I have not always been a consistent exerciser.
In fact, I hated exercise as a child. My younger self would be astounded that I made a career out of helping people learn how to exercise…
My story isn’t one where I just started to exercise and that was that. There have been many ups and downs along the way.
When I was younger, I went from hating exercise, to tolerating exercise a couple of times a week with a personal trainer hired by my Mum.
Once I started to notice some positive benefits, I started exploring more exercise on my own, and became what you might call a fitness fanatic – I got obsessed with improving my fitness and getting lean.
Then, fast forward a few years and I found myself burnt out and stuck in a routine that wasn’t serving me. So, I quit everything. I started resenting exercise. I had zero motivation to restart…and so I didn’t exercise for over a year.
Unsurprisingly, this didn’t help my situation. In fact, it made it worse. I felt sluggish, I gained weight, and I didn’t know where to start.
I knew a regular exercise routine made me feel good. It was good for my brain, my mood, and my health. But I knew the intensive and strict routine I used to have wasn’t what I wanted anymore.
Now, I have managed to rebuild my exercise routine from the ground up, and I’m in a much more sustainable position now. The way I feel about exercise is miles ahead of where I used to be!
It now feels like a lifestyle that fits in around me. It feels SO much better than it did when I was a “fitness fanatic”, because back then I would go to the ends of the earth to make sure I get my workouts in, and I’d feel guilty if I skipped a session. Even though I was very ‘fit’ on a surface level, it didn’t feel natural, it felt forced.
Now I feel like I’m finally what I would call a ‘consistent exerciser’, and I have full confidence exercise will be a natural part of my life, no matter how stressful life gets, no matter how busy I am, and no matter what’s going on around me. I know I have the tools and the skills to adapt and shift as needed, rather than being all or nothing.
This is what I want for you too (if you want it!)
No one is born super fit, and no one is born with a consistent exercise routine.
Feeling fit is a mindset, and is completely subjective based on your definition of “fitness”. Likewise, a consistent exercise routine is also completely subjective, and based on your definition of “consistency”.
When I think back to the times I’ve struggled the most with exercise, I can now see there were two major roadblocks in my path:
- I dreaded exercise because I felt unfit (and I entertained these thoughts rather than questioning them)
- I didn’t enjoy the exercise I was trying to do.
Both of these are the most common roadblocks I notice when people tell me they’re feeling unmotivated to exercise, or they’re finding it hard to stick to a routine. And both of these have nothing to do with WHAT you’re doing, and everything to do with the way you’re thinking about it.
Think about it this way…If you felt like you were getting fitter, AND you enjoyed what you were doing, you probably wouldn’t have a problem with doing it regularly, right? You might even look forward to it!
How to become the type of person who exercises regularly
One of the reasons most people struggle to stick to an exercise routine or even start a routine at all is because being active is not currently part of their identity. They see exercise as something that they “need” to do, or that they “should” do, rather than something they “want” to do.
If you can make the mindset shift where you start to see yourself as the type of person who exercises regularly, you’ll have a MUCH easier time sticking to it long term and seeing the benefits.
You won’t feel like you need to be motivated all the time, it’ll become something you just do (also known as a habit). Because the truth is, the definition of what “regular exercise” looks like is completely up to you – you can choose to be a regular exerciser, even if “regular” for you means only a once a week!
Now let’s explore practical steps to make this identity shift…
Step 1: Get aware of your current beliefs and expectations around exercise
Thinking about your current experience, answer the following questions:
- What exercise do you think you “should” be doing?
- Where does this “should” come from? Who told you that’s what you should do?
- Are you currently doing what you think you “should” be doing? If not, why not?
- How do you feel about your current exercise routine, or the routine you’re trying to stick to?
The more we can explore our current thoughts and beliefs around exercise, the more power we will have to start shifting and changing them.
Most of us get stuck holding onto old beliefs about what we “should” be doing for exercise, but these beliefs aren’t serving us if we can never stick to these routines long-term.
We must start with something that feels doable for us right now, and once we gain some confidence and momentum, only then can we build up to loftier goals successfully.
Step 2: Build new beliefs that serve you
Thinking about your ideal or future experience, answer the following questions:
- What do you want your exercise routine to look like? (E.g., how often, what type, with or without others, in a gym or outside, etc.) Remember, you get to decide what this looks like!
- How would you choose to exercise in a world where exercise didn’t change your appearance, but still had general health and mood benefits?
- How do you want to think about your exercise routine?
- What are your main reasons you want to exercise? WHY do you want a regular exercise routine in your life? How will exercise benefit you or improve your life?
Reflecting on these questions will help you start to explore what your personal definition of “regular exercise” looks like, so we can start to get rid of old expectations and rules from other people that are no longer serving us.
Reminder: Your definition of what your ideal exercise routine is can and will change throughout your life, even from month to month. This is to be expected!
Step 3: Find a balance that works for you
This stage is all about finding a balance between what your goals are, what you enjoy doing, and what’s realistically doable for you right now.
Consider accessibility
For example, If you enjoy skiing, but there’s not really anywhere close by to go skiing, or it’s summer, then skiing might not be a great option for your regular exercise routine… but it could still be a future option. You’ll need to find other types of movement you enjoy that are accessible to you right now.
Likewise, if your exercise of choice is outdoor walking, but you know you aren’t going to walk outside when it’s dark or raining, look for an alternative exercise method you might like to do indoors on those days.
Consider your current fitness level
For example, I recently had a goal to start running. I’ve never been a runner before, so if I just jumped in and started trying to go for runs every day, I probably would have lost motivation quickly. I would have been sore, and I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with my expectations (and I probably would have injured myself).
Instead, I started slowly with 15-20 min sessions only twice a week, and within these sessions I did intervals of walking and short periods of running to get a feel for it.
After these initial sessions, my hips and calves were very sore and I felt some knee pain. I realised I needed to also build up some strength in my legs and glutes if I wanted to do more running without getting injured.
I had to lower my expectations (with self-compassion!)
I focused on continuing these short sessions for at least a month, while also adding some complimentary strength and stretching work, before adding more in. I don’t experience any of that pain anymore, and it’s become something I enjoy!
The problem is, most people give up too quickly and decide running [or insert any other type of exercise] isn’t for them. All types of exercise CAN be accessible for you, but you might need to spend some extra time building your fitness levels for this particular type of exercise, or adjusting things slightly (which is very normal!)
Next we’ll start brainstorm what kind of exercise you might enjoy doing.
This could be something you already enjoy or something that looks fun that you want to try.
When you enjoy exercise, you’ll want to do it more – this is what we’re after, especially in the beginning. Your preferences might also change over time, and that’s fine too. Adjust as you go!
Step 4: What type of exercise lights you up?
- What type of exercise interests you the most? Consider what you’ve enjoyed in the past, and also what you might like to try in the future.
- What type of exercise do you want to put on your schedule this month?
- Do you need equipment for this? If yes, are you willing to get this equipment yourself, or do you need to go to a gym or studio to do this exercise?
- Can you do this exercise with other people? (and do you WANT to exercise with others?)
- Can you see yourself doing this type of exercise regularly? (Remember, regularly could be once a week, once a month, or multiple times a week. Your definition is up to you!)
Step 5: Make a schedule
If it’s not on the schedule, it’s not happening.
If exercise is not already part of your identity and your routine, it can often come as an afterthought “I’ll just do a quick workout when I finish work” or “I’m going to start working out this week…”
The problem with that is, when it comes time that you’ve finished work, there’s usually other small commitments that will pop up and will take precedence over you exercise session.
OR it gets to the end of the week and you realise that you didn’t do any exercise…This is nothing to beat yourself up about, it just means we need a better planning system!
In the beginning, and even later when you’re more consistent, it’s important to schedule your session into your calendar – as you would an appointment. Make it as specific as you can. That way there’s less of a chance of it getting pushed back.
Even now, I always decide ahead of time when I’m going to exercise and what exercise I’m going to do. I consider my minimum baselines and schedule those in. If I want to do more, or even do something different to what I planned, that’s great and I give myself the flexibility to adjust the plan.
Having minimum baselines scheduled in means I always do something, which is better than nothing (which is what I tend to do when I don’t schedule my workouts in!)
It’s important to be realistic and flexible with your planning.
If you have days you know are extra busy or stressful, planning a 1 hour long intense workout might not work for you. On those days, you might scale it right back to say 10-20 mins and make it something that will help relieve some of your stress, like walking outdoors or yoga.
On other days where you might have a bit more time and energy, you might plan in some longer and more intense sessions.
An example of our level system for consistent habits:
- Bronze – This is what you can realistically still do on the days that are the most stressful, or the hardest. Think worst case scenario. We recommend 5-10 mins max.
- Silver – This is what you can do on an average day in your life. We recommend starting this around 20-30 mins (but remember, what works for you might be less than this – start with what feels doable for YOU.)
- Gold – This is what you can do on your best days, those days where you feel extra motivated or you have spare time. You choose what feels challenging for you here, but many people we work with go for something around 45 – 60+ mins. This should feel like an achievement!
The key to making the level system work is realising that achieving bronze is still a win.
Most of us measure success based on one single criteria – we crush a 60 min workout or we lose. This used to be me. But I realised I was skipping workouts more often than not. I would dread the workout, and often quit trying completely.
What we really need is to learn how to be resilient and adaptable.
On a busy and stressful work day, your measure of success can’t be the same as a day that’s calmer and less busy. We need to build in flexibility to our plans.
We need to celebrate showing up. Because doing something is always better than doing nothing!
When I started using this level system, I was able to achieve a level of consistency that I felt proud of. I was able to show up for some form of exercise most days and be consistently active, rather than being on or off – going hard for a short period of time and then doing nothing.
Bonus tip: make it fun
First, understand that “fun” is a mindset, not a fact. Exercise isn’t either fun or not fun, it’s all about the way we think about it!
Sometimes our definition of what exercise is supposed to look like can get in the way of our enjoyment. For example, if we believe exercise must only be a super intense bootcamp session at a gym, then it might be harder for you to enjoy this.
Pick something less intimidating to start with, and start working on your relationship to exercise.
Remember, we always get to decide our attitude!
If you’re thinking no type of exercise is enjoyable for you, then I’d encourage you to look at your reasons for wanting to exercise in the first place. Why is this important to you?
If exercise is important to you, how can you shift your mindset to start looking at it differently?
How can you find new ways to make it more enjoyable? This might involve scaling things back and starting at a more doable level. Often we hate exercise because it feels too hard or we’re comparing to others and beating ourselves up while we’re doing it!
Example fun-boosters:
- Listen to an audio book or podcast while going for a walk
- Meet up with a friend regularly to exercise with (e.g, walking instead of sitting in a cafe)
- If you have kids or pets, look for ways to involve them
- Book active holidays (join a walking tour, hiking with a guided group, learning to surf or ski)
- Include recreational sports as part of your routine (weekend bike rides, indoor rock climbing, community sport, kayaking, hikes in your local area, exploring new places by foot, etc.)
- Try new activities that look fun or interesting (swimming, rock climbing, cycling, kayaking, dancing, orienteering, etc.)
- Sign up for a virtual event (I recently did a virtual race with Conqueror Challenges and loved it! It got me out walking more often and made it fun. Click here for 10% off!)
- Find workout apps you enjoy (e.g., I love peloton classes. I find them fun and love getting to know the instructors. I also love the various events they run and their themed music classes. You don’t need a Peloton bike either, they have plenty you can do on the Peloton app!)
It’s possible for you to be a consistent exerciser
No matter how consistent or advanced you get with your chosen type of exercise, there will always be days when you’re not feeling it for whatever reason. This is normal, and it happens to all of us!
Feeling unmotivated isn’t a sign something is wrong, it’s just part of being a human. When you expect this to happen, and plan for it, you’re setting yourself up for the best chance at long-term success.
I believe everyone has the ability to become a consistent exerciser if they want to. All it takes is a few simple mindset shifts, and a lot of flexibility with your habits.
I hope this article has given you a good idea of where to start and how you can start to incorporate movement into your daily life in a way you enjoy and that makes you feel good.
If you feel like you want extra accountability or support on your exercise journey, or you just want to reach your goals faster, check out our private online coaching packages.
We can help you build the habit of consistent exercise. We support our clients towards building an exercise routine that works for them, and we even prescribe custom home or gym workouts (this part is optional).
Our private clients get personalised habit plans, accountability from their coach, plus ongoing check-ins to monitor progress and update things as needed. We’re committed to helping our clients get the results they want!
