When it comes to achieving your fitness goals and evaluating your progress, how often do you catch yourself saying, “I know what I need to do, I just need to DO it”? Once you’ve identified the biggest rocks in your way from getting to your next level of vitality, you must then implement a plan of action that supports the daily practice of healthy habits. Want to lose weight faster, spend less energy trying to eat healthy, and feel naturally energized through out the day? Strengthen your muscle of consistency. By training yourself to repeatedly show up and do the hard work day after day, you become more focused on that end goal, you pivot quicker when life hands you the unexpected, and you take a proactive (rather than reactive) approach to your wellness. Here’s how you can build more consistency with your workout routine!
1) Book every workout in your calendar.
If you don’t see those sweat sessions scheduled in your calendar, they won’t happen – trust me. Learning how to more efficiently manage your time is an essential skill needed to see long lasting results. If you don’t carve out a dedicated window for your exercise, life always has a way of filling that slot in for you with something or someone else’s needs. I recommend aiming to set your workouts around the same time of day to create a rhythmic routine for your mind and body.
2) Include one activity you LOVE.
How about a Zumba or Boxing class? It’s normal to not enjoy every kind of exercise, but make sure you intentionally plan for at least one move, activity, or movement that brings you joy and you can look forward to every week. Inviting some fun and play into your exercise routine not only does wonders for naturally lowering stress levels, it also prevents your routine from going stale and boring! The more relaxed and enthusiastic you are about your efforts, the better and faster you will see progress.
3) Vary your intensity.
Ever talk yourself out of a workout out because you were scared of getting your butt kicked…again? This is why you need to properly vary and balance your workouts throughout the week. Some workouts will be light, medium, and difficult based on load, skill, and speed.If your goal is to get stronger, how often are you lifting heavy and when are your recovery days? If your goal is to burn fat and lean out, when is your cardio scheduled? This periodization of your program is the key to sustaining your energy and excitement for working out because you’re allowing your body adequate opportunities to rest and recover.
4) Celebrate.
Especially if you’re just beginning your fitness journey, a celebration big or small post-workout can serve as a trigger to positively encourage you to stay persistent with your healthy routine. I think we could love on ourselves a little more, so why not give yourself some praise and appreciation for for completing the hard work and overcoming obstacles? You could treat yourself to a steamy, hot shower post-workout. Or maybe you spend an extra 5 minutes preparing a delicious breakfast smoothie to sip on while you’re driving to the gym. Create that reward cycle in your brain and create the habit of being kind to yourself.
5) Measure progress.
I saved the best for last. Nothing lights a fire under that tush quite like knowing that you are on the right path, you’re seeing positive change, AND you have the evidence to show for it. Every four to six weeks, I reassess my clients using body weight, skin folds, circumference measurements, and progress photos to evaluate progress in their pursuit of goals. Depending on if you want to drop down a size in your clothes, grow the size of your glutes, or increase your stamina – determine a measurable marker that you can hold yourself accountable to. This helps you stay consistent with workouts because you have laser focus on exactly what you’re after rather. Rather than bumbling around the gym, not knowing if you’re on track, tangible measurements provides you the answers. As you regularly assess your progress, you’ll gain valuable insight on what your next steps should be and how to tweak to get to reach higher performance levels.
If you’re ready to get consistent with your workouts and start feeling stronger, sculpted, and confident in your skin then, check out my Free 5-Day Workout Plan HERE. I’ve created this resource with a full week of workouts already planned out for you. You’ll get suggestions on workout type, intensity, and weight level so you can optimize your strength-building and fat-burning all in one! No more thinking – just DO!
