Tips for Building the Habit

So you have a fitness goal, but you struggle to build the habit. Here are my top tips that work for me, as well as my clients.

Make it non-negotiable

The way to do this depends on your own personal life and systems, but here are some examples that work for myself and others I have worked with.

• Put it on the calendar, digital, paper, whatever you use. If you have a work calendar, block it off. Be specific and realistic. Make sure to factor in changing, showering, commute. Putting it on the calendar removes the "I don't have time" excuse.

• Get a trainer. You're paying for it, so stakes are higher. Honestly, some clients have good form and know enough to follow a program, but use a trainer as a way to ensure they have the external accountability.

• Sign up for a class. The trick here is you have to know yourself well enough to go, but if that's what works for you, do it.

• If you told yourself you will workout but don't feel like it, don't drop the workout altogether. See my previous post for some way to scale a workout when you don't feel up for it. Missed your gym workout and it's not 8pm and you aren't feeling it? Just go for a walk! Do a yoga video at home! Just don't drop the workout entirely. Get used to adapting and being flexible, while still moving in the right direction.

Make it enjoyable

Maybe you hate working out. Fair enough. If you don't know what you're doing, it can feel so hard and awkward. You are not in a place yet to "enjoy the struggle" of learning a new movement or skill, and you just feel bad when you go.

This is one of the biggest things undermining your skills, and probably one of the biggest obstacles I try to help those who are very new to fitness, or who have been sedentary for a long time to overcome. How do I do this?

• Start with the basics. No burpees, no compounds, no complicated programs with 20 new movement patterns every day. Just start with a few key movements, like squats, hinges, pushes, and pulls, and hone in. Learning how to move through these basics is the foundation, and will make everything else easier. It doesn't have to be fancy to get a result.

• Take it slow. A common mistake I see is going really hard right out of the gate. If you're just getting back to a workout habit, take what you want to do, and half it. Want to lift for an hour four times a week? Start with two half hour lifts, and once that works in your life, add another day, another ten minutes every few weeks. Want to run for a 5k? Start with jogging a mile, or do a minute jog, two minute walking intervals. Let it be easy! Making it hard is not serving you in the long run! You are building a habit, not trying to have The Greatest Single Workout of All Time.

• Treat yo' self. After a workout, no matter how good or bad (maybe dispose of the idea of "good" and "bad" workouts right now), get yourself a little treat! Don't use this as an excuse to undermine your nutrition or financial goals, of course, but if it fits in your life and makes sense, get yourself a smoothie, an iced coffee, a little candy, take yourself for a little date, read a book you're really excited about, take some extra time to go hard on your shave or your makeup or your outfit and feel really sharp. It doesn't have to be big, but the sooner you can do it after your workout, the better. You want to train your brain like your would a dog: instant reward for the desired behavior.

Find What Works for You

This is perhaps the most difficult, because it requires you to be honest with yourself.

You have to admit what is not working when it comes to building a habit, and why. Is it the way you are working out? Is it the time? Is it that your workout clothes are uncomfortable? What little thing is getting in your way?

Is it the kind of workout? Everyone is harping on strength training, and I swear by it, but if you hate it? Don't do it. Do something else. Resistance training comes in many shapes and sizes. You want to be a pilates princess but the classes leave you drained for days? Try something else.

Be honest about what you are capable of. I always say start with less than you think you can do, and you'll probably still be a step ahead of where you actually are. This has been one of the hardest things to learn. I love to jump ahead and challenge myself, but this often means I'm skipping key steps to learning fundamental components. Be kind to yourself. You would not expect someone to read Chaucer before they learned the alphabet. Don't expect to do a burpee if you don't know how to squat, jump, or push-up! Exercise is a language, and you need to admit what level you are at to find the right programming, classes, or movements.

Be kind to yourself

This leads me perfectly to my last tip.

You are going to fail.

One of my favorite things about strength training is that you learn failure is a good thing. Failure is how you grow strength, muscle, skills, grit, experience, expertise.

When this happens, what matters is how you deal with it.

If you miss a workout, do you give up altogether because you are a failure? No.

You are failing, which means you are getting better at coming back to the habit each time.

Have a vacation or a busy work week and can't workout? Had a party or holiday that derailed your nutrition plan? Got sick and broke your streak of workouts? Have an injury or setback?

Admit what happened and why. Was there something you could change to prevent it from happening, or was it just life? This is where the honesty comes in. Once you've found a solution, or just admitted that life happens from time to time and it's ok to live, it's time to hop back on the habit.

Once you've examined what happened and how to prevent it from happening again, or acknowledged that setbacks happen from time to time, you can just get back to it. Kindly laugh off your mistakes, and go right back to doing what you were doing, which is keeping up a regular gym habit.

Remember, even the most rabid gym goers, the cardio bunnies, the bodybuilders, miss a workout from time to time. The difference is that being fit is part of their identity, and they don't question that when they need to take a day, week, or even month off from time to time, but they also know that after that time off, they will come back, because it is part of who they are.

You can harness that same mindset. Simply respond with calm. Don't catastrophize. You are not "going for a workout." You are a person who works out. And you won't stop being that person just because your plan got temporarily derailed.

You can do this!

I hope this helps you build the habit.

If you need some external support, reach out to me here for a free consultation and let's see how we can make regular exercise a realistic part of your life. It doesn't have to be painful to be healthy.