Working out is hard. There's a reason why not everybody is consistent with their fitness lifestyle. Those who are understand that being consistent brings in the most results that are worth it. Why? Because fitness is a lifestyle, not some three-month rule book you follow and throw out after you finally got that six pack you wanted. It's a journey. Once you go on this path expect to be on it forever. That doesn't mean you won't falter, but as long as you stay on the path you will reap the rewards. Here are three tips to stay on that path and help soften the pavement along the way.
Bring variety to your workouts
Push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, and squats are some of the few basic body-weight exercises. If you could only do these for the rest of your fitness career what do you think would happen? You'd probably stop. You have to think of the bigger picture and try new things. Experiment for a change. Instead of doing just push-ups, try it with a backpack filled with your old college textbooks, or instead of running on a treadmill, try jump-roping, plyometrics or HIIT training. Alternatives to your exercises will keep things fresh to help maintain a consistent fitness lifestyle.
Have workout partners or trainers
There are times when exercising by yourself has its benefits, but if you're in a slump, getting out of it yourself isn't the only option. Instead of going solo all the time, try inviting your friend, partner or even signing up for personal training. What a workout partner brings to the table is an obligation. It helps bring challenge and responsibility to fitness because it becomes a team effort. If you're feeling unmotivated, lazy, or just bored, an external mind can bring you out of that. Don't get us wrong, fitness at its core is a personal journey. But inviting people along the way from time to time will help boost your success and bring consistency to your lifestyle.
Get motivated
As cliché as this sounds, motivation is an amazing tool that can help bring out the better you and start forming habits that eventually forms into discipline. With that said, let's assume we're starting from square one. Motivation in forms such as the vision board, progress pictures, personal trainers, websites, or friends and family can help you take action. These small doses of motivation will kickstart your gears into a "fitness-mode" that'll bring confidence. There will most certainly be times when you're unmotivated, lazy, stressed and just not wanting to workout. This is normal. But finding sparks of motivation will help turn around these faltering moments and help guide you back along the path to success.
