Sticking to Your Fitness Plan

So, you bought the gym membership months ago, and you’ve been there how many times? Enough to not resent the monthly fee you’re dishing out?

Well, if you’re like most people, the answer is probably no. And you’re not getting any help from your gym either. Unfortunately, many commercialized gyms have one goal in mind and that’s selling gym memberships. It’s actually advantageous to them if you buy a year’s membership and then never use it.

So, before you go the expensive route of joining that fancy gym, you need to really focus on why you want to stay fit and create an exercise routine that will work for you. Do you want to lose weight? If so, what happens when you do lose that weight? Will you just give up or keep at it? Do you just want to be healthy? Gain muscle? Tone your body?

The first step to starting a fitness plan that will last is sitting down with a notebook and writing out your goals. Just like you would do with a life goals plan, decide where you want to be in three months, six months, and a year in terms of your weight. Then carefully decide how you are going to get there. Keep a journal of your fitness plan and slowly work in intervals of fitness into your daily routine. Remember, it takes about 30 days for a routine to set, so keep at it until you can do it without even thinking about it.

Think about when the best time is for you to get in your exercise. Are you a morning person? Can you do it on your lunch hour, or is it better to do it when you come home from work. Pick whichever time you are most likely to not skip. If it’s hard for you to get out of bed in the morning, don’t pick that time to exercise. You’re more likely to sacrifice that time in exchange for hitting the snooze button.

Pick out your workout clothes the night before and have them ready and waiting for you. If you’re going to exercise at night when you come home from work, set your clothes out and change into them as soon as you come home, right down to your sneakers. Once you have the proper clothes and shoes on, this will tell your brain that it’s time to workout and you’ll find less excuses to skip your workout session.

There are many little tricks that you can use to help stick to a workout plan. The key is to find out what works for you and what will keep you motivated. If you’re going to skip a workout, make sure that you make that time up later in the week. If there are no consequences to skipping it will be all too easy to skip another, and another. With careful diligence and a drive to reach your goals, you’ll find that sticking to your fitness routine will become much easier over time.

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