four keys to making exercise a habit

Did you know it takes over two months to create a new habit? Making regular exercise a habit requires patience, persistence, and preparation to reach your fitness goals. Adding exercise to your daily life can be a challenging process, but it is well worth it! Here are four practical and creative ways to set yourself up for success in this new challenge.

1. Create space
   Often overlooked is the workout space itself. If you are exercising from home, set up an area that will always be used for your workouts. This space doesn’t have to be fancy! I recommend adding basic equipment to an office or making use of outdoor spaces like a backyard, garage, or porch. Once it’s time to work out you only have to move aside a few items and spread out a towel or yoga mat to get started.

2. Show up first, buy equipment later
   Many people let their lack of equipment be a hindrance to getting a workout program started, but equipment is secondary. Our bodies can do so many exercises with zero extras purchased! I recommend establishing your workout routine FIRST, then work toward building your home gym. Workout equipment is something that you can add in over time as your fitness level grows.

3. Carve out time
   Look ahead at your weekly schedule and set aside 3–5 workout sessions, adding one extra day as a flex. For example, if your current workout plan has you training 3 days a week, carve out 4 because sometimes despite our best intentions, life happens and we can’t exercise as planned. Pro tip: work out at the same time of day each day for an easier time building your exercise habit.

4. Make plans
   Arguably most important part of making exercise a habit is having a plan. If your last exercise plan consisted of stringing together random workouts from Instagram or Pinterest, you likely didn’t reach your goals in the way you expected making working out less fulfilling and way less fun. Finding a workout plan that matches with your goals with consistency is a surefire way to get where you want to be. Even better, have a coach who knows you and creates your plan based on your goals. This takes out the guesswork and day-to-day anxiety over whether or not you are doing the right workouts or hitting the right muscle groups.

Once you’ve created the space and time in your life for exercise and have a plan designed for you to meet your goals, you will be off to the races! What strategy helped you most when incorporating exercise in your life?