That Elusive Thing Called Consistency: What Does It Take to Get Regular Workouts?
Focus.
Structure.
Predictability.
Routine.
Raise your hand if you struggle with consistency.
Yep, that’s most of us.
It’s not that you don’t know you need to work out regularly, don’t want to be consistent, or don’t care that your fitness is going down the tubes because your life has gotten so chaotic. You DO know, care, and want to do it right.
So why is consistency so elusive to most of us, and what does it take to break through the wall and get regular workouts? Here are some tips from our workout studio in Southborough for how you can not just get an enjoyable, productive workout, but do it consistently and build a regular habit of exercise.
1. Check your mindset
Consistency starts in the brain. If you are struggling to build consistency without taking into account the profound shift in mindset that you must undergo, you will delay your breakthrough. Succeeding in doing regular workouts isn’t something that you can divorce from the rest of your life. Instead, it’s part of what comes along with a shift in perspective, or in the grid through which you process all of your choices, that will affect your entire lifestyle.
2. Differentiate Between Discipline and a Mere Emotional Feeling of Motivation
We all know the feeling of that rush of good intentions and happy productivity that we feel when we embark on a new and exciting project. However, this feeling quickly gives way to the mundane feeling of slogging through the grunt work to actually finish the task, and it is discipline that has to kick in at that point.
If you’re waiting for soaring feelings of optimistic, mind-expanding motivation before you work out, you’ll never do it. Consistent exercise is one of those things that calls upon our discipline rather than our emotion. It takes discipline to keep showing up, rain or shine, day in, day out. It takes discipline to push yourself when you’re sore or you have a headache or your todo list is ten miles long and you think you should skip working out “just this once.” Build your discipline, and the consistent workouts will follow.
3. Schedule It, and Keep Your Appointment
We live busy lives, and when there are so many things clamoring for our attention, it’s easy for the important-but-less-urgent things to get shoved to the side again and again. If you’re going to exercise at all, you’re going to have to schedule it into your calendar and then not let other obligations take that slot. This can be easier said than done, and it might not be something that you can fit into your calendar more than a few times a week, but it IS possible.
4. Get An Accountability Buddy
There’s nothing like having someone else waiting on you to motivate you to get up and go. Whether you’re taking a class like barre, yoga, or zumba, or joining us for one of our fun spinning workouts, it’s just better with someone else.
5. A Habit Takes 66 Days to Build
Don’t get complacent when you’ve been consistent for two weeks. A true habit takes over two months to build. Fight through those two months, and you’ll reap the rewards of a consistent, disciplined, regular workout.
No matter what your preferred style of workout, here at Every Body Balance, we are here for you. Sign up for our classes today!
