As much as you might really want to, sticking to fitness goals can be hard – you’ll start off with plenty of motivation, but things get in the way and before you know it, you’re not exercising as regularly as you know you should be; it’s a really big problem for a lot of people, especially when they don’t see their goals being realized.
The key is consistency, but how can you do it? Is it even possible? The answer is yes, it is possible, so keep reading to find out what you need to do to get where you want to go when it comes to your health and fitness.
Make It Easy And Accessible
One of the biggest reasons people start to skip workouts is that it’s a big hassle – there’s a whole new routine you’ve got to get into, and that can be a challenge in itself, not to mention then having to do the workout as well. The fact is that if getting to your workout is an event in itself, it’s going to be really hard to stay consistent. But if you’ve got fantastic local gyms to make use of, it all becomes much easier for you.
If you can find a gym close to home or your workplace, you’ll have an easier time actually getting there and getting started, and it’s not going to feel like such a big problem. The closer it is, the more likely you’ll actually go regularly and take part in classes or use the equipment, and that’s going to make a massive positive difference.
Turn Fitness Into A Habit
Fitness shouldn’t feel like another task on your never-ending to-do list because it’s so easy to put those tasks off, especially if something comes up. The real key to consistency is to make your fitness a habit instead, and it’s a small but significant change that can soon lead to making fitness something you do without even really having to think about it.
Start small, like a daily 10-minute walk or a quick morning stretch, and once that becomes part of your routine, it won’t feel like a chore anymore – in that, because it’s just something you do regularly, you can even start to add more to the routine and get fitter as a result. To make things even easier, set yourself up ready to go – for example, if you’re intending to work out in the morning, put your gym clothes out ready the night before; you’ll be more likely to follow through when it’s easy and right there waiting for you.
Reward Yourself
Have you heard of the term ‘positive reinforcement’? It basically means that you should reward yourself for reaching your goals or having a particularly good week – or whatever else you feel needs a reward.
And when we say reward, we mean you should treat yourself to something you really want, such as a movie night, a fancy coffee, or even new workout gear – just be careful not to make it anything unhealthy or you run the risk of undoing the work you put in, and if you have too many rewards, you might even start going backwards.
Your reward doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, just something worthwhile, and you’ll soon be doing better and better with your fitness because you’ll want to get more rewards.