There’s no way around it: Working out regularly can be hard — and knowing how to stick to a workout routine is an entirely different barbell to wrestle. No matter how strong your resolve is, or how many tricks you employ to keep things interesting, hitting the snooze button or watching football on the couch always feels far more appealing than time spent on the treadmill.
The only solution to this problem is to catch the fitness bug for life. And the good news is that there are plenty of infectious ways to do this if you reduce the pressure to get ripped right away.
Now that season of solution With that largely behind us, we contacted an expert duo to share their best self-serving hacks that will keep you going rain, shine or in the lure of prime time TV.
Why do most workout routines fail?
Most people get disappointed because expectations do not match reality. eloise skinnerThe Third Space personal trainer and psychotherapist says time pressure is a common culprit: “Since getting into a regular workout routine can take a lot of time, people may choose workout routines that don’t necessarily fit with their current lifestyle.” Let’s say you work 50 hours a week, have seven kids and you want to start training. an ultra-marathon. while not technically Impossible, the scope for burnout is clear.
Many people also fixate on tangible, visible goals, and when these are not immediately achieved, commitment quickly wanes. “There’s no point in fitness where you get ‘done’ and stop. Once people realize that working out isn’t temporary, a lot of them mentally check out,” says Raphael Akobundu, nurse practitioner. Huddle Men’s Health.
Unrealistic aesthetic goals further complicate things. Skinner says: “One of the biggest mistakes is to expect big changes quickly, or to base one’s progress on external, aesthetic goals,” she says. “It is often difficult to achieve a beauty goal in the ideal form that one might imagine. Over time this also becomes quite an imperfect goal. It takes a long time to build a fitness routine and changes are not always apparent in the first few months.”
Akobundu explains that it takes at least 6 weeks Look Immediate changes, but most people give up by the fourth week, negating the other benefits that improve your quality of life listed by Skinner: “better posture, improve heart health, injuries reducedAnd improve stamina“
The bottom line? People give up very quickly. Once that momentum is lost, it feels twice as hard to get back on track, causing your brain to associate fitness with sucking. With that in mind, here are some ways to make sure you don’t give up before things even get started.
1. Adapt your routine to your life
This may seem obvious but only you know what workouts will really work. And if you don’t, it’s time to get totally real with your schedule.
How? Akobundu suggests a two-step plan that involves looking at what is real, unfiltered week It seems that way for you. Ask yourself: “When do you wake up? When do you get home? Which days of the week are the days already packed? What times do your children need your presence?” Then, we fill in the blanks. “Maybe you have 30 minutes available every day during lunch, three times a week. Or, maybe you have 60 minutes available on Sunday before the family wakes up.”
The final piece of the puzzle is adjusting your energy levels. If you really need three before 9am coffee Before experiencing social interaction, sunrise workout Probably not for you. or if your evenings are busy Real Make definite plans (note: repeated viewings are not an acceptable excuse), block out that time as well. Akobundu says, “A good plan is one that you can carry out. A perfect plan that you cannot carry out is worthless.” “See an exercise routine as part of who you are and understand that it will look different depending on the season of life you are currently in.”
2. Find something you like
This is fitness advice 101. Enjoying something, Skinner explains, “is linked to the endorphin and dopamine boost you get from physical activity and exercise.” Your brain remembers pleasure, so the more pleasure you’re afforded, the more you’ll crave it. Doing something you love “creates a kind of self-reinforcing loop, where we enjoy an activity, get a dopamine boost from it, continue doing it and eventually (over the long term) associate it with our sense of identity,” she adds.
3. Prepare the night before
Get your mind in the game with visual aids like “watching yourself” running shoes laid out, you are being prepared protein intake And logging workouts beforehand,” says Skinner. ”This kind of preparation can help us take the anxiety out of starting an activity, helping us build momentum in an easier, more straightforward way. Seeing evidence of our past commitment to the activity can also remind us of who we want to become, or what promises we have previously made to ourselves.
4. Track progress without obsession
Akobundu says, “Record what you did. That’s all.” “Just record the basics: date, Practice, weightRepresentative. This won’t take more than 30 seconds to do after your workout. This will serve as a reminder of how hard you’ve worked when you look back after 6 weeks and realize what you’ve accomplished. It’s all about building the bigger picture. And on that note, Akobundu strongly advises against daily weight tracking. “Your weight will fluctuate daily due to water retention, your diet, and the timing of your meals. If you choose to track your weight, don’t track it daily and instead focus on tracking performance.”
