How to Keep Your Fitness Routine On Track

Routine slipped? Struggling to get into one in the first place?

Have you ever noticed that you are more successful if you get yourself into a routine?

Ever seen any of those articles or books about the habits of highly successful people?

It’s a proven fact that routine can help you become more successful, whatever your goal. So it stands to reason that if you want to succeed at your fitness goals a routine will help.

But how do you get one, stick to it and if you slip how on earth do you get back on track without it seeming like a lot of effort?

Often we slip out of a routine because our daily lives take over, we become overwhelmed with all that is going on around us and before we know it we are exhausted and life is chaotic.

Sticking to a regular exercise routine can be made harder when we have to juggle everything else life has to throw at us so here are 3 simple steps you can take to ensure you get and stick to a regular exercise routine.

Take time for yourself every day to plan

Ok, so this might sound counterproductive but to make more time for your exercise habits you need to take some time for yourself, use this time to plan and commit to what you want to do today.

Your fitness goal needs to be high on your priority list, to be high on your priority list you need to do something every day to work towards it.

It doesn’t have to be big, just a small action you can take. It could be as simple as walking to the shops instead of taking the car, drinking at least 8 glasses of water or fitting in a 20 minute workout.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by everything else that is going on in your life this one action could tip you over the edge, this is why you need to take some time every day for you.

Some people do this before they go to bed at night so they know what they need to do the next day. I like to take half an hour every morning (even if that means getting up earlier), first I have a large glass of water, then I do 20 minutes yoga and then I take 10 minutes to plan my day and I write a list of three things I have to get done that day.

One of the items on the list is always related to my fitness goals. The other two are usually either work or home related. You will undoubtedly have a million other things on other to do lists but committing to 3 will help you feel in control and you can actually get them done.

Try it, every day for the next week set yourself three must do actions for the day, make sure one is related to your fitness goal, then let me know if seven days from now you are feeling fitter and healthier and less overwhelmed.

Work on one new habit at a time

Another reason people struggle to stay on track is that they try to change too much in one go. We have all been there, jumped straight on the band waggon and thrown ourselves into a new challenge.

We have committed to exercising every day so we look fab for the big event in 2 weeks’ time, gone on a restrictive diet that means not eating too many of the things we love and found after a couple of days we have fallen off the wagon and have failed to make these new habits.

Take a step back and choose one thing to work on at a time. My clients typically choose one thing to focus on a week. This could be eating breakfast every day, adding protein to every meal or often we start with drinking 8 glass of water every day.

Focussing on only one thing at a time makes us far more likely to succeed.

Try it, for the next week whilst you are setting yourself 3 actions every morning make the one thing that related to your fitness goal the same thing every day. This is how habits form, we do them every day over and over until we don’t even have to think about it.

Accept setbacks and move on

If you do find that your routine has slipped and you have missed a few days or even a few weeks there is one very important thing you must do.

Getting upset with yourself and throwing in the towel will just leave you feeling negative and likely to reach for the biscuit tin.

Instead, think positive and refresh your approach, consider what went wrong and what you can learn from it. Then quickly move on.

Having a rest from exercise is actually a good thing, it allows your body to reset and your muscles to recover and grow.

Take a step back, make the steps smaller until you get back on track and remember to set yourself those little goals every day so that you can see your progress.

Kirsty x

Fit in mind

Fit in body

Fit in your life

p.s. check out my free download – 5 Strategies to get you fit in minutes and you could make one simple change right now, go on you won’t regret it! www.fitinminutes.co.uk