Consistency is one of the most underrated aspects of fitness. We often put a lot of emphasis on the most effective type of exercise or what’s popular right now, but building consistency usually gets less attention. The best fitness program in the world won’t help you if you don’t stick to it. For this reason, adherence is considered the most important element of any training program.
A number of aspects, including nutrition, good activity programming and motivation, are taken into account in order to progress; if any of these factors fail, it will have a domino effect that will cause you to fail or stagnate. To maintain the right state of mind and sufficient motivation, you have to adhere and be consistent with their actions.
With fitness goals, consistency helps motivate people and promotes a sense of accomplishment. Maintaining consistency becomes crucial because of this. This implies that not every session will be fantastic, but what matters is that you showed up, made an effort to move towards your goal, and kept the momentum going.
Everyone experiences days when exercising or working out is completely out of the question, and those are the days that can make or break momentum. We have to make sure these days are worth it. This doesn’t mean you have to work hard. In simple terms, this means that at the end of days like this, we should know that we have made every effort to engage in activities and that we have made progress towards our goal.
In order to follow our routine on days when we lack motivation, we need to indulge in pleasant or simple activities. Here there are a few simple things that can be done.
Some of the easiest things to keep the momentum going when you’re having a tough day are:
Number of steps: This is a seamless way to ensure the activity is done without spending separate time on training. On busy days or days of low motivation, having a step goal of something like 10,000 steps helps you do an activity without hitting the gym. This can be spread over the day and can be done at your own pace
Walking/Jogging: You don’t need intense training all the time to achieve your goals. On some days, stepping back and taking a nice long walk can serve as an activity to make sure you maintain your consistency while also making sure you clear your mind from a hard day at work. It is very important not to have a black or white mindset with exercise and to understand that not every day has to be intense.
Home training: Every day doesn’t have to be an intense workout in the gym with lots of machines and weights. Home workouts are a simple and effective way to end the day’s activity while participating in an effective session. The following is a quick and easy way to do a super simple home workout
. Warm up
Upper body warm-up (e.g. arm swings or shoulder rotations) – 10 reps
Lower body warm-up (e.g. leg swings or high knees) – 10 reps
. Main training circuit (repeat them one after the other for 5 rounds)
Exercise 1 – Core (eg Crunchs or Tall plank sh taps) – 15 reps
Lower body exercise 1 (eg bodyweight squats or lunges) – 15 reps
Upper body exercise 1 (e.g. wall push-ups or push-ups) – 10 reps
High Intensity Exercise 1 (e.g. Inchworms or burpees) – 10 reps
. Chill
Shoulder stretch – 30 seconds / side
Hamstring Stretch – 30 seconds/side
The above is just an example and be sure to consult your doctor before beginning any physical activity or exercise routine.
Occasional sports: These days, there are so many apps that can help us quickly join nearby sports activities and games like football, cricket, badminton, tennis, etc. It’s a great way to keep it interesting while still getting a good high intensity session. The great part is that you’ll be able to socialize and gain new friends in the process too.
Here are some strategies you can use to keep your momentum going when the going gets tough or when you lack motivation. Always keep in mind that any improvement is better than none at all.
IANSlife
