can incorporate skill practise in your workout routine and witness your progress.
Obviously they can be disheartening too sometimes when you feel like you’re not making as much progress as you wanted. However, developing a skill is more in your control than weight loss or physics.
We should be making the most of what our bodies are capable of doing instead of condemning them for what they look like.
6. Track your performance
I don’t mean stepping on your scale every day. Personally, I don’t own one but if that’s your thing and you can keep it healthy then you do you, I understand how numbers can drive people.
I do recommend tracking performance and activity so you can keep yourself accountable.
Owning an Apple Watch makes my workout routine so much more entertaining.
It might be silly or superficial but seeing great numbers at the end of a training session gives me great satisfaction. Especially when I compare different stages in my journey.
The watch also reminds you to get up every hour which is actually so important for the body to stretch as we sit down for so long every single day.
7. Raise the stakes of your workout routine
The Apple Watch also enables you to share your data with friends and family and see how they’re doing.
A healthy use of peer pressure can sometimes be quite effective. It is for me at least as I am pretty competitive.
I have an on-going competition with my boyfriend. Each week, we set an activity goal, usually superior to the previous week. And if we don’t reach it, we get a forfeit.
You might not have a competitive mindset, so you don’t have to take it this far.
However, having an accountability partner has proven itself useful.
Now you know my secrets to a consistent workout routine. I would love to hear yours so that we can help each other.
