The Secret to Working Out Consistently
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and again and again): “Workout consistently” is hands down the worst piece of advice anyone could ever give a person trying to improve their health.
Workout programs and personal trainers often focus on “What:” What exercises to do, what proper form looks like, what weights to use, etc. Few programs, and unfortunately, not enough trainers focus on “How:” How to make fitness work for you, how to use fitness to improve your quality of life, and how to make exercise a consistent part of your lifestyle.
Most of the time I spend working with clients and creating content focuses on the how piece of the puzzle because after personal training for eight years, I’ve learned that it’s not that people are struggling to figure out what to do for a workout. They’re struggling to figure out how to workout consistently.
Many of my clients find my go-to tips for developing a sustainable routine to be helpful. Still, creating a sustainable routine is just the first obstacle. The second obstacle is sticking to it. And there is one imperative thing my more consistent clients are able to do better than my clients who continue to struggle:
They stop striving for perfection.
Through my signature program and approach, the majority of my clients successfully reach a point where they are regularly exercising 2-4 days per week. But not everyone is able to keep up with their original routine long-term because life inevitably happens. Big moves, family obligations, health complications, caretaking, and busy seasons in general can make a once doable 4-day-a-week routine no longer sustainable. But that doesn’t mean the routine needs to be completely abandoned. It just means that it needs to be re-worked.
Instead of panicking, declaring your 4-day-a-week routine no longer works, and giving up all together, my most consistent clients learn to pivot. Here are some scenarios to illustrate:
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, your family is on the road nearly every weekend. Instead of giving up your routine because you can no longer access your gym, you purchase a set of resistance bands and request a short-term program that is more suitable for your new equipment.
Someone in your family falls ill and you need to step into a short-term caretaker role. Instead of giving up your gym routine because you are no longer in control of your schedule, you request a short-term program that can be done at home so you can squeeze in intervals of activity quickly when you have some time.
You have a disruption in childcare and it impacts your ability to go to the gym 3 days per week. Instead of giving up altogether, you request that your program be re-worked so you can get as much as possible done in 2 days instead.
The diet and exercise industry loves to make you feel ashamed of yourself. Why? Well, the worse you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to invest in their solutions that promise to leave you feeling more confident. You fell off the bandwagon? Well, join our 28 day workout challenge to get back on track. You missed a weekend during the 28 day workout challenge because you had a wedding out of town? Well here’s a 3-day juice cleanse you can buy to detox. You can’t adhere to a juice cleanse because you’re so hungry? Well here’s some pills to reduce your appetite and give you more energy.
It is normal to feel like you’re never doing enough when listening to the noise of the diet and exercise industry. However, what you’re really feeling is the impact of strategic, often manipulative marketing from people who can’t get enough of your money.
So instead of buying in (both literally and figuratively) to their messaging that the perfect picture of health is someone who works out every single day and never eats a morsel of indulgent food, work towards accepting that life rarely allows us to maintain perfection. In fact, life requires us to do our best. And our best can vary.
Even if that looks like exercising in the gym 4 times per week January-March, exercising in the gym 3 times per week April-June, exercising on the road with resistance bands 2 times per week July-September, and exercising varying amounts at home October-December. That year round dedication still makes you consistent. Will it feel perfect, like the 4 times per week in the gym at the beginning of the year? Maybe not. But will it feel good to know you rolled with the punches and did your best month after month? I bet it will.
If you’re ready to commit to a flexible, sustainable program that works for you through all of your seasons, click here to schedule a complimentary, no-strings-attached consultation. We’ll talk about your goals, your schedule, and the current obstacles you face and together, we’ll create your most consistent routine yet.
