People ask me all the time, “What is the most important factor is to get results from exercise?”
Is it the actual fitness move you do?
Does the intensity you put into the workout matter most?
Is duration of each session the key consideration?
The answer is, yes all of these factors combined, are important to get results from your fitness program. But they aren’t the most crucial consideration.
The absolute most important factor is how CONSISTENT you are with your workouts. In order to see results from exercise, whether it’s weight loss, muscle gain or an increase in energy, you have to perform your fitness program regularly, week over week, month over month, year over year. As much as I love exercising, I know that there are days when it’s tough to hit the gym. That’s why I use these 3 strategies to keep me on track:
3 Strategies to Stay Consistent to Get Results From Your Exercise Program
1. Enjoy your exercise time.
Have fun with your fitness program! Get moving more, by doing activities you like. Working out at the gym isn’t the only answer; there are a ton of other calorie burning activities you may enjoy more. Here are a few new fitness activities that you maybe haven’t thought of yet:
If you do enjoy gym workouts, try adding music into the mix to recognize even more benefits! I know the importance of adding variety into a workout plan to continue your progress, but there are a few classic exercises that I end up performing at some point almost every week. Here are 3 of my favourite exercises to get better fitness results from exercise. Give them a try and see if you like them.
1. Abs Under Pressure
I love this exercise because it doesn’t strain your low back or hip flexors, but works the really deep ab muscles that can be hard to target.
2. Clamshells
The ‘Banded Clamshells’ is a great exercise for your glutes medius muscle. This is a small muscle in the buttocks that can lead to low back pain when it’s weak, so it’s important to strengthen.
3. Superman
The Superman is a good exercise to strengthen your lower back, which is a weak spot for many of us. There are many variations of this exercise, so it’s easy to perform weekly.
2. Chart your progress.
I talk a lot about the importance of tracking food to build healthy eating habits. It’s equally important to keep an eye on how your strength and cardio health changes throughout your fitness journey. Seeing improvements will not only motivate you to consistently stick with your fitness plan, it can also show you if your current plan is working or not.
I change my clients’ fitness plans on a monthly basis. By the end of the month, I have a clear idea of which moves we were able to increase weight and/or reps on. If I don’t see increases by the end of the month, either we didn’t push the plan hard enough, or the exercise format didn’t work for my client. Either way, I make note of it, and use the feedback to continue all future development plans.
3. Make exercise fit into your current lifestyle.
The key thing to realize when you’re looking to build a consistent fitness program, is that something is always better than nothing. Walking up and down your stairs a couple of times each morning is better than sitting on the couch. Two 15-minute workouts or three 10-minute workouts daily can be more effective than a 30 minute session and the shorter routines may fit better into your lifestyle. Even 5 minutes of exercise a day, adds up! You must find a program that fits into your lifestyle in order to stick with it consistently.
Summary…Get Better Results From Exercise Now!
In order to see results from exercise, you have to perform your fitness program consistently. To stick with your plan over the long term, you have to enjoy it. Exercising outside of the gym, or playing music can increase the fun. Tracking results can also motivate you to help build up your fitness consistency. Make your fitness program fit into your current lifestyle, and you’ll be more likely to stick with it. So, what do you think? Will you use any of these strategies to help you stick with your exercise program regularly, so that you get better results from exercise?