20 Things to Know to Stick With a Workout

Image From Get Fit Daily

Starting a new workout can be difficult.  Staying with a workout can be even more challenging.  Many challenges can occur along the way.  Preparing for these issues ahead of time can set you up for success.  These 50 easy tips are from people who know how beneficial these tips can be.  Many people start to exercise but quickly lose momentum.  Don’t give up!  Learn to stick with your workout and start to see results. 

1.  Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

Take care of your body.  You do not know the amount of time and sacrifice that others have done to get the body they have.  Other may have a great metabolism. 

2.  Be Realistic

See that person that you shouldn’t be comparing yourself too? Try to remember that their body didn’t begin to look that way over night. It took time, effort, and dedication. I will admit I was a little disheartened when, after my first run, my muffin top didn’t disappear and a gap couldn’t be found between my thighs but the satisfaction that I had finished something did make me feel good.

3. Eliminate Excuses

You don’t need a gym. You need shoes and a sidewalk. You don’t need to save for that fancy, all-in-one piece of exercise equipment on the infomercial. What you do need is to understand is that you can do this without much help from anything you see advertised on television. Today is the day, no more putting it off until tomorrow.

4.  Stop Searching for Shortcuts

Don’t waste time you could be spending going for a walk or weight training on researching which pill will make you drop the most water weight. This is a quick fix that will not last. The only thing that lasts is the time you put into yourself, minus the gimmicks and diet ad slogans.

5. Accept Your Lifestyle Change

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. When you begin working out it is important to remember this is not a short term contract with your body. You will not work out as hard as you can for a month and spend the rest of your life filling your permanently perfect body with cake like I had hoped. Working out and taking care of your body is a lifestyle change. You need to accept this. It doesn’t have to be every day and it doesn’t have to completely consume your life but it does have to have a permanent place in your schedule.

6.  Find Something You Enjoy

You need to try different things and explore forms of exercise. If you find something you really enjoy keep it up. If exercising gets boring that is okay, and it does not mean you have to stop working out. What it does mean is you can start trying different things again. Remember that you don’t have to commit yourself to one form of exercise, variety is good and will keep you interested.

7. Listen To Advice But Don’t Always Take It

You may find, as I did, when you start trying to get into the habit of working out that everybody as advice, tips, and some generally unnecessary comments they want to contribute. Ignore the comments, snide remarks, and sidelong glances that seem to say “Why start now?” You are vulnerable enough and don’t need others getting in your way. Listen to the advice of others who have been in your shoes before and try some of their suggestions. You are in a process of seeing what fits your body and schedule.  

8. Stay Motivated

After each workout I had a real sense of self satisfaction and pride like I had done something that was good for me, and this made me feel good. I made it a point to focus on this positive feeling for a few minutes before moving on with my cool down, on days when the will to workout wasn’t really with me I could recall how good it feels to do something.  I also leave myself post-its with motivational quotes throughout my house. If you do this remember to put new quotes in different places once a week or so, otherwise you become accustomed to them, and eventually start ignoring them.

9. Create A Habit

Make a point at the beginning of each week to schedule exercise into your days. This one was particularly difficult for me. I seemed to think if I was just too busy to schedule in a workout. This set me back tremendously.  Starting the habit is the hardest part. 

10. Educate Yourself

I would recommend signing yourself up for an instructional class at the local gym if you decide weights are your thing. If equipment is involved you need to understand the proper and safe way each machine.
Did you know there are proper and improper ways to run? Understanding proper form when exercising can lead to more efficient workouts and less pain afterwards. I know shin splints and pulled muscles seem like a great excuse to not continue working out but trust me, its not worth it, so read up!

11. Start Slow

Exercise can be a bit of a shock to us couch potatoes. Do not ever put yourself in a potentially unhealthy situation. Scheduling a physical with your doctor may be a good idea if you’ve been out of the exercise game for a while. They can assess your health and let you know of any concerns they have.   That appointment is not allowed to be your excuse for putting exercise off; go schedule it. 

12. Missing A Day Is Ok

You will be surprised how much you begin to enjoy working out, you may even start to look forward to the activity. This is a wonderful feeling that I am aware of firsthand. Unfortunately I am also aware of how unnecessarily bad you can feel if you miss a workout.

Missing a day here and there is ok but it is unrealistic to think nothing in your schedule will ever fluctuate again, and you can keep all of your appointments. Maybe a meeting runs long , you have a cold, or your family is in town. Whatever the situation may be it is ok to miss a day or two. What is not okay is if you make a habit of this. Get back on the ball as soon as you can, don’t let a few unexpected events throw you off your path to being healthier!

13. Ask Yourself “How do you feel?” Not “What Number on The Scale Am I?”

Weighing yourself can be a great way to track your progress but also has the potential to make you feel awful about the hard work you are putting in. You may feel badly about yourself. Friends will console you and encourage you but none of it will really help.
 You will want to punch every person that tries to tell you muscle weighs more than fat and you should just get over it because you’re doing a great job. The truth is you ARE doing a great job, muscle DOES weigh more than fat, and until you accept that your life and how you feel about yourself is not defined by a number you probably won’t be very satisfied.
Everybody hits a plateau with fitness, several actually. The true test of your dedication is whether you choose to hang on or whether you give up. Stop weighing yourself so often. Focus on how you feel, how your clothes fit, and how your body looks. Your muscles are more defined and your tummy is flattening, and you may even need to go shopping for smaller jeans. You are sculpting your body to match the wonderful person you know you are on the inside.  Don’t let that number define you.

14. Set Small Goals

Every time I began working out I would decide I want to lose X amount of lbs, be a certain dress size, and looks this particular way in the mirror. If you are doing this stop it right now. This is unrealistic and so damaging to the overall process of getting healthy.
Set a small goal to achieve in the meantime. Try to lose 2 lbs or train your body to run an entire mile without stopping. These small victories will see you through to your overall goal.

15. Know All The Benefits

You want to look hot and gain some confidence, exercise will certainly do that. These goals are not achieved overnight, unfortunately. To sustain the transition time before there are visible differences in your body it can be helpful to know about other benefits exercise is bringing to your life.
For example you may notice a difference in your mood, maybe you are feeling a little happier . You can thank the endorphins released by your workouts for that smile on your face. You may also notice you may sleep more restfully, and have more energy throughout the day. These are also things you can thank your workout for. Not to mention health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and hypertension that you are now actively fighting against. Every step you take, weight you lift, rock wall you climb, or lap you swim counts not only towards visible aspects of health but the invisible as well.

17. Get Comfortable With Yourself Now

By now you are tired of hearing that your body won’t change after one or two workout but you really need to hear it and believe me when I say it won’t. This makes it that much more important that you start working on getting comfortable with yourself. 
Understand that this is a process for your body. Getting discouraged and quitting is easy if your mindset is that within a month you will have achieved the body you have always wanted. Work on being comfortable in your own skin through this entire process to avoid disappointment and quitting. This will also make you appreciate any changes you see that much more.

18. Get Others Involved

Hello? Discouraged, party of one? Let’s face it, working out alone can be lonely and boring. Finding a workout buddy can not only keep you motivated but it can give you someone to share your triumphs with as well as complaints. Just don’t forget you are their support as well. Having somebody to workout with will hold you more accountable as well.
Cheating is easy when you only have yourself to answer to but involving a friend, family member, or partner leaves you accountable to somebody else. Working out with friend can also can help distract you from the more boring or difficult parts of the workout and allow for a little bonding time.

19. Reward Yourself

Do not reward yourself with food, unless it’s a carrot or a plate of steamed broccoli. Rewarding yourself with unhealthy goodness is counterproductive to the cause that is your future hot body.
Instead try rewarding yourself with a new pair of jeans after you’ve achieved your first goal. Maybe you could try putting a dollar in a jar for every workout you successfully complete. After three months take the jar and treat yourself to something nice. Before long maybe you’ll find what you want to reward yourself with is a new pair of cleats or hand weights.

20. Remember This Isn’t Just For You

We’re all somebody’s mother, father, daughter, son, sister, brother, or friend. Remember you are not the only ones you need to stay healthy for. Other people love us, enjoy our company, and depend on us. Remembering this can be a great motivator for some as it was for me. Staying healthy helps ensure you’ll be around to share in special moments with loved ones. You will have the energy to experience different activities together.  

To read all 50 tips view 50 Things to Know To Live a Stick With a Workout eBook.  A great gift for a stressed out friend!  Also a great book for people who need a little help to relax. I ENCOURAGE YOU to borrow the book for free from the Kindle Lending Library for Amazon Prime Members.  If you would like to share these tips please email me at lbrennec@gmail.com.  







About Lisa Rusczyk
Lisa is the creator of the blog Charlie The Cavalier.  She is also the Creator and Author of the 50 Things to Know Books.  Send Lisa Rusczyk an email at lbrennec@gmail.com.  

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