One of the more frequent struggles I hear from my clients is the difficulty in keeping with a consistent workout routine. Though many start off with the best intentions, life inevitably pushes your bodies needs to the wayside. Here are three tips to not only get you moving but also KEEP you moving.
Find Your Thrill
Often people’s minds get bogged down in all the reasons why they think they “should” exercise: “I need to lose 20 lbs,” “My doctor says I need to,” “It will be better for my health,” and so on. While these thoughts may be true, there are plenty of things in our daily lives we “have to do” and often something else will eventually win out as a priority. Take your best intentions and shift your thoughts to an activity you find exciting that gets your body moving.
Enjoying the great outdoors seems a logical place to start. You can use your workout time to connect with nature and bike, hike, swim, or whatever moves you to your feet. Do you love taking photos? Go for long walks with interesting locations or learn par core or dance to get more dynamic movement shots. How about just something with an adrenaline rush? Go skiing, rock climbing or bungee jumping. Whatever naturally pulls you to your feet and propels you to move, can be a great tool to keep you working hard and pushing through the desire to sit on your couch.
Create Positive Goals
When creating fitness goals, once again many are pulled down into all the reasons they think they “have to” exercise. While hoping to lose weight or gain muscle mass are solid goals, for several people these will only keep you moving for so long. Find goals that can correlate back to the thing that gets you moving. If you set your goal to go 10 miles faster on your next ski run, it will be easier to visualize the purpose of your 50th set of leg presses. If you aim to do a photo shoot of a location 20 miles up a mountain, that thought could keep you jumping back on that treadmill.
Get Accountable
Let’s be honest. The #1 reason most of us choose to skip a routine is that we only report to ourselves. At the end of a long day when you’re tired and cranky, it’s easy to convince yourself that you don’t need to take cultivate your fitness. Find a way to give your fitness routine more accountability than reporting only to the way you’re feeling at a given moment. This can be achieved by finding a friend willing to keep you in line, registering for an event or competition with a specific date or even signing up for a class.
The world we live in is vast play land of activities that can inspire and feed your body’s natural need to move. Seek challenging and exciting outdoor activities that truly float your boat to make your fitness something positive that keeps you moving. Once your body is in motion, your mindset, approach and thoughts will keep you in motion. If you’re still looking for that extra push to #GetYouMoving, set up a session with a personal trainer to get the guidance and drive to reach you fitness goals. I’d be happy to show you how!