Do you have trouble being consistent with fitness in your life? What do you blame?
• You start out great but then lack motivation to stick with it?
• Too much to do and not enough time to do it all?
• Insert your own reason here _______________!
When dealing with most struggles in life (pick your topic), generally people have a very good reason why they are not being consistent. Lack of time and motivation are at the top of many people’s list. Plus, starting a fitness routine requires a lot of little steps to maintain consistency!
1. Do you have a gym? (Bellin Fitness, right?)
2. Do you have good shoes and workout clothes?
3. Did you remember to bring your workout gear with you?
4. When can you fit going to the gym into your schedule?
5. What will you do while you are there?
6. How long should I (walk on the treadmill, ride the elliptical, etc.)?
These are the big ideas and there are many more small ones to toss in!
Members who find the most success at being consistent fitness participants take all these small steps and remove as many decisions as they can. Just like brushing our teeth in the morning, they create a routine that has few decisions to be made. Their routine is something they just do. They don’t have to think about it.
They keep their membership active.
They have their clothing in an accessible place or regularly pack a bag, just like they pack a lunch.
They put their bag in their vehicle with all their other stuff for the day.
They have a schedule or plan for their workout and they let very few things interfere with that plan.
They take classes, meet with a personal trainer or have a routine created that they follow along with when they come to workout. When they need a change, they ask for help or seek out resources for something different.
When they hit bumps in their road (illness, vacation, etc), they adjust. They rest when ill, they move lots on vacation, or like one of my clients, they have their spouse drop them off a mile from home so they can get their walk in for the day!
Ultimately, fitness is a regular part of their life because they make it a priority to be a regular part of their life. Regular fitness participants don’t always feel motivated and they don’t have less to do. They have recognized the value to them to having exercise in their life and they created the routine to make that happen. They have removed as many decisions as they can and they take action, regardless of motivation. Day after day or week after week, they commit to “DO” their routine.
Create your routine and shoot for consistency, not motivation. Watch yourself excel!!!