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How To Get Into The Habit Of Exercising Every Day

Making exercise a daily habit is something most of us attempt at one point or another in our lives. Here are some tips on how to make a success of it.

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#1 Everyday activities

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  • Take the stairs - using the stairs instead of an elevator is a really great way to get the heart pumping. Even if you are going down instead of up, you're getting moving without any stress.
  • Park away - by parking your car at the end of the parking lot, rather than next to your destination, you can get thousands more steps in each week. This is a particularly nice way to increase activity if the gym seems a bit intimidating.
  • Housework - from vacuuming to gardening, so many chores can get your heart rate up while getting the house in check.

Contributors: Dr. Jacquie Lavin from Slimming World

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#2 Make yourself accountable

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Friends do make you accountable but there are other ways. Try signing up for a 5k run and see if you aren't motivated to start working out for it. Each branch of the military has regular fitness tests for their service members and that is one of the reasons why service members workout so much. Do you think that is a coincidence? Many of them start seriously working out about six weeks prior to their test in order to raise their score. I'm not saying that's the best way to work out, but I am saying the date on the calendar does provide motivation.

Another way is to put money on the line--a lot of it. Give the cash to somebody else and tell them if you don't meet your goal then they have to give it away. Or burn it. Or spend it on something you hate.

Contributors: Ryan Barnum from Achieving Family Goals

#3 Find something enjoyable.

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If someone really dislikes what they are doing, it is going to be very difficult to stick with. Focus on how the exercise makes them feel- better sleep, more energy, less stress rather than calories, weight, and minutes. It's very easy to get discouraged by those numbers if they don't go in the desired direction. 

Contributors: Jenna Talleda from Jenna Talleda, LLC

#4 Don’t judge yourself

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When you're just starting out with a daily exercise routine, don't beat yourself up if you miss a day (or two, or three). A lot of people have a tendency to judge themselves harshly when they feel that they've fallen short of reaching their goals. This leads to a feeling of failure, making it more likely that you'll just give up altogether. Do the best you can and don't worry if you miss days here or there. 

Contributors: Lindsey Mathews from IdealFit

#5 Involve others!

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If you have a difficult time being accountable to yourself then find a workout buddy that you can be accountable to. Commit to meeting them for workouts, walks or other forms of active activity.

Contributors: Donna P. Hetrick, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Certified Blood Chemistry Analyst, Certified Personal Trainer

#6 Detailed Fitness Plan

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Consistency is key to success in business, relationships, and equally so in health. Transforming bad habits to healthy ones starts with a detailed plan of action. The first part of the plan is allocating a time frame where gym time is an absolute priority, and NO one is too busy for that. Ideally, the same time daily but not imperative.

From there, we are going to pre-program workouts so we arrive at the gym excited and ready to optimize results. Monday, Wednesday, Friday do Full Body Weights, and Tuesday, Thursday get in your cardio time. And to ensure no procrastination or regressing set reminders in your calendar and feel free to lean on friends or a family member for accountability. Within a two-week span, this will become quite possibly your favorite part of the day and one you will rarely miss.

Contributors: Tadeo Arnold from Cuerpaso fitness

#7 Inspiration

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Start your day with a quick inspirational video. Keep it around three minutes and then shut off your device immediately. Don't get sucked in to social media or checking emails. One of my favorites was to watch the story of Dick and Ricky Hoyt. This is the duo of father and son entering all the marathons and iron man competitions. Dick Hoyt would push his son, Ricky, who was in a wheelchair through all those races and is an inspiration to many. Once I see what he did for his son, there is no way I am going to sit on my butt and not workout that day. There are many inspirational videos to choose from. Find one that resonates with you and start you day with it.

Contributors: Johnny Welsh from Weedgalized

#8 Visualization

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Cut out some magazine photos of the physique you would like to achieve and place them on the fridge or bathroom mirror so as to see it every day. Those images will embed in your subconscious and help you on your way to your goals.

Contributors: Johnny Welsh from Weedgalized

#9 Just do it

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Making life changes is hard, and adding exercise to your daily routine is no exception. There will be days that you don't feel like it, but make yourself go! It can be difficult to form a new habit, but if you stay with it, daily exercise will soon become a part of you. So stick with it until it sticks to you! 

Contributors: Lindsey Mathews from IdealFit

#10 Schedule Exercise Time

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I’ve found that looking at fitness as part of your business helps. Just like a meeting, I’ll add gym classes to my calendar with an alarm that goes off when I need to leave so I don’t ever get sidetracked. It's easiest when your sneakers and socks are next to your bed as a reminder of where you should be going. Sometimes it even helps to treat yourself to a snazzy new pair of sneakers so you look forward to slipping them on! 

Contributors: Lori Cheek from Cheekd

#11 Wake up earlier and exercise in the morning

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The biggest obstacle for most people when they start trying to exercise every day is finding the time. Most of us have a pretty full schedule, and coming up with a spare hour every single day is tough to do! If you start waking up 1 hour earlier than you're used to and exercise before you start your day, you won't have any scheduling conflicts! 

Contributors: Lindsey Mathews from IdealFit

#12 Exercise with a specific goal in mind

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Exercise is good, but all too often people head to the gym with a vague purpose or no purpose at all. If you have a specific goal, with a realistic plan and timetable affixed to it, you'll be more likely to follow through with your plan to exercise regularly! The more specific your goal and the more detailed your plan, the better. 

Contributors: Lindsey Mathews from IdealFit

#13 Micoachee, The “Match.com” for exercise goals

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Imagine changing the exercise goals you’ve struggled with, At Micoachee they believe the best way to help people fully achieve their exercise goals is to customize a personalized, interactive support system for your health journey based on your specific goals, personality, and interactions. No more yo-yo cycles or depending on will-power. Micoachee uses proven brain science that rewires your brain that works for anyone regardless of age, weight, or fitness level. Win your exercise battle for good with Micoachee’s customized program including support, coaching, wearable integration, reinforcement technology and more. All you need is a smartphone and the time to listen to the sessions a few minutes a day.

Contributors: Tom Mann from Micoachee 

#14 Challenge Yourself

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I recently started a 50 Days No Excuses Fitness Challenge to give myself a jumpstart to working out every day. Like most people, I frequently made excuses about why I wouldn't go to the gym. I was either too tired, too busy, or just not in the mood. After seeing a friend complete his own 50 Day No Excuses Fitness Challenge, I thought, I'd like to try that! I started out with doing cardio at the gym, and now I mix cardio with free personal training workouts from the Nike Training Club app. 

And here I am today, on day 45 of my 50 Days No Excuses journey!! Days 1-5 were easy because I was excited to start something new. Days 6-20 were tough because that's when I truly had to remind myself that I wouldn't make excuses to get out of the workout. After that, I've had an amazing time continuing this journey because I have now learned how to schedule my days so that there's always time for at least 30 mins of exercise! Several of my friends have joined on this challenge. I encourage you to give it a shot! 

Contributors: Atasha Jordan from Atasha Jordan - Blog

#18 Fitness Apps

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Smartphones can help or hurt as they can distract too. My favorite apps are Beachbody On Demand, Nike Training Club, Nike Running Club, Couch to 5k, and Sworkit. Beachbody has a huge selection of programs you can do and for the home workout person, this one is great. It has a variety of levels of programs for men and women that help you to stretch, do cardio, bodyweight, or limited weights home workouts in 30 minutes or less. 

They also have some yoga and pilates programs too. You can put the app on a mobile device but I would suggest you stream it to a TV. They are very cost effective if you are looking to avoid going to the gym. Nike Training Club is a fantastic app that for working out at home or at the gym. You can select the intensity, equipment available, and time available to help tune the workout. You can also do some workouts designed by professional athletes. Whatever your skill level, it has options and the videos and audio cues give you tips on form and instructions. Nike Running Club is very similar and each will build personalized plans for you with notifications to remind you to stay on track. Couch to 5K is similar to the program the doctor above had mentioned. It's a real gradual program that helps you get going with running. Sworkit is my workout in a pinch option. Truth be told, I used to this in my office between therapy clients on a break. Even if you have 5 minutes, it's fantastic. 

Contributors: William Schroeder from Just Mind 

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Written by Ben Skute

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