When you think about it, the fact is that most people don’t actually have trouble starting a fitness routine - what they have trouble with is keeping it up. You’ll often find that the first week is full of good intentions, and you might have some new gear, fresh motivation, and a great burst of energy. But being perfect at what you’ve planned in the first week and then never doing anything again isn’t going to help you reach your goals, and what you actually need is to find a way to stick with it so you can see the results and get fitter and healthier. With that in mind, keep reading to find out what actually helps people stick to a fitness routine long term.
Do You Need Motivation?
Motivation is lovely, but it’s also unreliable because it just comes and goes depending on all kinds of things like sleep, stress, hormones, work, weather, and lots more. That’s why the people who stick with fitness long term don’t rely on motivation - they make it a habit, so they do it no matter what.
These people are the ones who’ll carry on with their fitness routines and regimes because it’s part of their week, even if they don’t always feel like they want to do it at all. They’re not going to wait for the perfect mood to strike, it’s just part of their normal habits.
Make It Smaller Than It Needs To Be
One of the biggest reasons why people stop doing their workouts is because they basically go too hard too fast, and they’ll be doing things like five workouts a week and an intense plan, and they’ll have some pretty intense expectations to deal with as well.
The problem is that life happens, and when you’re going this big, missing one session can feel like a complete and utter failure - then you’ll stop doing it altogether. However, it’s far better to do less but to be consistent with what you’re doing, meaning doing two sessions a week on a regular basis is going to work better than doing a massive amount over a week or two and then stopping for good. Long term fitness has to be sustainable.
One of the biggest reasons why people stop doing their workouts is because they basically go too hard too fast, and they’ll be doing things like five workouts a week and an intense plan, and they’ll have some pretty intense expectations to deal with as well.
The problem is that life happens, and when you’re going this big, missing one session can feel like a complete and utter failure - then you’ll stop doing it altogether. However, it’s far better to do less but to be consistent with what you’re doing, meaning doing two sessions a week on a regular basis is going to work better than doing a massive amount over a week or two and then stopping for good. Long term fitness has to be sustainable.
Choose Something You Don’t Hate
This might sound quite obvious, but it’s surprising how many people try to force themselves into workouts they actively dread.
Of course, you don’t have to love every second of what you’re doing, but you do need something you can tolerate on a tired day. Some people love lifting, some like swimming, some love a long walk listening to a podcast, and some prefer classes because it helps them to be with other people. It really doesn’t matter as long as whatever you pick is going to be something you can do for the foreseeable future.
This might sound quite obvious, but it’s surprising how many people try to force themselves into workouts they actively dread.
Of course, you don’t have to love every second of what you’re doing, but you do need something you can tolerate on a tired day. Some people love lifting, some like swimming, some love a long walk listening to a podcast, and some prefer classes because it helps them to be with other people. It really doesn’t matter as long as whatever you pick is going to be something you can do for the foreseeable future.
Make It Easy To Access
Convenience is actually a big factor when it comes to helping people stick to a fitness routine long term. After all, if getting to your workout feels like a massive effort, it becomes a lot easier just to skip it. But if it’s nearby, familiar, and fits easily into your day, you’re far more likely to keep going.
That’s why people often search for a gym near me instead of one that’s far away because whatever the facilities happen to be, the fact is that the best gym is the one you’ll realistically go to no matter how you’re feeling or what your day has been like.
Convenience is actually a big factor when it comes to helping people stick to a fitness routine long term. After all, if getting to your workout feels like a massive effort, it becomes a lot easier just to skip it. But if it’s nearby, familiar, and fits easily into your day, you’re far more likely to keep going.
That’s why people often search for a gym near me instead of one that’s far away because whatever the facilities happen to be, the fact is that the best gym is the one you’ll realistically go to no matter how you’re feeling or what your day has been like.
Stop Aiming For Perfect Weeks
A long term routine is going to include some missed workouts because we’re all human and sometimes skipping a workout or having to miss one is inevitable. That’s going to include holidays, illness, busy seasons, low energy weeks, and days when you really can’t be bothered, among plenty of other things. And that’s normal.
In the end, the people who stick with fitness aren’t the ones who never miss a session - they’re the ones who miss one then go back to what they were doing without feeling guilty, and knowing that one missed session isn’t going to undo all the work you’ve put in so far.
A long term routine is going to include some missed workouts because we’re all human and sometimes skipping a workout or having to miss one is inevitable. That’s going to include holidays, illness, busy seasons, low energy weeks, and days when you really can’t be bothered, among plenty of other things. And that’s normal.
In the end, the people who stick with fitness aren’t the ones who never miss a session - they’re the ones who miss one then go back to what they were doing without feeling guilty, and knowing that one missed session isn’t going to undo all the work you’ve put in so far.
Attach It To Your Life
It makes sense that a fitness routine is going to work best when it fits into your life, meaning you don’t have to move too much around or sacrifice a lot to make it happen. For example, if mornings are busy and you’ve always got lots to do, trying to do a 6am workout just isn’t going to work, and maybe lunchtime would be better. Or if you don’t usually have much to do at the weekends, that’s where you can start adding classes and so on.
If you create a fitness routine that slots in neatly to the gaps you’ve got in your life (without making things extra busy and becoming too much hard work as a result), it’ll stop feeling like a chore and start just being the thing you do without question.
It makes sense that a fitness routine is going to work best when it fits into your life, meaning you don’t have to move too much around or sacrifice a lot to make it happen. For example, if mornings are busy and you’ve always got lots to do, trying to do a 6am workout just isn’t going to work, and maybe lunchtime would be better. Or if you don’t usually have much to do at the weekends, that’s where you can start adding classes and so on.
If you create a fitness routine that slots in neatly to the gaps you’ve got in your life (without making things extra busy and becoming too much hard work as a result), it’ll stop feeling like a chore and start just being the thing you do without question.
Focus On Identity, Not Outcomes
Goals are always very helpful, but they can change and move around and you might change your mind, and if your motivation is totally linked to weight loss or a specific look you’re going for, as soon as progress slows a bit, that motivation can disappear.
People tend to stick with fitness longer when it becomes part of who they are, and when it’s used to build a healthy lifestyle rather than aiming to get to a specific point (after all, when you get there, what happens then? Do you stop? Go further?).
Goals are always very helpful, but they can change and move around and you might change your mind, and if your motivation is totally linked to weight loss or a specific look you’re going for, as soon as progress slows a bit, that motivation can disappear.
People tend to stick with fitness longer when it becomes part of who they are, and when it’s used to build a healthy lifestyle rather than aiming to get to a specific point (after all, when you get there, what happens then? Do you stop? Go further?).
Track The Benefits You Can Feel
There are lots of benefits that come with a long term fitness routine, including better sleep, more energy, improved mood, you might feel like you can carry more shopping at once, you might have less back pain, or perhaps you feel more confident when you’re out and about. Whatever it is, if you notice it and you’re happy with it, track it - it’s only going to get better over time.
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There are lots of benefits that come with a long term fitness routine, including better sleep, more energy, improved mood, you might feel like you can carry more shopping at once, you might have less back pain, or perhaps you feel more confident when you’re out and about. Whatever it is, if you notice it and you’re happy with it, track it - it’s only going to get better over time.
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