How to Keep Your Fitness Routines and Habits Going Strong

One of the best ways to achieve mental fitness is to achieve physical fitness. Simply put, exercise makes you feel good, clears the mind, and reduces stress and anxiety. Feeling good in your own body also raises your self-esteem.

We all want to feel better or get healthier or lose weight and promise ourselves we will make it happen this time. But by now, many have found that their motivation has waned. How do we make healthy lifestyle changes and stick with them long term? Here are a few ideas, courtesy of the team at Artisan Farmacy.

Strategize Realistically

Most of the time we end up sabotaging ourselves by making unrealistic goals and setting ourselves up for disappointment. Schedules get in the way and we can’t seem to make time for working out. We will tell ourselves that we will fit it in tomorrow, but the same scenario plays out the next day. We need to take charge and make our fitness goals a reality by addressing these common issues.

Exercise Right points out that getting healthy does not have to be stressful. Everyone has different opinions on what type of workouts are best and what you should or should not eat. The most important thing is for you to just start with something that you can do and are comfortable with. It’s okay to try new things and experiment with different fitness programs until you find what you like. If you try a class and hate it, don’t give up. Just move on to something else until you find what you enjoy.

Set some realistic and attainable short and long-term goals. Short-term goals are important to keep you motivated by seeing measurable progress, like losing 5 pounds in a month or doing a pull-up in a few weeks when you couldn’t before. A long-term goal could be running a 5K in 4-6 months.

Set Goals to Implement Good Habits

Make a plan to solidify your goals. Decide where and when you will workout this week. If you want to workout at home, make sure you have the right equipment on hand to make it easy and efficient. To this point, The Sunday Morning Herald notes that you don’t necessarily have to invest in all the bells and whistles -- some basic equipment will do just fine. If you are attending a gym or class, make sure you schedule it onto your calendar and treat it as a priority appointment.

Instead of trying to eliminate all of your bad habits immediately, take it slowly and build positive habits daily. Focus on working out 2-3 days a week, and building up to 3-4. You don’t have to change all your meals drastically either. Start by adding more fruits and vegetables to your meals, then work on cutting back on sugar and junk food. This way you are less likely to feel deprived and discouraged.

You’re going to be moving quite a bit as you practice good exercise techniques. This calls for staying motivated to continue your workout regimen for the long term, and a fitness tracker or a smartwatch with fitness apps can be just the thing to keep you in the game. To maximize the protection -- and life -- of your device while you’re moving, be sure to have a comfortable and durable watch band to secure your device to your wrist or arm.

Be Proactive

Think about the situations that could derail your fitness routine before they happen. Vacations, business trips, bad weather, or holidays can all wreak havoc on our schedule and lifestyle. Make contingency plans for these situations. Research places you can get a workout in when going on vacation or out of town.

Have some basic gym equipment (or makeshift equipment) on hand at home if you need to squeeze a quick workout in while stuck at home for bad weather. It doesn’t matter if the workouts are shorter than normal or not as frequent as long as you get some in for your week. This will keep fitness and health a long-term priority for you and you will be more likely to get back into your routine when your schedule is back to normal.

The best fitness program is one that you enjoy, can modify, and can stick with for good. Your fitness goals will change, so be flexible and commit to just trying to work at your own pace to stay healthy and fit. The healthier you are, the better you’ll feel.

About the Author: Courtney Rosenfeld started Gig Spark to be a resource and the first step for people who are looking to join the gig economy, either to supplement their income or as a way to fulfill their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

Questions, comments or simply want to connect? Reach out here anytime: [email protected]