Overcoming Exercise Consistency Challenges
Earlier this week, I told my client, “I would rather have you follow an imperfect consistent plan than a perfect inconsistent plan.” Consistency is incredibly important to achieving your fitness because your body operates on a loop of repeated reinforcement. Continuous repeated physical stress forces the body to adapt and change. When that repeated stress is stopped, any temporary progress can be quickly lost to detraining.
Staying consistent is easier said than done. Many times we let mental hurdles and lifestyle traps derail our progress. This can happen in a variety of ways.
Below are five common challenges to workout consistency, along with actionable ways to overcome them.
1. The "All or Nothing" Approach
The Challenge: When we don’t think the plan is going perfectly, we change things or give up. Life can get busy and sometimes we overestimate how much exercise we really need to do to maintain fitness or make progress.
The Solution: It is perfectly okay to only do 80% of a workout. Give yourself permission to modify the intensity or duration as needed rather than skipping the entire session. Even doing 30% of a workout is better than doing nothing. A little really does go a long way.
2. Unrealistic Goals
The Challenge: Expecting rapid results often paves a fast path to failure and burnout. This is often influenced by our modern era of instant gratification. We are looking for the easiest path to a solution.
The Solution: The key is to fully understand the path between where you are (Point A) and where you want to be (Point B). To set manageable, realistic milestones, consider seeking personal training from a professional to map out your progression between the two points. Sometimes, there is no short cut. You just need hard work, time, and patience.
3. Lack of Motivation
The Challenge: Walking into a workout session feeling like you have zero desire to exercise. Energy is low. Your mind is occupied with another stress. You feel like there is no purpose.
The Solution: Instead of relying on motivation, focus on taking small actions that help you establish strong systems and habits. Find a way to take that first step, even if it requires help from a friend or trainer. This can help you gain momentum and more sustained motivation. For example, you can start by doing the stairs every day instead of the elevator. It’s a small action that can help build pride and small amounts of motivation. This small action followed by small motivation can have compounding effects. Before you know it, you’ll be making your way to the gym for full workouts.
4. A Dynamic Schedule
The Challenge: A constantly changing daily routine makes it notoriously difficult to stick to a rigid training calendar. When unexpected work meetings, family emergencies, or travel plans arise, your scheduled workout is usually the first thing to get cut.
The Solution: A fluid schedule requires week by week planning and day by day flexibility. My schedule is constantly changing, but there are a few things I do to help me stay on track.
Sunday Planning and Front-Loading: I treat my fitness like a meeting or client session. Every Sunday, I look at the week ahead and block out my exercise windows based on your commitments. I front-load my workouts earlier in the week and earlier in the day to give myself flexibility to push workouts back if absolutely necessary.
Create Non-Negotiable Time: The times I schedule for my workouts in my calendar are protected. If someone is trying to book a session, grab a coffee, or anything else, I usually tell them I’m unavailable. If an emergency arises, then I push the workout back, which should be ok because I front loaded my workouts. If you find yourself moving your non-negotiable time too often, then you need to go back to your Sunday planning.
Utilize "Exercise Snacks": The workout does not need to last an hour to be effective. When time is tight, break your fitness into short, potent blocks throughout the day. Quick stairs, bodyweight squats, push ups, or stretches can help you keep your health at a good level. Take a look at my newsletter from a few weeks ago for more information on this.
5. Under-Recovery
The Challenge: Pushing high exercise levels on low sleep and poor nutrition leads to mental and physical exhaustion, often resulting in injury.
The Solution: Treat your recovery with the exact same respect as your training.
Are you willing to make 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep a non-negotiable priority every night? To gain deeper insight into your sleep, consider tracking your sleep cycles using wearables like an Oura Ring or a WHOOP band.
Are you willing to eat the right foods to fuel your workouts and repair your body? If you are unsure how to balance your macronutrients or fuel your training properly, hire a registered dietitian or nutritionist for professional guidance.
The more you exercise, the more you need to recover. When it’s difficult to keep recovery at a balanced level, then you may need to reduce the exercise before injuries force you to stop.
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