Making exercise part of your routine can be challenging, but there are science-backed strategies that can help. By following these tips and creating an exercise regimen as part of your everyday schedule, exercise can become part of your lifestyle and your routine.
At some point, fitness will become part of your everyday life. Here are seven simple strategies for making fitness an integral component.
1. Find a Workout That You Enjoy
One of the best ways to stay motivated with exercise is finding something you enjoy doing; otherwise, you are likely to quit soon enough. If your workout becomes boring or uncomfortable, this increases your likelihood of dropping it altogether.
As part of your workout journey, remember why you began exercising in the first place. Perhaps weight loss was your motivation or you wanted to improve fitness levels; maybe moving is your passion or you just feel better after exercising! Whatever it may be, taking the first steps toward finding an enjoyable routine should start with recalling why you started in the first place.
An effective way to find an activity you enjoy exercising in is experimenting with various physical activities. Perhaps beginning with yoga might be suitable; or you might choose something more rigorous like combat sports.
Once you find an exercise routine you enjoy, make sure that it becomes part of your everyday life. Be it at the same time every day or simply during lunch breaks – keeping to it will create healthy habits!
As long as you maintain consistency, working out will become part of your everyday life and can become part of a routine rather than an occasional activity.
To keep your workouts fresh and interesting, switch up the equipment and style of exercise you do. For instance, if you do endurance runs, switch it up with music playing on a treadmill versus running outside while listening to podcasts; or add variety by trying a new fitness class each month – changing up your routine can keep them fun and exciting while helping to maintain consistency! Plus it may encourage more activity overall!
2. Make Exercise a Priority
Exercise can be one of the most powerful medicines available for health and wellbeing. Exercise can prevent and treat conditions like heart disease and diabetes, improve mood and energy levels while aiding weight loss. In addition, exercising can also help manage stress better while improving sleep quality and lowering risk factors associated with depression and dementia.
Make fitness a top priority by setting aside time to work out regularly. Doing this can help ensure that you stick with your routine, making it more likely that it gets completed successfully.
Begin by setting aside at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times each week – this can be divided into several 10-minute sessions if your schedule permits.
Enhancing both intensity and duration can make workouts more engaging for you. Consider doing longer distances at faster pace if possible or switch up exercises every couple of weeks to challenge different muscle groups.
Make exercising a social activity with friends or loved ones to increase motivation to exercise regularly and increase time spent working out. Doing this will also provide purpose and accountability that can keep your fitness goals on track.
Before beginning an exercise regimen, if you suffer from chronic health conditions or are overweight, it’s wise to consult your physician first. He or she can recommend a suitable and safe exercise plan which will provide maximum benefit.
3. Keep Track of Your Progress
When setting out to develop an exercise routine, keeping track of your progress can be extremely helpful in keeping motivated. Plus, this gives you something tangible to celebrate at every milestone!
One way of doing this is with a fitness app. These apps will show your progress over time and show what needs to be accomplished next. Plus, you can set yourself goals that reflect past fitness levels!
An effective way to track your progress is keeping a training diary. A training diary allows you to monitor your progression while also making sure you don’t waste either time or money on unnecessary exercise. Plus, by writing notes about how each workout affects you afterward, it becomes clearer what’s helping and hurting.
Find an exercise you enjoy. Though this may be challenging, finding an enjoyable routine will ensure your success in maintaining it over time.
If your workout routine has become monotonous, perhaps it is time for something different – whether that means trying new equipment or an entirely different form of physical activity.
Find a personal trainer or join a gym to keep yourself motivated. Starting a new fitness regimen can be intimidating, but an experienced trainer knows exactly how to motivate and push you beyond your current limits.
A great trainer will know exactly what program will meet your needs and goals, while helping to set achievable ones and devise a plan to reach them.
If you find yourself losing motivation, think about external rewards – like new jeans or a trip to the beach – as ways of making exercise more fun and providing that boost when needed most.
4. Set Small Goals
Beginning a new habit can be challenging. There may be numerous obstacles standing in your way of meeting your goal, including motivation issues or fear of failure; but you can overcome these hurdles to establish regular exercise as part of your lifestyle.
One way of accomplishing this is to set manageable and achievable goals. Instead of setting lofty marathon running or weight-loss goals, set smaller weekly workout goals instead. This will allow you to see progress and prevent burnout.
Achievement of small goals will bring psychological advantages, including increased confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, achieving these small goals will boost motivation to keep working out and further improving fitness levels.
Setting realistic goals is also key to building new habits, according to Mike Donavanik, an NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist and creator of the Sweat Factor app. He suggests setting an initial goal of working out at least 12 times within the first month, then revising as necessary.
Donavanik suggests making exercise a top priority by scheduling sweat sessions in advance and setting an alert on your phone to remind yourself to pack gym clothing or shoes prior to leaving home. By planning in advance, this allows for greater clarity about the amount of time available at the gym and will reduce chances of skipping workout sessions altogether.
Maintain a training diary is also useful, enabling you to track your progress more closely and recognise positive changes over time. Remember to celebrate them!
5. Make Exercise a Priority
If you want to make fitness part of your routine, consistency in choosing to exercise each day is key to making fitness part of the daily decision making. Treat fitness like any other habit you want to change or improve such as eating healthier or saving money – motivation for change usually stems from being part of daily routine.
Making changes to your lifestyle is never simple, as it involves prioritizing time among other priorities on your list of things to do. However, setting new habits doesn’t need to be daunting!
One way to ensure you stick with your workouts is to prioritize them with your appointment book or calendar. By writing down when and where you plan to exercise, this will serve as a visual reminder that these are commitments you have made and reinforces them further.
Create an exercise ritual. For example, put on your workout clothes first thing each morning or keep your gym bag in your car where it will be visible daily. This can help make exercise a priority in your life and encourage daily physical activity.
If the gym isn’t for you, why not create an at-home fitness routine that you can incorporate into watching television or other sedentary activities? For instance, switching out stairs for elevators when taking them; taking stairs instead; performing simple exercises while cleaning house at a faster pace are just a few ways you could incorporate physical fitness.
Create an accountability partner from among your family or friends who will help keep you on track and provide emotional support when keeping up your exercise regimen is difficult.
Remind yourself what your goals were at the start, whether that meant losing weight or improving fitness levels. Revisiting these objectives may give you a fresh outlook and spark motivation to continue the journey.