How you can stop the excuses and become consistent with working out.

Want to crack the code to consistency and start that fitness grind…….

I guarantee you that if you implement these ideas/things into your life you will find yourself on the same path and won’t have to worry about having to find motivation.

Before I can do this I need you to ask yourself…..

• have you ever felt the desire to change your life around one evening yet the next morning you find yourself with no motivation to complete the task.

• you know that you have been there….. don’t worry we all have…. I promise its more common than you think

• You have the body/strength/fitness level you want to achieve in your head, don’t you….. the one where you feel confident and happy

• You have tried before, haven’t you…. wondered why the schedule you made wasn’t as perfect as you thought it would be

• Why didn’t it work last time though….not sure that it’s okay I’m here to help point out the dos and the don’ts when trying to stay consistent.

I promise you that by the end of this article you are going to have the ability to stay consistent with your workout goals.

The Do’s for staying consistent.

Having a plan.

Ever felt like you went to the gym to workout and just aimlessly wandered around trying a couple of machines here and there?

Never really feels great after going to the gym if you only hop on a couple machine with no real plan or target for the session. Yes, you may feel some initial joy but that isn’t sustainable.

I cannot stress this enough; you need to have a plan. The length or detail of the plan does not matter as much, as long as there is some structure to your workouts.

Building your plan.

There are 4 key features to a strong workout plan.

No.1; having goals

Not only does it provide a destination, but when that destination is reached it provides a sense of accomplishment.

It is in human nature to seek success and accomplishments so if you can create them for yourself you are only increasing the likelihood of you staying consistent.

• Because of this reward system long and short term goals are important.

I bet last time you tried to get yourself into better shape your goal was I want to lose weight. Do you see the problem with that?

• It doesn’t provide you with any fast rewards; losing weight is a long-term goal and so you won’t see much progress. This I guarantee you will lead to you quitting.

Actionable steps:

• Think about your long term goals first but try to make them slightly more specific, for example I want to loose body fat and tone up my legs

• From your long-term goals think about your short-term goals; this will also help you create a pathway to achieve your long-term goals. For example, if your long-term goal is to lose body fat a short-term goal linked with that could be I want to do 2 HIIT sessions per week.

Try to brainstorm everything that comes to your mind; and then pick three long term and three short term to begin with.

• Your goals will be ever-changing remember that

• Goals are flexible and individualized, serving to guide your progress and achievement. While you can adjust them as needed, consider how changes may impact your overall objectives, both short and long-term.

No.2; Structured routine

People underestimate the feeling of confidence when you know what you are doing with your workout. Trust me feeling confident in what you are doing at the gym can boost motivation, (more on that later).

What you need to do.

1. You need to identify how many days you are able to commit yourself to the gym; don’t over exert yourself as this will not be sustainable
2. How many times a week you can commit to your workouts and your goals will determine the workout split that you choose.
3. Once you have chosen your split then you can choose your specific exercises from there; again it is better to keep it simple and make small steps rather than diving in head first.

The biggest key is to have the same structured workout that you stick to each week.

The human mind likes having tasks to complete so approach your exercises like tasks and you will feel good for completing them. This mindset will give you satisfaction and develop motivation for you to complete the workout again.

Learn more about the exercises to include when creating your routine; click here.

No.3; Variety and balance.

Boredom. One of our biggest faults as human beings, our attention span has dwindled significantly over the years.

You need to make sure your workouts don’t become boring, yes you do have to follow the same program for a good few months but that doesn’t mean the exact same thing day in day out.

For example, there are so many types of cardio; try doing 2 runs per week then after 3 weeks of that when it starts to feel like a chore try doing 2 cycles per week.

• This builds up variety; you want to aim to stick with something for at least 3 weeks and then decide if you feel like you need a switch up

It will keep you on your toes boosting your motivation when you change it up and try something new or something you haven’t done in a while.

Note: Do not over do it on one thing; just because you like one specific movement do not do it everyday. You will get bored of it.

• Find the things you like and savour them; schedule 1-2 times per week depending on the exercise. It will mean you look forward to it increasing your motivation.

The more you can increase motivation the more you build up your discipline which is the true key to being consitent in the long term

• If you really want to make fitness your lifestyle you need to rely less on motivation and more on discipline; this is what will set you apart from the rest.

Rest and Recovery.

If you are not resting and recovering you are throwing any potential progress down the toilet!

Recovery and rest are essential to helping you stay consistent. If you don’t allow your body to rest you will not be able to keep up with your workouts. You will end up losing motivation and quit your goals.

You don’t want to quit this time though…..you want to achieve the long term fitness goals you have had in your mind.

So you are going to allow at least 1 full day rest and 1 active day rest, it is up to you how many rest days you take. Make sure to do what is right for your body, you may have to experiment a little.

Click here to learn more about the importance of recovery!

Embrace the bad days!

Thats right you read the title correct. You need to embrace the bad days.

Why is this you ask?

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, not everyday will be perfect, not every workout you complete will feel amazing. It’s just not possible.

To keep being consistent though you have to show up on those bad days, on those days when you couldn’t think of anything worse. That right there is consistency.

The key is maintaining a strong mindset, I always ask myself when I don’t feel like going to the gym ‘Have you ever regretted a workout?’ The answer is a simple ‘no’

And I haven’t, yes I have had workouts that didn’t feel as good, workouts where I lifted lighter than usual, workouts where I didn’t feel as confident. But I have never regretted going and thats the difference.

Actionable steps

• Change your mindset; accept that you will have good days and bad days
• Don’t let bad days discourage you; it can be easy to get into a rut with a run of bad workouts but remember why you are doing this.
• Try changing things up; if you have several bad workouts in a row it could be because you are bored or not enjoying the exercise. Try taking a class at your gym or trying a different running route.

Make it easy.

Ever heard of the book ‘Atomic Habits?’ It discusses how to build up sustainable and long-lasting habits. One of its key ideas is making your habits easy.

Making small changes in your routines can be a game-changer when trying to be consistent with your workouts. Take a morning workout for example, by laying your gym clothes before you go to sleep. This is a tiny tweak that will set you up for success. You wake up get dressed and you are ready to hit the gym – no excuses!

Actionable steps.

• Implement small changes; think about little changes, like laying out your clothes before you go to bed, that will help make it easier for you to workout.
• Read Atomic Habits; This book helped me to understand the science behind habit formation, it explains secrets which enable you to get habits you want to build stick. Learn more about habit-making with Atomic Habits.

Small changes to your habits like this can make a big difference in staying consistent with your fitness goals. So why not make it effortless and implement tiny changes and help you stay more consistent with working out.

The Don’ts for staying consistent.

Don’t throw yourself in at the deep end.

Jumping straight into your fitness journey can seem thrilling and exciting, its all new and you are finally ready to start working towards your goals.

But it is not sustainable, honestly try going to the gym 6 times a week or running 5k every morning before work and keep that up for longer than 3 weeks. The novelty will wear off.

Fitness is a long term thing, you can’t go rushing into it without expecting to burn yourself out.

Actionable steps.

• Build a foundation; start off slow, try doing maybe 2-3 workouts per week so that you build up strength and knowledge of what you like and don’t like.
• Listen to your body; I mentioned the importance of rest days, do not over-exhaust yourself it will lead to you quitting.

You do not have to compare yourself to all these gym influencers, they have been working out for several years. This is your journey and it is a marathon not a sprint.

Remember: quality over quantity will lead to greater consistency and better progress.

Don’t forget why you are doing this.

‘What for 6 months you actually did it?’

That’s what I ask myself every day. It reminds me why I workout 5-6 times per week. I want to achieve my fitness goals, I want those goals to be my future. I remind myself that I need to put in the work now not in 5 days time.

‘One day or day one’.

Actionable steps:

• Motivational quotes; I like to pin sticky notes on my notice board which have quotes or words that remind me that I’m doing this for my future self. Try to write down or think of quotes that help to motivate you and remind you of why you want to start your fitness journey
• Goal reminding; Create a list or table of your goals and pin it up somewhere promient, or even set it as your lock screen. It will help to remind you why you are doing this without you having to think about it. You are making it easy!

Don’t rely too heavily on motivation.

Motivation is great, it gets us to start new habits, and want to change our lives around. But haven’t you found that your motivation for something always runs out, this is why if your want to stay consistent motivation is not the secret.

Discipline. You need to increase your discipline if you want to stay consistent. It is the difference between those who dip in and out of fitness never actually achieving their goals and those who will excel at achieving their goals.

Actionable steps:

• Cold showers; I know it may sound crazy but if you can get yourself to take a cold shower every day you are strengthening your mindset and as a result improving your discipline.
• reading books; there are so many books out there that teach you about improving your discipline skills, by reading them you will expand your mind and use the ideas explained to form the process that works for you.
• Self control; We all know it can be hard to resist certain things but by building up your self-control you will also improve your discipline. Start with easy distractions to resist and then move towards the things that you find more difficult.