Fitness

HOW TO CREATE A FITNESS ROUTINE AND ACTUALLY STICK TO IT

01.12

Below are some of the most-asked questions I received for the Wellness Week Q&A – I received dozens of questions just like this or in some similar variation, so I thought it would be a good idea to dedicate a whole blog post to answering these questions.

  • What inspired you to start your fitness/wellness journey?
  • How did you create a workout routine and what motivates you to stick to it?
  • I’ve tried BBG a number of times but can never seem to stick to it! Any suggestions on how to create a fitness regimen you can be sure to stick with?

Read on for my tips and suggestions to hold yourself accountable on your own fitness journey!

[halves]Creating a Fitness Routine | How to Stay Motivated and Stick to your Workouts!

Creating a Fitness Routine | How to Stay Motivated and Stick to your Workouts![/halves]

Creating a Fitness Routine | How to Stay Motivated and Stick to your Workouts!

[halves]Creating a Fitness Routine | How to Stay Motivated and Stick to your Workouts!

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The first question I’m going to quickly address before jumping into the meat of this post. I was inspired to begin healthy eating journey after several years of struggling with weight I had gained after getting off a medication I was on for over a decade. You can read about that here! It took me awhile, but I finally got it through my head that no matter how often I worked out, I wasn’t going to lose the weight until I made a choice to eat better consistently. I’ve always enjoyed working out, so the fitness part of my journey wasn’t exactly a new thing or a revelation… But after several years, I’ve definitely honed my routine and found what works for me in that department! Read on for my tips to create your own fitness routine and stay motivated enough to stick to it!

TIP ONE: FIND A WORKOUT YOU ACTUALLY LOVE

Chances are if you are enjoying the workout you are doing, you are less likely to skip it. If the workout itself is something you dread doing, you will procrastinate all the live long day or find a reason to cancel it! If Orange Theory or BBG is not your cup of tea, stop trying to make it happen. Find a workout more suitable for your lifestyle and preferences, like yoga, pilates, spin, barre, whatever! There are so many options out there these days, so don’t feel like you have to keep up with a specific workout if you aren’t enjoying yourself. Try a bunch of different classes and see what works for you!

TIP TWO: BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR SCHEDULE

If you’re like me and will always (without fail!) talk yourself out of an afternoon workout, then don’t schedule your workouts in the afternoon. Yes, getting up an extra hour or so earlier will seem daunting at first, but after a few days you will acclimate to this new schedule you set for yourself! If you know you’re going to go out on the weekend and chances are you won’t make it to class or your workout Saturday or Sunday morning, don’t leave your workouts for the weekend. Just schedule them during the week and leave your weekends free.

Also, be realistic about the limitations of your schedule. If you’re someone who travels a ton for work and can’t be consistent with a specific workout class because of it, maybe choose a different workout that will allow you to work out whenever, wherever you are. Perhaps you pick up walking/running on a treadmill + body weight workouts vs trying to fit in spin or barre classes whenever you’re in town.

Another tip? Add your workouts to your calendar so you don’t accidentally schedule something else during that time block. Having the workout visible on my calendar also helps keep me accountable, as it seems like a to-do list item I need to check off!

TIP THREE: SET GOALS THAT ARE ATTAINABLE

While I think it’s wonderful to have high level goals, setting goals that are attainable will allow you to feel accomplished and motivate you to continue with your workouts. For example, I know I’m probably never going to look like Kayla Itsines in a bikini – I drink alcohol, I like to indulge when I travel and go out with friends, and have a different body type. While that goal is certainly one to work towards, other goals may be more attainable… for example, increasing my speed or the number of reps during the workouts, adding more weights to particular exercises, or running one extra mile longer than I have on previous runs…

Other attainable, measurable goals might be to fit in your clothes better (or feel more comfortable in them!), lose ten pounds, get more toned for summer or your wedding, be able to do 20 full body push-ups… Whether strength or slimming down is your end goal, there are probably several attainable goals you could come up with that will help keep you motivated along the way. Identify what those are and do your best to reach those + check them off the list!

TIP FOUR: IDENTIFY WHAT KEEPS YOU ACCOUNTABLE

I’ve heard from a several readers in response to my posts about BBG (on InstaStories), saying they’ve tried the program a number of times but have not been able to stick to it. Honestly, if you’re not the kind of person who is naturally self-motivated, the BBG program is probably not a good one for you to do. Because BBG is something you do on your own, it really requires you to commit and self-motivate to get it done every day. The same could be said of people who just go to the gym and use the free weights and cardio machines – you’ve got to be dedicated to doing it on your own without anyone telling you to! My suggestion (if you’re one of those people) is to find a workout class you enjoy or hire a personal trainer. The act of purchasing a class and placing it on your schedule, or making a commitment with an actual human being may up your level of commitment to it! This could even be as simple as making a commitment to a friend to go on a long walk twice a week. Identify what holds you accountable and stick to that method for all future workouts!

As I said in tip above, one workout is not for everyone. Just because I love BBG and have stuck to it does not mean you will! I have friends who swear by daily yoga classes, but yoga is just not my thing. Find the workout that YOU love and that works for your personality + lifestyle and you’ll be more likely to stay committed to it! I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, progress photos are another really good way to hold yourself accountable. Seeing the weekly progress is super motivating and also may keep you from skipping a workout or overindulging on the weekends!

TIP FIVE: MAKE A PROMISE TO YOURSELF AND ACTUALLY KEEP IT

This tip I heard about when listening to this audio book. In it, Rachel tells you to stop breaking those promises you make to yourself. Whether that’s a promise to fit in a workout five days a week or a promise to cook a healthy dinner a few times a week, nothing is stopping you but you. Sure, days can get crazy and time is always limited, but at the end of the day, the only thing keeping you from fulfilling those goals is YOU. If you make a promise to work out Monday-Friday and have social events every day after work, wake up early and do your work out then… or plan to not drink and work out after dinner (which is actually what Rachel talks about having to do one night when she wasn’t able to fit in a workout earlier that day). While it’s certainly very important to keep the promises you’ve made to others (dinner plans, events, etc), it’s just as important to keep the promises you make to yourself. Your needs and goals are important and you should treat them that way!


PS: if you still need more motivation, read this post and this post.

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