There was a time, back in college days, when a friend and I hit up the gym almost daily after class. We’d go and we’d feel great and then, somehow, I’m not sure why, we’d stop going….for like 6 months. That was my pattern when I got out of college as well. I’d hit up the gym in fits and starts, only to drop off. The volleyball league, racquetball and yoga class turned out the same way. For me, things changed when I became a runner and started putting and keeping races on the calendar. After awhile, you gain momentum with workouts and it becomes part of who you are. I know, as a running coach and from the questions I get here, that I was not the only one with this issue. Not a week goes by that I don’t have someone ask “where do you find the time to train?” We all have the same 24 hours and it’s mostly a matter of setting priorities. Here are some tips for turning exercise into a lifestyle.
- Set goals and reward yourself along the way. Maybe you want to hit the gym 3x a week. Or complete your first 5k. Or set a new PR. Whatever it is, don’t wait until you reach your ultimate goal to celebrate your accomplishments. Setup interim goals and rewards. Maybe you get a massage if you walk or run so many miles. Or treat yourself to a mani-pedi if you complete all of your workouts for the month. New workout gear is always fun and motivating.
- Schedule your workouts. Just as you would any other important appointment. Face it, not only you, but everyone benefits when you take care of yourself. Make yourself a priority. Even if you’re not quite feeling it on a particular day, make the commitment to at least try. Tell yourself you can stop if you really feel awful. Chances are you won’t.
- Find an activity(ies) you love and take baby steps. There’s no glory in staying with something you loathe. Experiment with a variety of fitness activities until you find the mix that is right for you. At the same time, know that any activity that is giving you a good workout may seem difficult at the start. That’s why it’s so important not to over do but rather build exercise time, distance and intensity slowly. Be sure to give it a fair chance before deciding to move on.
- Enlist help. There’s nothing like the power of peer pressure to keep you going. Join a club, find a walk/run buddy or three, sign up for a group fitness class or challenge or hire a coach. A like-minded support system is so valuable and makes even tough workouts more fun.
- Have a plan B. Face it, life gets in the way sometimes and the best laid plans fall by the wayside. Just because you don’t make it to the gym one day doesn’t mean you can’t bust out some bodyweight moves on your family room floor or get out for a quick power walk. Develop the resilience and mental flexibility to know that all is not lost if you don’t hit your A goal every time.
Is exercise a habit for you? What helps you stick with it? Still time to enter my giveaway!
YES! I think for me the scheduling is the biggest factor in keeping up with my exercise plans. And being flexible. For instance, today we on my schedule is a body weight workout and then a half hour walk. But it is raining monsoons so I am gonna do an indoor workout and do today’s workout tomorrow when the weather is forecast to be better.
Great tips!
I’m like you. I started and stopped with with the gym in college and did so for awhile thereafter. Now that I realize strength training is paramount to staying injury-free with running, I have all the motivation in the world to keep it up. It may not be my favorite thing, and I may only do it 30 minutes/day 4x week, but it helps tremendously.
Love it! Great tips!
Scheduling my workouts and having a back up plan has been essential to my success. I ALWAYS have it planned out and a plan b in case that doesn’t workout for some reason! Much easier to stick to it that way!
Scheduling is the solution! I improved a lot after I began to fill my log-book.
Never had in the past a plan B, now I have.
As usual interesting post.
YES to scheduling! I definitely have to work on this with Mike to make sure there are no work/baby conflicts when it comes to training runs or classes.
These are great tips. It is very very common for people to go in spurts. Go for a while then not go for a while. I bought a membership when I was 23ish and went faithfully for a couple months. Another couple months went by and I realized I had not been the last couple months yet was still paying for the membership. That was the beginning of it for me because if I was paying for it, I was going to use it!
Great tips – I especially love the one about having a plan B. I have my running workouts planned in a calendar and it makes it so much easier to get out when I don’t feel like it, because that’s what my calendar tells me I’m doing! Everything else I do for workouts is total habit (can’t imagine not strength training) or social (meeting a friend for a spin class once a week).
Once I realized what running/exercise was doing for me, it wasn’t hard to keep the habit and make it a priority. Sadly, I’ll take being late for week over missing a run!
Schedule those workouts… that’s how I do it– My alarm gets me out of bed in the morning and my treadmill gets me going— If it doesn’t happen in the morning it doesn’t happen.
Always about scheduling them in for me like I would every other appt I go to & not making excuses. I always loved to get them done first so nothing could get in the way & once the 24 hour gyms started, well, that was me! 🙂 I still do this 30++ yrs later! AND it is about YOU! What works for you, what you like & what you can do & live with long term!
Such great tips!!!
Yes, exercise is a habit for me – mostly because I can’t imagine my life without it!
There’s nothing like a goal, like signing up for an event where you have to race or perform, for motivation: takes care of that making it a priority thing right there. The other thing I find very important is making your exercise satisfy social needs. Walking or running with a friend, seeing people you know at the gym (or ice rink!). I’ve noticed how much more I’ve wanted to skate when I know a friend will be there— and how much less motivated I am in the fortunately rare cases that I anticipate a potentially unfriendly atmosphere.
Numbers 3 and 5 really work for me. I found running and I love it – have for over thirty years now so I don’t think that’s going to stop. But sometimes I can’t run and that’s when I just walk the dogs. I’m still getting my exercise in – just at a lower pace and the dogs love it.
That was so me for years! Would do great…get an illness or travel somewhere and fall off the wagon for months! All great tips!!