Struggling to Get Into an Exercise Routine. Try These Simple Tips.

If you have fallen out of the routine of working out since lockdown began, you are not alone. 

I have spoken to loads of people who are struggling to schedule a time to workout, and I actually struggled myself at the very beginning. 

I had worked out at 9 am most days for a number of years and then the Pandemic hit. Although I did try to maintain that same time, it just didn't work. My new working structure, having my young son at home and other changes in my routine meant that this time no longer worked. 

So I used a system that I often advise my clients to use and it worked really well. If you are struggling, it may also work for you. 

There are 3 steps to follow.

Step one

Begin by evaluating your day and find the times that you are least likely to cancel. 

As I mentioned, my 9 am workout time was no longer practical and I found myself missing sessions, so I looked through my diary to find a time that would work. I found that as soon as my workday started, and because the environment had changed, it made it difficult to stick to a consistent time so I scheduled my workout early in the morning as I knew this was the only time that I could guarantee that I wouldn’t miss. 

Look through your diary and assess which time you are most likely to stick to. Aim to workout at the roughly same time on each occasion you train so that it becomes a normal part of your routine. 

Step two

To increase the chances of something becoming habitual you will need a trigger.

Triggers are the key to forming new habits and replacing old ones. Simply put, triggers make the habit action happen.

A simple way to ingrain a habit is to pair a new habit that you want to put into your life next to an old habit you already have. This will work as a trigger to repeat the action.

For example, I've meditated for a number of years first thing in the morning so that is now habitual; I follow that by performing a number of mobility exercises to essentially warm up my joints for the day. I simply added my workout time following my mobility exercises and it worked really well. 

This created the trigger I needed to workout and it quickly became ingrained. 

Look for current habits in your day that you can place your workout next to it. 

Step three

Lastly, gradually increase the number of sessions that you do each week. 

If, before lockdown, you worked out four times per week, and you’re currently not training, then gradually build back up to that number. 

Begin with a couple of sessions and then, once that becomes part of your routine, add another session, and keep doing this process until you get to your desired amount of workouts. 

When we have a big change to our normal routine it can increase the chances of falling into poor habits. However, it also opens up opportunities to implement new positive habits into our day. 

If you are not working out at the moment and want to get back into the habit, then try this process. It really does work.