How to start a fitness routine you’ll actually stick to

how to start a fitness routine you'll actually stick to

I’M NOT A FAN OF EXERCISE – in fact, it would probably be fair to say that keeping fit is always going to be a chore to me.

I’d love to be one of those people who actually enjoys working out: I have a friend who’s like this, and I really envy her ability to take multiple gym classes every week, and still want to go for a run on the weekend. And, I mean, she actually WANTS to go for that run: it’s not that she feels she HAS to do it to stay fit, it’s her hobby, in the same way that reading books or, well, buying shoes, is mine.

For those of us who don’t work out for fun, however, starting a new fitness routine is one thing, but sticking to it is another thing altogether. I’m the first to admit that I’m not always great at this, but here are some tips to help you start a fitness routine you’ll actually stick to: for a while, at least!

How to start a fitness routine you'll actually stick to

01. FIND A FORM OF EXERCISE YOU ENJOY – OR AT LEAST DON’T HATE

If you’re anything like me, this might fall into the “easier said than done” category, but one of the things that’s helped me most when it comes to fitness is to zero in on the things I like most – or dislike least. There have been countless times in the past, for instance, where I’ve tried to force myself to do yoga or pilates, even although they bore me rigid: I know they’d be good for me, and that they work really well for lots of people, but, realistically, I know I’m never going to be able to motivate myself to keep on doing something I don’t enjoy, am I? Rather than promising myself I’ll do yoga 3x/week, and then ending up not doing any exercise AT ALL, then, I focus on finding things I DO like instead. It might mean I end up getting a slightly less rounded workout than is ideal, but at least I’m doing SOMETHING – and that has to be better than the absolutely nothing I’d end up doing if I tried to force myself to do something I hate.

What if you really can’t find ANYTHING you like, though? Well, you can keep on trying new things, until you finally find the exercise that works for you, or you can try my next tip:

02. START USING AN EXERCISE TRACKER

Last year, I got myself a Fitbit Flex, which I quickly became obsessed with – probably a little bit TOO obsessed, if I’m completely honest. My Fitbit is basically a glorified pedometer, which tracks how many steps I take each day: there are lots of different alternatives available, and I’ve found mine to be a big help in motivating me to exercise more. For one thing, getting served as a real wakeup call: I was pretty shocked to find out just how little I move around during the day, and it really made me want to start looking after myself a bit better. It also helps me actually DO that, though, by allowing me to set a target, and try to meet it: since having it, I’ve found that I’ll take any excuse to get up and walk (or sometimes even run, if I’m feeling particularly motivated!) around during the day. This is the type of exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise , and which you don’t necessarily have to take time out of your day fro: I’m talking about little changes, like taking the longer route to work, getting off the bus one stop earlier – that kind of thing.

Of course, this might not work for everyone, but it worked for me for well over a year, so if you’re the kind of person who’s quite goal-orientated, it might just work for you, too.

03. PLAN YOUR WORKOUTS CAREFULLY

For those of us who sit at a desk all day, the little changes I mentioned enough might not be enough to make up for the overall lack of exercise you’re getting – which means you have to set aside time to work out. For many people, this can be an even bigger challenge than anything you’ll encounter in your gym classes: most of us are so busy that finding time for fitness can feel like an impossible task. For me, the key here has been to make working out fit into my existing schedule, rather than changing my schedule to fit my new workout plans. This might sound like a small detail, but it’s a pretty important one, because if I have to make major changes (or even relatively small ones) to my lifestyle, purely to accommodate a workout that I don’t really want to do anyway, I know I’m going to find any excuse I can to avoid it.

For  years, I tried to convince myself that the best thing I could do would be to get up early every morning and fit in a workout before breakfast. Ha! I don’t think I EVER managed to do that – not even once. The fact is, I’m just not a morning person, and that’s probably never going to change, so deciding to go for a run every morning didn’t just require me to start a new workout routine – it required me to basically change my personality: which just isn’t going to happen, is it?

These days, I’ve learned to accept that I’m never going to be one of those people who leaps out of bed every morning and hits the gym, so I don’t even try to pretend to myself that it’s going to happen: instead, I plan to work out at times that are harder for me to worm my way out of, because they don’t require me to get up early in order to do something I don’t enjoy. Finding your ideal workout time might be hard, because it’s all too easy to convince ourselves that there’s NEVER a good time to exercise, but keep at it until you find something that works for you – whatever it may be.

04. FIND SOMETHING THAT’S CONVENIENT

I once joined a gym that was a 30 minute drive from my house, just because I liked their pool: it might not sound like much, but can you guess how many times I convinced myself to make the hour-long round trip? Yeah, not too many, that’s for sure. When you don’t particularly enjoy exercise, you’ll take any excuse not to do it, and in my case, the fact that driving to the gym added an extra hour to the time I had to spend on fitness was a complete deal-breaker. For me, I’d be more likely to actually use a slightly less-well equipped gym that was right on my doorstep, than an awesome one I had to travel to – because even if that drive is a short one, you better believe I’ll find an excuse not to do it!

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These are just four of my tips for people who don’t enjoy exercise, but want to do it anyway. Got any others?

2 Comments

  • This is me. I run because I can do it, it’s free, and I leave from my front gate. However, the SECOND there’s a spit of rain, I’m all ‘I can’t possibly go out in THAT’. I have an exercise bike for these very occasions, but it’s currently being used as a makeshift wardrobe.

  • I hate exercise with a passion and until this month, I have successfully managed to avoid it.

    I have been trying to get healthy for awhile and working out was my last step. I’m currently living with my mom for a bit while I wait for my fiance visa to finish processing. So to make a long story shorter, I found my dream wedding dress and I need to lose weight for it. I don’t know if linking is allowed, but here is I want it to ultimately look like: http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/2011/07/14/rosie-huntington-whiteley-in-dolce-gabbana-transformers-dark-of-the-moon-shanghai-press-conference/

    Anyway, even though I tried, I could not motivate myself to work out. My mom lives a 2 minute walk from a gym that only does 45 minute circuit classes and they had a promotion this month so I signed up and begged her to nag me every single day to go. I’ve been going every second day for a week and she hasn’t had to nag me once – not even when I had to squeeze a class in at 6 am.

    My motivation has nothing to do with the exercise, which I detest and spend the better part of the day whining about. My motivation is the coffee. I spent two years working at a coffee shop and have become a coffee snob (I’m beyond awful), and I haven’t been able to find any decent coffee in the little town my mom works in – I’d have to drive an hour to my old job to get some. But, this wonderful place has amazing coffee and they make you one before or after a class.

    So basically, I suffer through squats and pushups and whatever other hell the trainer puts me through all for a beautiful cup of bliss that I get to enjoy.

    I’ve been told that after you work out on a regular basis for a few weeks, you’ll get into such a habit of it you won’t be able to do without. So I’m hoping that after a few weeks I’ll get to a point where I won’t hate the exercise (as much) or think of the trainer as a demon from hell and want to go on my own.

    Until then, I’ll exercise for coffee.

    (sorry for how long this is)

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