Habit Tracking: the #1 Fitness Strategy You Need for Results

Google “fitness strategy” and you’ll get thousands of hits. It’s overwhelming. But often it’s the simplest of ideas that create the most obvious and long-lasting results. Habit tracking is on of those ideas. It’s easy. The whole point is to do it consistently. And what you get in return is obvious and immediate feedback. These are the very things you need for results!

There’s more to reaching your goals than following meal plans and working out until your muscles are sore.

Is it a good idea to understand calories, and macros, and meal plans? Sure.
Should you follow an exercise plan and sometimes workout so hard that you feel it the next day? Yep!

But as important as those things are, they will only work for you if you do them consistently.

Ironically, understanding calories, knowing what protein is and figuring out how to squat well are the easy pieces of the puzzle. They’re facts. No room for judgment. A calorie is a calorie whether it’s in your kale smoothie on Monday or in your margarita on Friday.

The hard part is learning how to navigate those Monday and Friday decisions.

Because in between those facts is life.

And a good fitness strategy has to hold it’s own against the ups and downs, ins and outs, good days and bad days of life as you live it.

This particular fitness strategy: habit tracking, is my favorite because it does just that.

Habit tracking is a tool you can use to take the guess work out of whether or not you’re on track. It’s a strategy that will help you take the rules and complicated nuances of getting fit and simplify them into clear, actionable and effective steps.

No added stress.
No complicated math.

Just the change you want in a manner that you can sustain.

Habit Tracking 101

Habit tracking is exactly what it sounds like – a simple way to measure whether (or not) you completed a task.

What Makes it Such an Effective Fitness Strategy?

You do not rise to the level of your goal. You fall to the level of your systems.”

Atomic Habits

Why is habit tracking the #1 fitness strategy you need for results? Because real results – the kind that you can see and feel and that last forever – require consistent behavior change and action.

Most of us think we have to rely on willpower to do that. But you’ve probably learned already that willpower won’t get you through the toughest days.

Habits will.

Because with habits, you don’t have to think about it. You just do it.

Like when you get in your car and automatically buckle your seatbelt.
Or when you shut the door behind you so the cold air doesn’t blow through the house.

You don’t think about it. You’ve just learned with repetition and with many reminders over the years to do those things.

Habits are your systems. And if you set yourself up with habits that support your health and move you towards your goals, then success is a no brainer.

How to Habit Track Effectively

The key to tracking your habits effectively is to make it as simple as possible. It may feel counter-intuitive, but focusing on less, and focusing on easier, helps you to accomplish more, more effectively.

In a nutshell, in order to habit track effectively you need to:

1. Choose 1-2 habits at a time.
   
2. Visualize how that habit connects to your goal. It’s really important that you have a clear idea of how nailing this 1 habit will get you closer to your goals. Because the change won’t be abrupt in a “woke up one morning and had a JLo booty” kind of way. So you’ll need to really connect the action to the goal. It should have meaning to you!
   
3. Simplify those habits down to the very smallest, most actionable step. You want this to be so simple and sound so easy that it’s almost laughable that you wouldn’t do it.
   
   (Remember: we want you to SUCCEED at your goals. To do that, you need to really believe you can succeed at them!).
   
4. Understand what the “win” looks like. How will you know that you’ve accomplished today’s focus/habit? What will indicate that you can check off today as a win?
   
5. Track it!
   
   Once you know the what, the why, the exactly what, and the why, it’s time to DO.
   
   Whether your habit is one that you do daily, or weekly, or multiple times a day, track it! Put a checkmark, or a sticker, or use the tracker linked below to mark your wins – every one of them!
   
   Tracking gives you the data that you need to make educated adjustments and changes. It also improves your motivation and helps you gain momentum – every day becomes an opportunity to celebrate your wins!
   
6. Adjust and grow based on what you learn. Once you can consistently check off a habit for 2-3 weeks, it’s time to add another super simple, actionable focus to the list.
   
   

This is how you can gradually change your body, your routine and your habits for the better to create long-lasting and life-altering change!

Remember: a simple plan that you can do and feel great about every single day – no matter how simple – beats a “perfect” plan that you can’t keep up with and end up never doing.

BONUS: Picking the Right Focuses for Your Goals

Your goals are unique to you. As is your lifestyle, your preferences, your fitness level and everything else that goes into you being you. If you’re looking for specifics, and really targeted guidance, let’s take a deep dive! We can talk through the ins and outs and together we can come up with a plan that will help you kick butt. (Click here to learn more about online coaching, or here to book your *free* strategy session!).

That said, here’s a step-by-step process you can use to narrow down the habits and focuses that might help you!

First up, what’s your goal? Get specific. What do you want to be able to do? How do you want to feel? What do you want to see in the mirror or on test results?

Then, work backwards. Think about what you could do in the next month to help you get closer to this accomplishment. How about the next week? How about today?

Finally, pick one and simplify it. Make it so easy that you can’t imagine not getting it done.

For example, let’s say that your goal is to build muscle. You want to be able to see definition in your arms and legs, you want to be able to squat your body weight and you want the confidence that you know you’ll build getting there!

Working backwards…what can you do in the next month? Week? Day?

Remember that your focus should be so small and simple that not checking that box off would feel silly.

You could commit to:

• 10 minutes of bodyweight strength training 3 days a week
• Adding 1 serving of protein into your day
• Eat breakfast every morning so that you have the energy to workout
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work once a day

Simple. Measurable. Connected to your goal. A fitness strategy that works.

You get it.