Healthy Habits- Consistency is Key!
Establish consistency with your approach to fitness. Are you a morning person or do you catch yourself hitting snooze each morning when the alarm goes off? Do you usually get tied up with family, kids and other commitments that may keep you from hitting the gym or getting in your workout after a full day of work? By taking a look at your habits, identifying them and being honest with what obstacles have popped up and prevented you from being consistent with your fitness, you will quickly be able to come up with a solution that will work towards getting (and keeping!) you right on track.
For example, years back when I was working my corporate Monday-Friday, 9-5 job, I never wanted to get up early to squeeze in a workout before heading into the office. I’d toss my gym bag in my trunk with the intent of hitting the gym on the way home from work that evening. More often than not, my gym bag would end up staying in the trunk. Why? Chalk it up to having to stay at work longer than planned, being tired, wanting to grab dinner with friends or simply not wanting to fight the after work crowd at the gym, all of these things played a huge role in preventing me from being consistent with my fitness. Once I realized this, I knew I had to do something to remedy the matter.
Here’s what I did and why it worked:
- I wasn’t going to achieve my fitness goals by skipping the gym a few days a week after work. I also knew that it wasn’t realistic for me to wake up extra early every single day, Mon-Fri, just to get to the gym early. I’d tried that years before and quickly got burnt out with the crack of dawn wake-up calls. This time I decided to compromise with a Mon/Wed/Fri early morning gym session. Three days a week was much more realistic and practical for me to wake up early.
- On the days that I didn’t hit the gym, I still did something active in the morning before work. Even if it was just 20 minutes of yoga, a quick bodyweight exercise circuit or some sort of fitness DVD at home, I still made sure to get some sort of activity in and out of the way first thing. With my schedule, it was not practical to say that I was going to workout 5-7 days a week. Knowing this, I didn’t set myself up for failure from the outset. Instead, I aimed for some sort of workout 3-5 days each week. This was far more manageable and balanced than if I’d said “I’m going to the gym first thing in the AM Mon-Sat!”
- After a few weeks of consistently hitting the gym in the AM Mon/Wed/Fri, I was completely used to the routine and actually found that I enjoyed it. I had more energy throughout the work day and after work. Plus, I was making progress with my fitness goals while also freeing up some of my evenings for social outings or activities outside the gym.
- When I travel, I still abide by these same principles. No matter where I am for work trips, I know the day is going to be jam-packed with events and meetings. I wake up and get a 20-40 minute workout out of the way first thing. I never allow not having gym access to be an excuse, as I travel with a jump rope and resistance band every on every trip. This way, I don’t even have to leave my hotel room to squeeze in a workout. NO excuses- just results!
- Again, consistency is key. Establish what time of the day you are most likely to stick with for your workout, and make that your time each day. Prioritizing my fitness for first thing in the AM helped me get on track, feel more energized all day and freed up my evenings so fun so I never felt as though I was sacrificing a social life for my fitness goals. Set yourself up for success and get into the habit of being aware of what may be helping (or in some cases hindering) your fitness, and you’ll be earning those well-deserved results in no time!