How to develop an exercise habit

You’ve decided that you are going to develop an exercise habit. Great! You’re determined to spend an hour at the gym every day, and, riding high on your resolve, you follow through for 2 days. Then, you have a long day at work, you’re exhausted, and you miss a day. Soon, weeks have gone by, your membership card is lost and gathering dust somewhere, and you are feeling rubbish.

This is a common scenario. Not for long! Here are a few ways to develop your exercise habit, stick to it, and handle the inevitable bumps in the road.

Start slowly

Yes, of course, you want to immediately start going to the gym every day, push yourself to the max, and get those results quickly! It’s natural to want some fast results to keep yourself motivated. Unfortunately, more often than not, this tactic doesn’t work.

If you really want to keep the habit going, it’s important to begin gradually, get yourself into a routine of exercise, and make it something that you do for enjoyment and relaxation rather than something that involves extreme amounts of effort. You don’t want to overtrain too quickly. This generally leads to you dragging yourself to the gym and treating it like a chore because you’ve gone too intense too quickly. Worse, you run the risk of injury through poor technique, and may end up having to stop training altogether. It's not worth it. Take your time.

If you try too much too soon, you will burn out. Your body won’t be ready for it, and you will soon find yourself spending guilt ridden evenings in front of Netflix again. Dare to approach it differently! Slow and steady wins the race. You’ll be able to increase the intensity safely in time, and you'll see far better results for it.

Set goals

I know, I go on about this ALL the time, but there is a good reason for it! Goal setting is important! If you don’t know why you are adopting this exercise habit, and what you want to get out of it, you won’t have anything to refer to when you are hitting a bump in the road and need to get yourself motivated. If you’re working towards a goal, you can keep using it to get yourself moving when your mind is telling you that you don’t want to.

Developing a habit requires long-term commitment, and without goals, you won’t have an anchor to keep you on the right path when challenges begin to present themselves. When you have the sense that you are heading in the direction you want to go in, you’ll be motivated to continue with your exercise because you’ll know exactly WHY you are doing it!

If you need more convincing about the importance of goal setting, look no further – click HERE!

Plan, plan, plan

Anyone who exercises regularly plans for it. It’s a slot in the diary that is carefully chosen and is then respected as though it is any other appointment. For me personally, with having a baby and a business to manage, getting my exercise done requires planning not only by me, but also my husband. We have to plan in advance around our work schedules, or our workouts simply don’t happen. It’s important to spend a bit of time considering what will work best for you and those around you and planning accordingly – what times are best? How many times a week would be reasonable? What barriers could get in the way of your sticking to the routine?

Spend some time considering these things, and developing solutions. Being aware of the obstacles you put in front of yourself is a great step towards dealing with them and empowering yourself to stick to your resolve as a result. This awareness and empowerment can be the difference between developing and maintaining the exercise habit, and a missed workout that begins a downward slide.

Be realistic

I can’t stress this one enough. If you have 2 kids, a full time job and a social life to manage, hitting the gym 5 times a week probably isn’t possible. The key to maintaining a long-term habit is to set yourself up to succeed, so take a bit of time to consider what’s actually going to fit in with you and your lifestyle. Perhaps a jog around the local park twice a week is realistic, or getting stuck into a game of football with the kids in the garden after school. You may be able to get 5 sessions a week in at the gym. You may hate the gym, and find that going for long walks on the weekends are just the ticket for you.

It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re moving! If you want to develop a habit, spend a bit of time making sure that you are setting yourself up for success, and be realistic from the outset about what will fit in with you and your lifestyle.

Respect your body

If you haven’t exercised for a while, be respectful of where you are in terms of your fitness. Pushing yourself too hard too quickly will hinder you. Your technique will be compromised, which could lead to long-term injury. If it’s been a while, your body has been neglected, and it needs time to adjust to the new routine. Launching yourself into an intense exercise regime after a long break is like jumping behind the wheel of a car before you’ve passed your driving test. It's not smart. Be patient with yourself!

Getting fit is a process. If you haven't exercised for a year, your body isn’t going to suddenly respond well to high intensity training just because you’ve decided that it’s time to get fit. Your body will appreciate that you are exercising, and will begin to adapt to the positive changes that you are making, but be kind to it. 

Don’t push too hard too quickly because you want your body to conform to your expectations, or societal expectations immediately. Work with it, and accept your starting point. Your body doesn’t deserve punishment. You don’t deserve punishment. Give your body time, and love, and it will do wonderful things. Push too hard too quickly, and it will burn out.

Enlist an Accountabuddy

We all do better when we know that there is someone around who cares about our success. When the going gets tough, it can be helpful to have someone who you can rely on to check in with you and motivate you to keep going. This can be anyone; a friend, a member of the family, or a trainer – the key is that they are reliable, want you to succeed, and that you are comfortable turning to them in times of need. It may sound like a small thing, but it makes all the difference!

Believe in yourself!

Your self-image plays a huge role in every element of your life. If your self-image is that of someone who follows through on their commitments, who overcomes their limitations, and who doesn’t quit, your actions will reflect that. If this isn’t how you see yourself, it’s time to move away from the negative self – talk and let yourself believe that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to.

Spend a few minutes every day visualising yourself exercising. Imagine yourself as the physically fit human being you want to be. Visualise yourself achieving your goals. Notice any blocks that get in the way – do you find yourself talking to yourself negatively? What gets in the way of your being able to imagine yourself achieving your goals? Notice them, write them down, and scribble them out. Throw them in the bin. Keep reminding yourself that you are in control, you’re going to do it this time, and nothing is going to stop you.

Believe in yourself. You can do it!