You’ve got an all-or-nothing mindset
If you’re struggling to stick to your workout plan, it could be because you’ve internalised an all-or-nothing mindset. If your first instinct after getting up a little late is to cancel your morning workout altogether rather than just rescheduling or shortening it, then your perfectionism could be causing you to skip your workouts more often than you complete them.
Solution: Take smaller steps
To fix an all-or-nothing mindset, you need to be more flexible in your approach to exercise and change up your definition of success. Rather than trying to complete three two-hour gym classes a week, commit to going for a walk whenever works for you. Instead of finishing one online fitness class a day, try to open your app and complete some exercises every day.
You’re using exercise as punishment
Many people fall into the trap of treating exercise as a punishment for supposedly bad lifestyle or diet choices. Unfortunately, while shame might be a powerful motivator for the first couple of workouts, it is not a flame that can successfully burn long-term. A far more likely outcome of using negative motivation is quitting exercise after just a couple of weeks, and feeling worse than ever.
Solution: Find the joy in exercise
Exercise shouldn’t be a way of making up for lifestyle choices you feel embarrassed about, or a thing you do in order to earn treats and relaxation. Instead, the most sustainable way to exercise is to find workouts you enjoy and feel excited about, and integrate them into your routine in a sustainable and balanced way.
You’re working out at the wrong times
Despite what you might think, the times you choose to exercise are almost as important as the kinds of exercise you choose to do. If you can’t stick to a workout plan, it could be because you keep telling yourself you’ll be able to get up for 5 am yoga despite not being a morning person. Or you commit to after-work classes despite always coming home exhausted.
Solution: Make exercise fit your schedule
If you want to give a new habit the best chance of success, it’s best to stack it on top of an old habit. So if you already get up to make coffee and read the paper two hours before work, do 20 minutes of pilates while you wait for it to brew. If you love sleeping in, opt for afternoon or evening classes instead.
You’re working out without support
As is true with any other big life change, when you begin exercising in earnest for the first time, you’re going to both want and need support. So if you’re struggling to work out consistently, it could be because you’re attempting to do it in total isolation, with no one to join you on runs, give you encouragement or keep you accountable.
Solution: Figure out who you can lean on
Some people are mortified by or terrified of the idea of working out with other people, but having an exercise support system doesn’t necessarily mean having a gym buddy. Whether you hire a personal trainer, ask your partner to cook more protein-dense meals for you or request that your pals call you in the morning to see if you’re doing your crunches, get other people involved!
You’re not giving yourself any rest days
If you’ve spent a long while feeling ashamed of how little you exercise, then you might feel some pressure to make up for lost time when you start working out. This can lead to you skipping rest days and ignoring what your body is trying to tell you, which in the long term will decimate your ability to work out consistently and sustainably.
Solution: Make resting a priority
If you want to build a lasting exercise habit, you need to internalise the idea that rest days are not a reward for working out, they are a crucial part of the process. Without them, your body doesn’t have the time or space to repair damaged muscle fibres or strengthen the pathways in the brain associated with motivation. So take those rest days, and enjoy them!
