Turn Exercising Into An Everyday Routine

Making your workout a daily habit, something you do automatically, like getting dressed or brushing your teeth, is usually the best thing you can do mentally. The more frequently you work out, the more you make it a part of who you are, the less likely you will be to avoid your fitness rituals. This consistency is necessary in seeing continual progress in burning fat and maintaining a high metabolism.

Now, you shouldn’t be exercising seven days a week, so by definition, making exercise a daily habit is impossible. But for those 4-5 days we should be working out, you can most certainly have a schedule laid out so you know well in advance what to prepare for. Make sure you leave yourself a reminder. Once you catch yourself not needing the reminder, you know you’re almost there.

Start light if you are a true newcomer to the gym. Nothing will deter you from working out more than being overly sore and fatigued. Going slow will ease you in to the process and give your body ample time to adjust and build a foundation.  It is even ok if you start by going to the gym or working out only once a week.  Working out once a week will still get you closer to your goals by building that habit of exercise into your routine.  You will also get addicted to how good you feel on that one day a week and the chances of you adding another day to your routine soar.

If you’re having trouble finding the motivation to get to your workout, try laying out your gear the night before, and plan to make your session as pleasurable as possible. This could mean anything from a new iPod playlist, getting outdoors on a nice day, or incorporating a workout buddy that you haven’t had a chance to catch up with.

In addition to the above recommendations, you need to begin preparing your meals in advance.  Sunday is a great day to take advantage of cooking for the week.  Having food already prepared is a great motivator for when you’re hungry at night coming back from work.  Just think of how much easier it will be to avoid stopping to get fast food if you already know that you will go home and have dinner within a few minutes of walking through the door.

Building the habit of exercise requires a lot of work to undo old habits and behaviors.  You need to prepare and won’t be successful in any sort of body transformation unless you begin preparing.  Life will always get in the way and there is nothing you can do about that. This leaves you with two choices.  You can either make an excuse as to why you can’t get into shape or you can find solutions that will allow you to get into shape.