If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably joined several gyms throughout the years, and each time you’ve thought ‘this is the one’! You were excited, motivated, you had a goal and the will to achieve it. You went to the gym consistently for a few months, then you started finding excuses until you stopped going.
We’ve all been there. It takes time to understand the omnipresent role consistency plays (ie. there’s no bargaining room with the planet of sowing, reaping, harvests…karma – Saturn, ouch!) in training; as everything, including results take a long time to show, and the only way to actually achieve some is to be consistent in your training. So, if you struggle with consistency, you’ll want to check out Fitness Consistency: 5 Effective Ways to Achieve It!
1. Group Classes
If you’re not too sure what to do at the gym, chances are that taking part in group classes will make your life a lot easier, and training will finally become fun. Group classes are stress-free; you show up, you do what you’re told and you leave. Taking part in any type of activity where a coach leads a workout will help you keep consistent. You’ll be training more efficiently, usually for a shorter time, and you’ll also make new training buddies that will motivate you to get to the gym on those days when you really don’t feel like it.
2. Keep it Varied
If there’s one thing that kills fitness consistency, it’s monotony. You can keep your workouts varied by training different parts of your body on different days, or alternating strength and cardio workouts. The key is to never do the same exercises every time you work-out, or you’ll end up getting bored, going stale and inevitably giving up.
3. Never Skip Rest Days
Sometimes, especially when we’ve just started a new training routine or joined a new gym, rest days feel like a waste of time and we tend to avoid them.
It doesn’t matter if your body isn’t sore the day after the gym, if you’ve used light weights or if you don’t feel tired, there’s nothing worse than not giving your body time to recover. Rest days are key in order for you to keep up consistency – they allow your muscles to repair and your body and CNS (central nervous system) to relax. More importantly, they will help you perform better successive workouts.
4. Enjoy What You’re Doing
Have fun when working-out and you won’t need to think about keeping consistent. Find something you love – going to the gym isn’t for everyone, some people enjoy training alone, but that doesn’t mean that it’s what we should all do. There are millions of activities that can be done to keep fit, and once you find what you really love, being consistent won’t be a problem anymore.
5. Sleep Schedule
It’s recommended to sleep between 7 and 8 hours every night. It’s proven that having a regular sleep schedule improves performance. When you have a consistent sleep schedule, your body performs at its best during physical exertions like workouts, meaning you’ll be better equipped and able to train harder while feeling less fatigue. Working out will make you sleep better, and sleeping well will improve your training sessions. This feedback loop creates a ‘virtuous cycle’ which is a great way to keep your training consistent, whilst avoiding risk of injury. You’ve heard it before, trust the process!
