Want to start exercising consistently; well here is the secret!

The answer is simple; you have to find your routine. It’s likely not the answer you were expecting right? Think about it, trying to incorporate and cope with someone else’s routine might not fit your work schedule, you may have children and they do not. There are many factors and reasons why you are not able to be exercising consistently each week.

I spent the best of two years trying different fitness schedules. I knew I wanted to start going to the gym, I had a gym buddy to go with, bought over five different memberships and even trialled out home workouts only for none of them to stick. I ended up having little to no motivation to work out and it became like a choreIt was only when I started to think about my schedule and my priorities that I finally found a routine that I could maintain.

If you want to learn how to create the schedule that works for you, allow yourself to answer the questions below.

What is your current schedule?

Identifying when you are free is the first step towards creating your fitness schedule. Take a look at your week and ask yourself the following questions:

• What happens on a weekly basis?
• Ask yourself about any social events that sometimes happen?
• If you have children, how does this effect your day?
• What chores/jobs do you have to complete most weeks?
• If you have pets, how does this contribute to your routine

Now try to create a vague visual aid to assist you, I find that it helps significantly to be able to see my weeks laid out on a calendar in front of me. Google Calendar and Apple Calendar are both good sources or if you want to go old school and have a physical calendar these planner-style notebooks on Amazon are just as good!

What are your fitness goals?

I know it sounds kinda cheesy and even if it isn’t the new year, goal setting is really important when creating the best gym schedule for yourself. Without goals there isn’t much sense of direction or reason for your fitness efforts, goals help with motivation. You can learn more about how to improve your motivation here.

How do I go about creating goals?

Goal setting is slightly more complicated than you would think. People think that saying I’m going to lose weight and start going to the gym next week is a strong goal. Don’t get me wrong if that is your goal great starting point, it is better than nothing. However the likeliness of you sticking to that goal is slim and this is because there is no measurable value to it, when do you know that you have achieved that goal?

I have made this mistake countless numbers of times and each time I ended up not achieving my goal and giving up on it completely. But over the past four months I learnt that if I was more specific with my goal I was more motivated and have been able to stick to it.

Here are some examples:

• I want to lose 10 pounds by the end of march
• I want to go to the gym at least 3 times a week for the next month
• I want to eat 5 different fruits and vegetables each day
• I want to do a pull up by the end of the year

In each of the examples there is a point in the goal when you know you have achieved it.

What type of exercising do I like the sound of?

With so many different ways to exercise and keep fit, it can be very daunting trying to choose which one to choose. Leaving you overwhelmed and likely to not even choose any.

I want to make it easier for you to be able to decide, so I have compiled a list of some of the most common types.

1. Hiit – a form of high-intensity training, that gets the heart rate going, usually a circuit of movements that spans over 10-20 minutes.
2. Running – can be long or short, done indoors or outdoors, easy for anyone to start
3. Weight Lifting – very good for building up muscle, timing can vary; can just easily do a 45-minute session or a 2-hour one, so many different exercises.
4. Yoga – great for balance, calming at the same time, can easily do 10 minutes in the morning
5. Basic circuit training – a repetition of movements such as squats, plank, and lunges but also can include any kind of movements or variations
6. Walking – one of the most underrated forms of exercise, great if you want something less intense than running, can even walk to work instead of driving!

If I am being honest the list is pretty much endless, and you can even merge two if you can’t choose between them! For example; you could create a yoga circuit, if you like running you could incorporate Hiit to make it a higher intensity. Again it is all about creating the system that works for you.