4 Tips to Help Maintain a Fit Lifestyle

We all know how hard it can be to make any kind of change in life; especially if it involves fitness. Many people have good intentions to begin exercising and eating healthy but often relapse after only a couple of weeks of trying. You may lose weight just to gain it back again, or food prep for a week and then order out the entire week after. Even life events can cause friction in starting a new routine. 

So how does somebody keep it all together and maintain a fit lifestyle? 

Stimulus control is simply making adjustments to your environment to make better choices. For example, packing your gym clothes overnight and placing your gym bag by the door before exiting your home. This way you don't forget to bring it. Also, keeping your gym bag visible, like in the passenger seat. Out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. Another example would be joining a gym that is close to your home or job. This will reduce any dread on the trip to show up and exercise.

 Find someone to tag along with at the gym. But not just anyone. Someone who shares the same fitness goals as you. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, working out with someone who also wants to lose weight can offer additional support and motivation. If your goal is to create more muscular definition, the both of you can create a workout split per week to complete “together”. The biggest pro in having a gym partner is holding each other accountable and pushing each other not to give up.

 Make fitness a must do. It should become a necessity similar to running to the grocery store after church, or reading a few chapters of a book before bed. Making time to fit fitness into your daily life is important. One of the main reasons people don’t stick to a fitness program is because they claim they don’t have enough time. There is 24 hours in a day; just 20 minutes of exercise can improve your health. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend 150 minutes each week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity. If you honestly want to adopt fitness into your life you have to make time for it.

 If you can’t find enjoyment, the chances of sticking to it are severely low. If you can’t stand running on a treadmill, don’t do it! There are other ways to do raise your heart rate. High intensity interval training (HIIT) can be used as a substitute. It involves short bursts of hard work on different exercises that could equate to the same perceived exertion if you were sprinting on a treadmill. If you find that working out alone is mundane or dull, consider joining a fitness class like Zumba or a spin class. Also, make a playlist of all your favorite tunes to keep your energy vibrant. Figure out what will keep you locked in.

I hope you found these tips helpful. As a fitness trainer, there are days that even I lack the motivation to work out and contemplate skipping the gym. Following the tips above have helped me maintain a consistent fitness routine. There’s an elation of accomplishment when I choose to workout rather than pass the gym and head straight home to watch an entire Netflix series. I never let my nonphysical days outweigh my physical days in a week. If you’re seeking a workout routine check out my Total Body 9-week Fitness Program.