Regardless of whether you are starting a new exercise or maintaining an old routine, it is paramount that you make exercise a habit. Below are 5 tips on how to make exercise a habit.
The need to make exercise a habit and actually doing it are very different. Without a doubt, changing human behavior is difficult. Switching your lifestyle is also hard, especially when self-worth and body image are involved. With the tremendous benefits of exercising, most people would like to know how to make exercise a habit and stick to it.
If you are in the same fold, the tips below can help you make exercise a habit. Additionally, since exercising often requires some company, find your match from Dating Rating to motivate you during the exercise routines.
1. Set Exercise Goals
Different people have varying reasons for exercising. For instance, while you may want to get fit, others could be looking into toning up or losing weight. You might fail to make exercise a habit without specific goals in mind. This means that you should have specific reasons for taking the time to work out. Your goals could be anything you want to achieve, including:
- · Being fit to complete three miles run or jog
- · Strong to complete 50 push-ups
- · Losing 25kbs
- · Losing your waist inches
- · Forming a six-pack within three months
It is with such specific goals that you can make exercise a daily habit. With one or more goals in mind, you can focus on your workouts, having a reason for an early morning run, pounding on the pavement, or hitting the gym. Having goals also makes it easy to choose exercise activities that will help you achieve your goals. You can also align your lifestyle and diet to suit the goals.
While you should make your goals challenging, make sure that they are realistic. Like with other goals, reward yourself if you achieve the goals. You should also set new goals to keep up your exercise routine.
2. Develop A Routine To Ease Starting
Starting an exercise routine is often not challenging. The most difficult part is maintaining and making exercise a habit. Habits are developed behaviors that should be repeated more than once.
As such, they are simply behaviors that are started repeatedly. That said, without consistently starting the behavior, you won’t develop the habit. Therefore, the best way to make exercise a habit is to find a way to make it easy to get started.
If you can develop a routine that will make it easy to start your workout automatically, it becomes easier to follow through. An important tip on how you can make exercise a habit easily is to stack your routine on top of your current habit.
You can also create a formal schedule of your intended exercising sessions. Developing an easy routine will determine how long it takes to make exercise a habit.
3. Find A Workout Companion
As the adage goes, “misery loves company,” and so are two heads better than one?
Fitness experts recommend that an easy way to make exercise a habit is to avoid exercising alone. Recruiting motivated training partners is the best way to make your exercise routine a habit and maintain honesty in your workouts.
You will find it hard to leave your training partner hanging, making it much harder to skip your workout. Simply put, if you were to work out alone, you might decide to skip exercising without much accountability. On the other hand, you will most likely avoid missing the routine if you know that no one expects you to show up.
Besides contributing to making exercise a habit, working out with training partners also helps with distractions when feeling burned out. They are a good source of encouragement, correction, and challenge you to work harder. This is a sure way of achieving better results within a short time.
That said, you should be cautious when selecting a workout partner. Among the important strategies of how to make exercise a habit that sticks is selecting a training partner with the same level of fitness, reliability, and yearns to exercise just as you do.
Finding a good training partner can help you make exercise a habit and increase the chances of making it to your workout, and significantly boost your workout results. If you can’t find a suitable workout partner, consider hiring a personal trainer.
4. Engage In Exercises You Love
Just because your neighbor or friend loves Crossfit or spinning doesn’t mean it suits you. If you want to make exercise a habit, find workout routines that you genuinely enjoy.
Without a doubt, even if every activity is good for you or can help you achieve your fitness goals, you will unlikely stick with it if you don’t enjoy the workout.
For instance, if you enjoy competition, find a workout partner who can challenge you or join a group fitness club. You might end up trying out several fitness routines before finding one that you enjoy. You shouldn’t quit, even if this means bouncing from one exercise to another for some months.
5. Focus On Habits First Then Results
A standard approach to exercise and dieting is to focus on achieving the results. For instance, you may want to lose 30 pounds within 3 months. This is a wrong approach, especially if you are looking for ways on how to make morning exercise a habit. You should focus on the system instead of the goal at first.
The most important thing when starting is to establish a new normal and make exercise a habit that you can stick to. So to say, not missing your workouts during the first few months is more important than making progress. Once you have been accustomed to the exercise routine, you can then worry about progressing and improving your workout routines. Once you manage to make exercise a habit, you can devise several ways to improve. Otherwise, everything becomes useless without a habit.
Bottom Line
Theoretically, everyone would love to exercise. Many people engage in physical activities, but very few manage to make exercise a habit. Like any other habit, you can include exercise as part of your normal routine once you succeed to make exercise a habit. Besides the tips mentioned above, you can identify other simple tricks that can help you make exercise a habit.
For instance, if you don’t have a workout schedule, always carry your workout clothes. With this, you can work out anytime you find the time. You should also find alternative workout habits that can replace the morning runs or bike cycling if the rains are unforgiving. Always remember to find good music to keep your energy up while working out.
Apart from these, do you have other ways to make exercise a habit?
Please share with us in the comments section below.
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Author’s Bio:
Sherry is a consultant and has been involved in many successful projects with a range of companies throughout the country. She enjoys researching, discussing, and writing on the topics of relationships, wellness, and sport. When not absorbed in the latest gripping articles, Sherry loves cooking, doing sports, and otherwise spends far much time at the computer.
