Lots of us have a hard time staying on the exercise bandwagon. We have periods of time where we train really hard or consistently, followed by periods of little to no exercise.
Despite what your favourite Instagram-mer says, some of this is actually totally normal. Life moves through peaks and troughs, and any responsible training programme should follow those same fluctuations. If you find yourself adopting an all-or-nothing approach that is preventing you from making any progress over a long period of time, it might be time to make some changes.
Note: Of course, not everyone trains for a specific goal and may not be looking for “progress” per se – you may just be exercising to move as opposed to getting stronger. That being said, I still think the changes I have listed below could improve your relationship with exercise.
Set Smaller Initial Commitments
The reason so many people struggle to stay on the fitness bandwagon is because they oscillate between huge training commitments and no training commitments (i.e. quitting the gym). We often try to go from no training, to 3 or 4 workouts a week in the blink of an eye, or ramp up our training intensity very suddenly. This takes a huge toll on our physical and mental state via soreness, tiredness, and massive disruption of our regular lives.
This can lead to burn-out and quitting the workout routine. At this point, missing even one session feels like an absolute betrayal of those stringent commitments. Then, when faced with getting back on the bandwagon, we find ourselves dwarfed by the prospect of meeting those huge commitments again.
By setting smaller commitments, we hopefully reduce the size of the gap between our “on” and “off” states, like so:
Try reducing your exercise commitments when starting out:
- 30-minute workouts instead of 60 minutes;
- Hire a trainer so you can avoid some training decisions;
- 1-2 workouts per week;
- Start a fitness routine OR make nutritional changes – not both at the same time.
It’s better to start “too small” and ramp up training commitments, rather than starting “too big” and having to bounce back later.
Ditch the Seasonal Goals
If you want to ditch seasonal training patterns, ditch seasonal training goals.
Most seasonal goals are dominated by extrinsic motivation, such as punishment or reward from an outside source. This could be:
- Feeling pressure to look a certain way for those summer holiday snaps,
- The passive-aggressive reminders we get around Christmas/New Year to earn or burn those extra calories.
Here’s an example of how it can feel to fight through the barrage of external seasonal “motivation”.
External sources of motivation almost never last. It’s depressing to be constantly reminded of societal pressure or shame about your body, which can lead to us quitting before we’ve even started. Even if the seasonal pressure does drive you to make changes, they’re often short-lived as that season passes and you lose all desire to maintain your results. As time passes and you return to your previous habits/body, all the pressure and shame that you previously internalised as “motivation” comes back to bite you.
It’s not for anyone to tell you what your goals should be. No goal is unworthy of your time, provided it’s your decision, and not that of the nearest influencer or magazine.
I hope this helps you stay on track with your fitness goals. The main thing to remember is that no one is 100% committed to the gym every week with the possible exceptions of professional athletes and those people with exercise-or-body-image-related disorders. Practice patience and compassion with yourself, and you will have a much easier time making exercise a habit.
I explore some of these concepts in greater detail in my series on gym motivation.
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