It’s not always easy to push yourself out of your warm bed and into a grueling workout session. (Right, it’s never easy) So how do people consistently manage to do it? The secret is there are a few strategies or magical tips that help you develop a habit of regular exercise. Again, wanting to develop a good fitness and actually doing it are two different scenarios. So here are 5 effective tricks to develop a fitness regime.
1. Do it daily
Habits are prompted by everyday activities we carry out in our life. It doesn’t take you an extra effort to brush your teeth the first thing out of bed. It’s something that comes to us naturally, our body and brain is wired to behave that way irrespective of how lazy or unwell we are. Similarly, make it a point to tag your workout to your everyday schedule. Fix on a time and follow it. For example, wake up at 5, brush your teeth and immediately get to the gym. Agreed, the first few days would be hard but a few weeks into and BAM! You’ll no more need that extra push, your body would automatically schedule your day to this new timetable you’ve developed.
2. Be accountable
Now when I say accountability, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get an attendance check. Simple steps like hiring a personal trainer, enrolling for a 6 month membership or working out with your friend would do. Though these seem small and easy, they’re effective and help you achieve goals. Think about it, if you’ve promised someone you’d join them at the gym, you wouldn’t want to rain-check on them. Similarly, enrolling for a membership or hiring a personal trainer helps you be accountable unconsciously and pushes you to take that first step.
3. Reward yourself
This is the most common advice that every gym goer or any random person says to you. So how can it wrong? Well, the problem is not the concept but the execution of the same. Most gym goers set very high rewards or they are irrelevant to gym. A reward has to be effective and relevant to your work. Give yourself some simple but fruitful rewards. Maybe after being regular to the gym for a month, you could gift yourself your favorite ice-cream. (Guilt-Free Calories!)
4. Set specific goals
“I want to build my muscle”, “I want to lose weight”, “I want to become strong”- Avoid such generic and non-specific goals. Be more specific in what you want to achieve. It’s okay even if it is as small as “I want to lose fat on my cheeks”, it’s still a start and more realistic. When you set such specific goals, it becomes easy to find motivation from the quick results and also gives you a sense of satisfaction for all your effort.
5. Check your progress
So, you’re not done with just setting up specific goals. It is important to monitor your progress and ensure you have a consistency in your progress. For instance if you’ve set a goal of achieving a 18% body fat percentage in a span of 4 months, you could check your progress each month. This will not only drive you to workout more but it will also help you to correct your mistakes if any in the early stages. Because, grinding for months only to achieve insignificant results can kill your confidence and excitement towards fitness.
All said and done, sometimes all it takes is one step out of your house. What matters is setting up a new regime or routine that you will stick to and also make it fun. Don’t be afraid to be a beginner, 3 months from now you’ll thank yourself.
