Committing to a fitness journey is commendable and often exciting. You know that you are about to embark on a quest to build a healthier and ultimately more fulfilling life. There are a lot of benefits to that. But any fitness journey can come with it’s own set of challenges, especially given the demands of daily life. In this article, we explore effective strategies to help you stay inspired and consistent, overcome common challenges, and ensure your workouts remain engaging and effective so that you can achieve the fitness and health that you want!

How to Stay Inspired and Consistent in Your Fitness Routine

Identify Your Why

A fitness journey is not just about physical exertion. It requires a deep understanding of the driving force and motivation inspiring you to go for it. I call this Your Why. In this section we’ll dive into the significant impact Your Why has on long-term commitment, inspiration and consistency.

Your Why is Powerful

Think about the last time you were driven by emotion. Strong. Intense. Personal. Perhaps even slightly uncontrollable. Emotion is a powerful force.

Emotions are so strong because they are an instant, primal reaction that we often have little control over. They evoke a much deeper and sometimes unexplainable need or desire.

That’s what I’m talking about here: intense, personal, deep meaning:

To feel completely comfortable and confident in your body.
To get your health back so that you can be around for your kids the way you want to be.
To stave off chronic disease that runs in your family so you can live a long, fulfilling life.

These kinds of emotions drive the more objective, graspable goals such as losing 20 pounds, finishing a half marathon or losing belly fat.

Your Why is a permanent need that consistently holds sway when the time comes to do the workout or skip it, to give in to the Ben & Jerry’s craving or to resist it, to stay committed or to throw in the towel.

Finding Your Why

Not surprisingly, finding Your Why requires a deep dive into what drives you, which can bring up powerful emotions and possibly painful ones, too. Because oftentimes, your deepest reasons for wanting to change brings up stuff that’s easier to not dig into.

Maybe you realize that your current fitness doesn’t allow you to be the parent you want to be. Or you maybe you recognize that you’ve been unhealthy habits as a means of protecting yourself from something else that is happening in your life.

These realization are tough. But they drive change.

Here’s how to get there:

• Take your initial reason for wanting to make a change and use that as a starting point.
• Ask yourself “why?”.
• Answer honestly.
• Ask again, “why?”.

This might require some time and effort. Set aside 5-10 quiet minutes. Grab a notebook. Don’t judge what comes up.

A Story of Personal Transformation

I want to share a story with you to illustrate how a strong sense of purpose can propel you through obstacles, feed lasting motivation and foster resilience that goes beyond mere physical strength.

*Aside: I would share before/after photos here except, I don’t have many photos from that time. I wasn’t keen on picture at the time. In retrospect, I was always ashamed of what I was doing to my body and didn’t want documentation, even then.

I developed anorexia while attending university. Recovery was a years-long mental, emotional and physical struggle. The first obstacle: recognizing and admitting that I was sick. The second, much harder obstacle: honestly committing to recovery.

You see, though I could see from a scientific and practical standpoint that I was severely unhealthy and was causing myself harm, I wasn’t committed to the idea of recovery. I was comfortable in my habits. My illness made it hard to see recovery as anything other than admitting I was wrong, gaining weight and a fall from willpower.

I saw therapist. On Day 1 she asked me “Why are you here?”.

I told her that my parents were making me come. That I was fine. Happy.

We finished that first session with me unwavering in that fact.

I don’t know if it was Day 10 or Day 30 but eventually, I found myself sobbing on her couch.

I was not fine. I was not healthy. I needed help.

And I’d finally let myself dig deep enough into my pain that I could recognize that. That was my turning point.

Please don’t get me wrong. The flip did not just switch to full throttle and suddenly I was doing everything right. I had a lot of bad habits to unlearn. A lot of self-worth to build back up. It took years to fully accomplish my goal of getting healthy. But in the moments of doubt (and there were plenty) I fell back on My Why. It was the fiery catalyst to my full recovery. It’s why I am here.

Set Clear, Realistic and Actionable Goals

The right goals should provide you with a sense of empowerment and excitement. You should feel good about them!

I’m talking about goals that are clear and specific in terms of what (we covered the why, above). Goals that are realistic in terms of your ability given the time of your life, the requirements of said goal and your physical ability to commit to those requirements. Goals that inspire action.

In this section, we’ll cover the kinds of goals that will help you stay inspired and consistent in your fitness routine.

Set Stepping Stone Goals

Stepping stone goals, aka short-term goals, are goals that are on the path to your ultimate fitness goal, but attainable in a shorter time span: 1 month, 1 week, 1 day.

If you’re thinking “What in the world counts as a 1 Day Goal that has any meaning to what I really want?”…

The answer is: everything.

Everything you do, every action and choice that you make or don’t make, is an opportunity. Overtime, these singular things add up to massive transformation.

In fact, I’d sit down with a cup of coffee and have an enjoyable time arguing that these are the ONLY goals that matter. The moment that you are in, every one of them, is the only moment you are living. In that respect, these are the ultimate goals.

For example:

If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, your stepping stone goals might include:

• exercising for 30 minutes every day
• eating 1 serving of vegetables at every meal
• waking up earlier to go for a walk before the day gets away from you

Alone, these don’t sound monumental. Together, overtime, they are everything you need.

Create Long-Term Goals from a Positive Mindset

Long-term goals are the destination at the end of this fitness journey. They are the vision of you that you see when you think about what you want for you body, your health, your energy and lifestyle. Viewing long-term goals with a positive mindset is important because most often, you’ll be living with them for a while.

We all have an self story: an inner dialogue and perception of ourselves that influences what we believe we are capable of, what we understand as our worth, and how confident we are that we can achieve our goals. That self-talk influences how you face your goals. See the self-perpetuating cycle?

Psychology drives physiology. Top performers spend time planning, strategizing and visualizing success. They pump themselves up when they need to, and calm themselves down when the moment requires it. They write their own story. And so should you.

Skill Development

Skill goals allow for a shift in focus as they provide an fresh take on familiar desires. Developing and mastering new skills requires a plan of action, but innately takes time, small progresses and dedication into account.

For example:

• Instead of focusing on how many calories you can burn during a workout, focus on improving your technique and strength with squats, deadlifts and pull ups.
• Instead of trying to cut out snacking, focus on building your cooking skills in the kitchen so that it’s easier to prepare healthy, delicious, homecooked meals.

Mastery-driven individuals find motivation in the daily pursuit of improvement. They view setbacks and obstacles as valuable learning opportunities rather than indications of failure. This is a prime example of growth mindset in practice.

Behavior-Based Goals

We know outcome-based goals: I want to lose 10 pounds of weight, I want to finish the spring 5k running 9 minute miles, etc. Both valid goals.

But here’s the trouble with outcome-based goals: you don’t have total control over the outcome. You could twist an ankle and *poof* there goes that 5k.

Behavior-based goals adjust the focus. Unlike outcome goals, which describe the result you want, behavior goals focus on the actions and choices you can take and make consistently to get to those outcome goals. These types of goals provide a clear visualization of the path to progress. They transform abstract aspirations into concrete actions that you can track and implement every day. This approach increases the likelihood of sustained success, sustained motivation and consistency.

Instead of I want to lose weight, commit to the daily actions it takes to get there. Things like practicing mindful eating, making high quality food choices, walking 10 minutes after lunch.

Want help taking action with all of this information? If you are interested in lifetime access to resources that I use daily to stay inspired and consistent, check out the Performance and Physique Vault. A one-stop-shop for all of my most-used guides, worksheets and resources. Plus, a 6-week workout program guaranteed to jumpstart your fitness level!

Embrace Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the concept of consistently challenging your body in order to stimulate growth and change. It’s an important principle of fitness and a pillar of my coaching programs. And it’s also an effective method to stay inspired and consistent in your fitness routine.

Strategic Variety 101

Variety is the spice of life. Or is it salt? Anyways…

To keep your workouts exciting and prevent plateaus (which are both very real drains on motivation), it’s important to embrace variety and progression in your training routine.

>>Working out but not seeing results? Click here.

If general health and fitness is your goal, experiment with different types of exercise. Try new classes and workout with a variety of training modalities such as TRX training, Pilates, weight training, cardio and yoga. This ensures a well-rounded fitness regimen and keeps things interesting.

If you have more specific goals like body recomposition, building muscle and strength or improving athletic performance, you’ll want to be a bit more strategic. An easy way to do this is to follow a periodized plan that allows you to change things up a bit, but maintain sustainable progress.

Here’s an example of what that could look like:

• Month 1: Strength Focus. Keep your volume low, but your per rep weight lifted high.
• Month 2: Hypertrophy Focus. Increase volume slightly and drop your weight as needed to accommodate the new range.
• Month 3: Muscular Endurance Focus. Increase volume even more, decrease weight and rest times.
• Repeat!

The above method provides new stimulus in a strategic manner to constantly provide the stimulus your body requires to adapt.

Let Go Of “All-or-Nothing” Thinking

“I can’t do this, it’s just not the right time.”
“Lunch was a bust so I just gave up for the day – I’ll start again tomorrow.”

These are real quotes from real women who are doing REALLY well on their fitness journey…but haven’t quite let go of the idea of “it’s either all, or it’s nothing”.

The first problem here is that perfect isn’t real. There is no universally perfect method, or rule, or diet, or workout.

The second problem is that striving for perfection rarely gets us perfection. In fact, it usually ends up getting us nothing.

Instead, strive for doing what you need to do most of the time. Base meals around protein and vegetables most of the time. Exercise five days a week most of the time. Go for walks, get 8 hours of sleep and practice mindful eating strategies most of the time so that in the one-off situations where those healthy practices can’t happen…it doesn’t matter!

You can miss a workout and still get stronger.
Go out to dinner for your birthday, your healthy eating routine will be waiting for you tomorrow.

Don’t get so hung up on trying to do it perfectly that you end up not doing it at all.

Have a Contingency Plan

One strategy that I’ve found to be highly effective in shifting this perfectionism mindset is developing a contingency plan: an If…then…plan of action for when life doesn’t follow the schedule you set out for it.

For example:

If I can’t finish my workout during lunch, then I’ll do what I can and take a walk after dinner.

If I don’t have time to shop for groceries today, then I’ll order from the local spot with amazing salads.

IF things don’t go perfectly…I can still make good choices.

Find an Accountability Partner

Accountability: showing up and setting out to accomplish the things you’d said you’d do. It’s about taking personal responsibility for your work. It’s also trusting in your teammates and knowing you can count on each other to get things done.

When held accountable by someone other than yourself, whether to a group or an individual, you tap into the influence of social expectations. Did you know that 95% of people who commit to their goals alongside someone else, achieve those goals? 95%!

Consider the role of a personal trainer or a health coach, for instance. A coach can help you establish systems and protocols, create action plans, track and assess progress, get back on track and celebrate the wins. A coach holds you accountable to keep you on track toward achieving your long-term fitness goals.

To stay inspired and consistent in your fitness routine it helps to know that someone else is either a) counting on you or b) counting for you.

Overcome the Most Common Challenges

Of course, there are a few common obstacles that most people face on the road to fitness. There’s no harm in talking about them now, and coming up with strategies to overcome them so that you continue to stay inspired and consistent!

Time constraints

Prioritize your workouts. Schedule them in advance and treat them as you would a deadline or doctor appointment: non-negotiable. Look for opportunities to optimize your time, such as early morning walks or lunchtime workouts. Break your workouts into shorter, more manageable sessions if needed, and make the most of the time you have available.

Lack of energy

First, clear up what you’re feeling. Is it true exhaustion? Perhaps it is if you didn’t sleep well last night, or you had a hectic day on your feet. Or is it laziness? Be honest with yourself. If it’s the former, it’s okay to take a day off or do an activity that is less taxing on your body. However, if it’s the latter…I’m a trainer, you know what I’m going to say. Grab your water bottle, throw on some jams and get your butt to work.

Lack of confidence in the gym.

Totally get it. To feel and stay inspired and consistent, confidence is key and the gym can feel intimidating. My advice it to find a trainer or experienced friend to help you get the lay of the land. In 1-2 sessions, you should feel familiar enough with the equipment and space to go it alone. Need a little confidence booster? Here’s my go-to: hat on, ear buds in, cute workout gear on and pretend that no one else exists.

*Side note: you can actually use the gym, and the fit people in it, to stay inspired and consistent at times. Find people who might have similar goals and/or obstacles: the mom who drops her kids in daycare for an hour to get her workout in, the former college-athlete who misses the adrenaline of sports, the first-timer who is just trying to make her way.

I hope this article leaves you with effective strategies that you can use to stay inspired and consistent with your workouts and maintain the motivation you need to achieve your goals!