How to stay consistent with working out

Imagine, if you will, that you exercised more this year than any other year. You put in more reps, sets, steps and miles. How would you feel? How would you look? The answer is pretty awesome! 

This can be easier said than done, but what if it wasn't? What if it was as easy as a walk in the park? Well, it could be! A walk in the park won't sculpt an athletic physique, but it can be just enough to generate or maintain momentum, and this consistency will transfer onto other exercise disciplines, such as lifting weights!

Prefer to watch than read? Then please check out the video below:

What is the key to training consistency?

The key to consistency is making the desired action habitual — part of your routine. The only way to do this is to do it frequently enough that you don't consider whether or not you should do it, or if you have time, or perhaps if you should do it tomorrow — you just do it!

Exercise regularly

To solidify the habit of exercising regularly, you need to do something most days, even when you're strapped for time; this could be as simple as going for a walk, a quick run, or perhaps a short resistance session. Each one of these supports each other, as regular exercise generates momentum, regardless of what exercise you do. When I'm strapped for time or trying to resolidify habits, I set myself a goal to exercise for at least 20 minutes per day, and this exercise can be a walk or run, but I tend to prioritise resistance training. No matter how busy I am, I've always got time for this, and usually, I squeeze in a bit more and make it a 30-minute session. 

Maintain momentum

When people exercise irregularly; I'm talking one to two sessions per week, without filling the gaps with consistent movement; walking, running, or other forms of light exercise or intense conditioning. They find themselves in a constant battle to get back into training, rather than simply maintaining habits and keeping momentum. When you've gone 4-5 days with zero exercise, this won't impact your physique, but psychologically you'll feel like you have to start back over; training becomes this monumental task like having to take the Christmas decorations back down — CBA with that! In contrast, small actions implemented consistently don't feel like a big task and can make a huge impact on your physique and health!

Lift weights at least twice per week and stay active in between

You can make good progress doing only two resistance sessions per week; you won't be a seven-time Mr Olympia and governor of California, but it's enough to squeeze in a fair amount of training volume. But between those sessions, you want to do things that keep you active and generate momentum; running, walking — just keep moving forward! Alternatively, you can purely focus on resistance training and do more, but shorter sessions; this can be a good strategy to facilitate higher training volumes without doing long sessions.

Parting shot

In short, train regularly to quickly solidify the habit, generate momentum, facilitate more training volume and have the best possible 2022!