You know how it is. You start a new fitness routine, and you’re all excited about it. Then, when your body starts to adjust to the new level of activity, you get bored or discourage and then stop or try to look for something else. This happens to everyone—including me! So here are some reasons why you might be failing at keeping up your new exercise habit:
Improper planning
You need to plan your routine, and you should be doing so before you even get started. The best way to do this is by thinking about what you want from your workout. For example, if your goal is weight loss then keeping that in perspective of why you’re doing this can help keep you motivated.
If it’s strength training that interests you more than anything else, then finding a routine that you can manage training consistently is important. Wanting the result without the effort sometimes makes us rush to get there and then we are disappointed when it doesn’t work out. Did we really try though? Did we really map out the proper plan to see the right result?
Need more support
You need to make sure you have the right support from friends, family, colleagues and whoever. Having someone in your corner to help motivate you and encourage you can make all the difference in staying on track.
Lack of motivation
Motivation is key to sticking to a new fitness routine. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, it will not be sustainable. A lack of motivation can be overcome by setting a clear goal. What do you want to achieve from doing this exercise. Is it measurable? Can it be tracked? Is it a feeling or is it something we can see? It’s important to think about these things prior to starting to ensure keeping the motivation and staying on task.
Not enjoyable
When you find yourself lacking motivation, the first thing to do is to look at what you’re doing and make sure it’s actually enjoyable. If not, try something else!
- Is your activity fun? Do you look forward to it or dread it?
- Is there any way that could be made more enjoyable (for example, by changing locations or times of day)?
- working with a coach or trainer to hyperfocus for results.
- Having structured and free time built into the program
We don’t always want to be monitored, but we appreciate help when we are working on ourselves. Sometimes we don’t always know the right way to get where we want and having a Coach available can help keep us focused.
Fitness is a lifestyle and the more you can make it enjoyable the easier it will be to stick to. The most important thing is to find what works for you, whether that be a gym membership or just going for walks in nature. Once you’ve found something that makes your heart rate go up without feeling like too much effort then keep doing it!
