If you’d like to stick to a regular fitness routine this year, here’re 5 tips that you can take anywhere and anytime with you.
So you’ve tried various methods to stick to a fitness routine:-
- Paid for a 12-months gym membership.
- The girl or guy you secretly like is into fitness and you would like to keep up.
- You tell yourself that you’ll exercise after work.
However, nothing has worked so far.
You lost motivation and steam because life got in the way: work, holidays / festive breaks, personal problems, too much trouble to get to the gym.
After repeated attempts of starting again and failure at keeping to the routine, you’ve given up trying. Yet you still want to get fit.
The good news is, it’s actually VERY SIMPLE to stick to a fitness routine. The trick is knowing how to do it.
Here are 5 tips on establishing a routine that you can sustain for life, and take with you wherever you are in the world.
So get your notebook & pen ready to write your answers & notes down.
1. Be Clear on WHY
It is always easy to stay motivated when things are going well in life. However, the day when we feel sad, frustrated, or tired, it is very easy to replace exercise with a beer and Netflix.
Having a clear WHY for exercising will help you to stick to your routine on such days.
“I want to get fitter”, “I want to lose weight” or “I want to be healthier” don’t cut it.
BE SPECIFIC. Drill down to the REAL reason that has pushed you to consider moving.
For example:
“I am a mother / father with a 6-year-old child. I would like to join her when she is clearing the obstacle course at the Forest Adventure, or any of the other fitness activities that she enjoys doing. But I don’t have the strength to do so. Thus I miss out on sharing this experience with her. I would like to build my strength so that I can accompany her on her activities.”
Or:
“My family has a history of stroke, heart attack, and cancer. At the moment, my elder brother has high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and is at risk of developing prostate cancer. I am overweight and wish to mitigate these health issues through regular exercise and good nutrition.”
Writing down your REAL REASON for exercising will keep you motivated on days when you feel physically exhausted or emotionally drained.
2. Set & Stick to Your Workout Time
You set the time to wake up, eat breakfast, leave the house for your office, take lunch, attend meetings, have dinner, and sleep. So SET THE TIME TO EXERCISE. Then stick to it, every day.
Be it 6.30am or 6.30pm, put it into your calendar and schedule other things around it.
If you’re someone who travels often for work, you can still stick to your workout times.
On the days when you have to hop on the plane, set the time for a workout before you head to the airport. Otherwise, set the time for one after you’ve arrived home.
Keep the workout fairly light rather than full effort, using it as a maintenance to keep the muscles active.
This is also a good way to reduce the effects of jetlag as exercise helps with regulating our body’s rhythm, and thus with sleep.
3. Start Small, Build Slow
Forget 1-hour workouts. Heck, forget even 30-minute workouts!
Start with just 5-minutes day, for at least 7-days when you begin. I’m sure anyone can commit to that, right?
Keep time with a timer app on your smart phone; I use Tabata Timer and HIIT Timer for Interval Workouts on my Android phone.
I recommend beginning with a home-based, bodyweight workout since it requires the least equipment and least effort.
Come on, you’re working out in the comfort of your home. So you don’t need trainers or gym clothes or a membership package.
The beauty of this is that you can do it while your laundry is running, or even when you’re tuning in to Netflix or your favourite Korean drama. No excuses!
Choose 5 types of movements. Do each for 30-seconds. Rest for 30-seconds.
And that’s your daily 5-minute workout! Technically, it’s only 2.5 minutes. However, the idea is to push yourself as hard as you can in those 30-seconds.
Here’s a sample workout for total beginners:-
Jumping Jacks 30-sec
Rest 30-sec
Wall Sit 30-sec
Rest 30-sec
Wall Push Up 30-sec
Rest 30-sec
Crunches 30-sec
Rest 30-sec
Bird Dog 30-sec
Rest 30-sec
After 7-days, you can stick to this for another 7-days before you repeat another round of the routine. This means from the 15th day onwards, you’re exercising for 10-minutes a day.
Should you feel ready after the first 7-days, you can proceed to repeat another round of the routine.
In this way, add another round of the routine in after each 7-day stretch.
Another way of increasing the workout time is by lengthening the time for each exercise.
So the workout could look like this:-
Jumping Jacks 60-sec
Rest 30-sec
Wall Sit 60-sec
Rest 30-sec
Wall Push Up 60-sec
Rest 30-sec
Crunches 60-sec
Rest 30-sec
Bird Dog 60-sec
Rest 30-sec
In this way, it has become 7.5-minutes, which is still doable on a daily basis.
You can use this same method for exercises such as jogging or swimming. Keep the duration short during the first 7-days
4. Prep the Night Before
The night before your planned workout, prep all the things that you need.
Layout your exercise attire. Roll out your exercise mat. Fill your water bottle and place it next to your mat together with a face towel. Set the timer up in your phone.
Physically getting the items ready actually helps your brain to register that the activity will happen. And removes yet another excuse to get active.
5. Weekly Self Check-In
Each time I coach a client, I will take Before photos and date them. As we progress in our sessions, I continue to take photos and date them. All the photos are placed in a shared folder where my client can easily access.
This is a great way for my clients to visually see the progress that they have made, especially if their fitness goal is to be able to do 5 unassisted push ups, or hold a forearm plank for 60-seconds.
Similarly, set up a system for keeping track of your progress every week.
On the first day of your workout, take a photo of yourself before you being. Also record yourself doing your workout. In your notebook, write down all your feelings and thoughts before and after your first workout.
This will be your baseline for comparison.
On day 7, do the same but this time, take the photo and write in your notebook AFTER your workout. Repeat this every 7-days and it’s easy to compare your progress.
Keep checking in every week. You’ll find that it gets easier to stick to your training, and you’ll start to look forward to actually get into it every day!
TOP TIP FOR STAYING WITH THE PLAN
Anyone new to fitness can easily get started by following these 5 tips. Yet, I know that life can get in the way of the most well-laid plans.
So whenever you feel demotivated or tempted to give up, my top tip is to return to #1: Remember WHY you started exercising.
If that still doesn’t motivate you to move, it means that your WHY is not compelling enough. Then you have to go back and drill down to it, otherwise you will continue to experience disruptions in your fitness journey.
Should you need an accountability partner to stick to your fitness goals, speak with Patricea Chow on how she can become your coach.
Article by Patricea Chow
Disclaimer: The information provided on Nuzest is for educational and informational purposes only. The information provided on this site is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional advice or care. Please speak to your qualified healthcare professional in the event that something you have read here raises questions or concerns regarding your health.
