9 Tips to Keep You On Track
Getting started with a fitness plan is a transformative decision that can improve every aspect of your life. The real challenge, however, is to maintain the regularity and consistency of your exercise routine month in and month out. In this article, we present 9 proven tips to keep you on track to achieve your fitness goals.
Start Small
A mistake that many people make is to throw themselves into a workout routine that is beyond their ability to sustain. After a couple of weeks, once the novelty has worn off, they usually peeter out. By starting small and gradually building the duration and intensity of the workout, you’ll be able to build a sustainable routine that will work with your lifestyle.
Dynamic Warm Ups
While the importance of warming up has not diminished, research has shown that the old static stretching warm up is not ideal. Rather, you should do dynamic stretches, which move your muscles through their full range of movement. Dynamic warm ups involve doing body weight versions of the exercises you’re about to perform in the workout, such as bodyweight squats.
Don’t Neglect Strength Training
You should be doing strength training a minimum of two times per week. Working out with weights will shape and build your muscles, while also making you stronger. It will also empower you mentally, strengthen your bones and help you to lose stored body fat.
Add Variety to Your Workouts
A key to regularity is to prevent training boredom. To keep your workouts fresh, you should mix up your routine. When it comes to cardio, use a different machine every workout, try HIIT training and venture into the functional training area of the gym. Your strength training workout should be changed every six weeks.
Do Strength Training Before Cardio
When doing both cardio and strength training, you should do your strength workout first. It takes more focus and energy to get in a good weights workout than it does a cardio session, so it makes sense to do it first, when you are freshest. An additional benefit of doing strength training first is that it will deplete your muscle glycogen levels so that you are burning more stored body fat during your cardio session.
Set Workout Goals
Keep challenging yourself in your strength training workouts. Rather than doing the same 3 sets of 10 with the same weight every week, set a goal to do one of the following every week:
Add weight to the bar
Do more reps with the same weight
Reduce the rest period between sets
Establish Good Sleep Habits
Unless you recover properly between workouts, you will eventually find yourself dragging yourself through your workouts. It is while you sleep that the bulk of your recovery takes place. Make sure that you are getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night and that you are going to bed and getting up at the same time.
Keep a Fitness Journal
When you use a fitness journal to record your fitness goals and record your journey toward their attainment, you are more likely to stick with them. Write down your workouts, including the weights and reps you achieved. Also, record your feelings after each training session. At the end of the week, review your week’s training journey and draw inspiration for the week to come.
Positive Self Talk
Positive self talk is a technique to keep yourself pumped up and positive. Remind yourself every morning that you are a person with superior drive and will power, that you’re strong and beautiful and that you are going to seize the day and make it your own.
Wrap Up
You’ve now got 9 tips that will keep you on track with your fitness journey. Take them one at a time and build them into your lifestyle in order to make exercise a habit that will serve for the rest of your life.
