6 Ways to Stay Consistent in the Gym

If one thing is true in the fitness journey, the best workout is the one that you actually do. During my journey to become healthier and to manage my weight, the trait that has yielded the best results is consistency. Whether I am consistently working out 3 or 4 hours a week or ramping it up during a challenge, I can honestly say consistency is key.

As I have made some progress with maintaining a healthier weight over the years, there are a few key takeaways that I can share with someone looking to stick with their workout and get the results that they desire.

1. Know Who You Are Up Against

I can remember overthinking the process of getting started to work out. I used to think that I needed a partner to join me or that I needed a trainer to tell me what to do. I can even remember being afraid to visit a new boutique gym thinking I would have to prove my worthiness of being there and demonstrate that I was strong enough to do 25 full body push-ups as some sort of entry test for admission.

All of these thoughts turned out to be false barriers that I had created in my mind to keep me stuck and comfortable in my sedentary lifestyle. Who knew that your mind is an active contributor to your ability to lose weight? Controlling our thoughts allows us to control our actions and this all begins with awareness that our mind is really comfortable with us being a binge watching, chip eating, couch potato. So be aware of the excuses you will hear your mind telling you.

2. What Gets Scheduled Gets Done

What mother with more than one child hasn’t had to manage a color coded calendar for multiple children and their activities, possibly a spouse and family finances, and sometimes even a pet or elderly family member?  This can get extremely overwhelming and often times leave you thinking you don’t have anytime to shower, let alone time to get a workout in.

Well guess what, if you only allow your time, talent, and resources to flow outward, your inward reserve becomes depleted and you might find yourself stressed out and heavier than your desired weight. Sometimes it’s necessary to remind yourself that there are 24 hours in a day and that it’s not a selfish act to find a few hours a week that you schedule yourself time to replenish. It’s amazing what a ten minute walk prior to picking the children up from school can do for you. A thirty minute coffee break with a friend just to chat with another adult can be extremely restorative.

Now, if you are blessed to find an hour that you could actually schedule for yourself once, twice, or three times a week then there is an array of unlimited possibilities! Carve out the time to do something that restores your soul and makes you feel whole. Is it yoga and mindfulness? Is it a HIIT workout or a spin class? Are you unsure and just want to explore some options? There are resources for you too!

The key here is to realize that you can’t pour from an empty cup and that you have my permission and the encouragement of many other moms who have been in your shoes to make time for you. Your loved ones deserve a mom who is at her best!

3. Preparation is Key to Fight Defeat

Soooo…. If you are punctually challenged, this one's for you. Believe it or not, this one goes back to the mind playing tricks on you. Behaviors like procrastination and tardiness contribute to habits that allow us to rationalize not being successful at making our workouts or showing up and not reaping the full benefits of our scheduled time.

Let’s work together to ditch the safety net of half-assing it and let’s create a plan to fight against mediocrity to show up as our best selves! Here are some hacks my friends have shared to help me and the perpetually tardy crew win at this:

• Lay your workout clothes out in advance.

• Create  a drawer just for workout gear and sports bras

• Lay out your workout gear the night before in the bathroom so you don’t disturb your spouse

• Place items, shoes, and keys in a basket that you can easily grab when you’re ready to leave.

• Build in wake up time.

• Don’t snooze your alarm more than once

4. Join A Fitness Community and Stop Looking for People to Workout With

There are so many reasons that boutique gyms and small fitness communities are appealing. For some of us, we enjoy being a part of a collective wellness movement that’s bigger than ourselves or our limiting beliefs of what’s possible. The motivation of being a part of a community or on a team can help foster the habit of consistently showing up for your workouts because you like the support and camaraderie.

In these environments, you can meet other like minded people who have already taken the first step to demonstrate their readiness to work on their personal goals.  If you are motivated by extrinsic factors like helping others or contributing to a community, by doing your part as a team member, fitness communities can help provide a level of accountability that has helped people like me stay consistent. The connections forged also promote lasting friendships rooted in healthy living and being the best version of yourself.

5. Training Is Intentional

Results motivate. According to Active.com, there's a big difference between working out and training. To work out is to exercise without any long-term performance goals in mind. You do more or less the same thing every time you work up a sweat because your main objective is to maintain your current fitness level or you haven’t challenged yourself to take things to another level.

To train, on the other hand, is to exercise in a way that lifts you step by step towards a performance goal. Whether it’s weight loss, strength, or improving an endurance goal, training will focus on the process and you will achieve your goals by following a structured foundation of workouts and tracking performance to achieve the results you desire.

Developing consistent habits to move you towards a goal is key in working out and training. Many of the fitness communities I mentioned offer bootcamp style training that has helped beginners start their fitness journey and push themselves further than they have before by training intensively to get results. Over time, this has prepared many newly developed fitness enthusiasts to fitness loving athletes seeking the next challenge.

6. Avoid Constantly Having To Undo Your Weekend

When I think about being consistent in the gym, the one aspect that can not be missed is nutrition! Our food choices have to compliment our goals, otherwise we may find ourselves in a cycle of weight regain or a standstill in a maintenance mode when we haven’t yet reached our goal.

I encourage clients to adopt habits that they can practice regularly and that can provide some flexibility to promote consistency over the long haul. Knowing the best way to eat for your body and DNA can be especially helpful to avoid fad diets and eating styles that aren't exciting or promote your intended goal.

Practicing traffic light eating and having small meals consisting of a protein, healthy fat, and nutrient dense carb has been beneficial to increase awareness of foods to limit and encourages freedom to select foods from each macronutrient category to fuel the body. The problem arises when we allow ourselves too much grace on the weekends or in social settings and we sabotage our results by over consuming on the weekends.

Confidence Manifesting Fulfillment

-Cynthia