How do I stay consistent with exercise? (2023)

How do I start being consistent with exercise?

You might lack consistency because maybe you're doing the same ol' thing. To stay consistent, you have to change constantly, not only on the workout you do but also on its intensity and method of your physical activity. You want to lose weight, so you take up running or cardio, but you don't seem to keep up with it.

It's hard to be consistent because we tend to focus on the outcome more than the process. Put another way, we're more drawn to the positive feelings of outcomes rather than the struggle of the journey. Most of us quit during the struggle before we can experience the rewards of staying the course.

So how do you make physical activity a part of your daily life—better yet, a part of your routine? Some people suggest that it can take anywhere between 21 to 30 days to form a habit. Yet, we consistently see 7-day, 10-day, and 30-day challenges to help us learn a new behaviour.

The key to consistency is setting and achieving specific goals. Start by determining how you want to be more consistent in your life, and aim for these small goals. Over time, as you become more consistent, keep yourself motivated and accountable.

When we are consistent, that means that you are dependable and predictable. In relationships, when you are consistent with your behaviors, you evoke a sense of trustworthiness among your friends, family, and partner.

How do you fix inconsistent behavior?

Our bones, muscles, tendons, heart, and lungs, will adapt to the stress exposed to it. This means if you undertake exercise that's physically challenging, your body will adapt to this stress to ensure the same activity feels slightly easier in the future. This mechanism of adaptation is both a blessing and a curse.

Start every workout with a warm-up. This will make your muscles and joints more flexible. Spend 5 to 10 minutes doing some light stretching exercises and brisk walking. Do the same thing when you're done exercising until your heart rate returns to normal.

For most people, feeling unmotivated comes from the effects of burnout. In other words, your body, mind and soul are tired – making it difficult to work up the energy and stamina to exercise. Before you push through, first ask yourself why you're feeling this way.

"Laziness" is a frequent explanation for exercise avoidance. But people who consider themselves "too lazy" to exercise are probably not lazy in other areas of their life. Instead, childhood experiences might explain some of their reasons for avoiding physical activity.

Strenuous activities such as running cause your muscles and respiratory system to work harder than normal. You require more oxygen and must remove carbon dioxide buildup, which can make breathing more difficult.

It was first established by David Allen in his book, Getting Things Done. The two-minute rule aims to banish procrastination and help people accomplish small tasks. Here's what the rule says: if you can do an action in two minutes or less, tackle it at the moment — and don't delay.

What happens if you dont work out consistently?

You Haven't Worked Out in a Year…

Aside from a soaring body-fat percentage, complete loss of muscle, and sluggish metabolism, you're also at a greater risk of serious health issues like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, insomnia, and depression.

Performing the same routine every day can lead to excess soreness or strain. Using the same muscle groups over and over again doesn't leave any time for your muscles to repair and grow. I recommend alternating days training different muscle groups so that you give your body time to recover.

The short answer is yes. “Walking is just as good as any other form of exercise,” says University Hospitals pediatric sports medicine specialist Laura Goldberg, MD. “The guidelines are 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week.

We know that skeletal muscular strength stays about the same during a month of not exercising. However, as mentioned above, athletes can start losing muscles after three weeks of inactivity. You lose cardio, or aerobic, fitness more quickly than muscle strength, and this can start to happen in just a few days.

Summary. In summary, it is generally recommended that 2-3 rest days a week is optimum. This varies slightly depending on your training age and objectives, but sticking to this advice will help reduce the chance of injury, help you recover adequately and help support long term gains.

If you want to work out five days per week and are working on both strength and cardiovascular fitness, try three days of strength training, two days of cardio, and two days of active rest. If you want to work out four days a week, think about your goals: If you want to add muscle, cut a cardio day.