You know you should exercise regularly. What if you struggle to stay consistent? How do you stay on the fitness wagon?
“Try this new thing, and you’ll be hooked”;“Just do this a few minutes a day …”. – Which new idea will finally make exercising a habit for you? In my experience, it isn’t the latest fad, it’s the tried and true steps that keep me consistent. How do we stay on the fitness wagon?
Here are 6 tips that will help you stay consistent with exercise so you get the full benefits!
1. Do workouts you enjoy!
If riding a bike or power-lifting were the only forms of exercise, I wouldn’t exercise. I don’t enjoy those activities. Do what you love! If you enjoy yourself, you will crave your next workout! Crossfit, roller-blading or dancing might be your thing. Step a little out of your comfort zone, not too far or you won’t like it. Be brave enough to choose something that excites you. Brighter Fitness videos have kickboxing, dance cardio and creative aerobics routines to bring the fun factor to your workout. Make it fun and you will make time for it consistently!
2. Determine your workout beforehand!
Choose your workout before your allotted time to exercise is upon you. Give yourself the path to take. If it’s a YouTube workout, preview it first – especially from an unfamiliar instructor. I’ve turned off several workouts because they were too easy, then I was frustrated from wasting 5-15 minutes of my exercise time! I preview workouts for a future day while I have lunch. Get past the warm up so you can tell if it will be the right amount of challenge for you – not too easy and not too hard. With Brighter Fitness, you can expect a good cardio sweat no matter what the routine is!
3. Set a go-to-bed alarm!
This is no joke. A good night’s sleep will make a big difference in your energy and motivation. Have a routine you begin as soon as that go-to-bed alarm rings. Take contacts out, wash face, brush teeth, change into pjs, set out clothes (even untie your shoes) and set out your equipment. If you’re running, fill up the water bottles for your belt, charge your ear pods, get your head lamp, etc. If you’re doing a video, fill up your water bottle, place the remote, set your mat out. If you need free weights, a jump rope, or band, set those out too. Get it all ready for your early morning workout so you have the bare minimum to do when you wake up.
4. Accountability!
For years I’ve done videos with friends and we crack up all through the workout (extra core burn). I actually prefer to run by myself, though, so I’m not talking about finding a workout partner necessarily. What you DO need is someone you report to. Once you’ve set your goal to consistently workout, tell someone… or TELL EVERYONE! Post about it! Tag me! Exercise, then tell that friend you’ve done it. You can encourage each other! When you’ve finished a Brighter Fitness workout, give it a thumbs up and leave a nice comment! You can also comment on the post of that workout on social media or this website!
5. Don’t over-think. Just do it!
When it’s time to exercise, don’t try to figure out if you actually feel like it. Change your clothes. No thinking. Get your shoes on. No thinking. Put one foot in front of the other. No thinking. Press play. No thinking. Do it tired. Do it unmotivated. Do it lazy if you have to. Just do it. Start. And by the time you finish, you will have transformed into awake, energized, motivated and determined!
6. Workout on vacation!
Hear me out. Many broken exercise habits began with a vacation. Think about it. You feel free like you deserve a break from your routine. You’re ready to eat whatever you want and go a whole week without exercising. I promise you, it is so much harder to get back to it after the vacation! Just do something … small and simple. Do a 10 minute workout or just 30 push ups. Just do something, even if you’re at an amusement park. When you return to normal life, your exercise habit is still securely in place.
To recap:
- Do workouts you enjoy.
- Determine your workout beforehand.
- Set a go-to-bed alarm.
- Accountability.
- Don’t think, just do it.
- Workout on vacation.
Follow these 6 tips and before you know it, you’ll have a workout habit in place with no sign of getting off the fitness wagon. I use all of these on a regular basis and I can’t wait to see your success with these tips too! (seriously – post about it & tag me!)
