5 Simple Rules to Help Fitness Stick this Year

When it comes to making our New Year’s Resolutions work, it’s all about sticking to your program. Many people START great, but something happens – or, should I say, nothing happens. We get out of our routine, we give up, we don’t try hard enough, we let things get in the way, we get sidetracked, we lose sight of our goals, or we don’t mean to quit. Many times, we procrastinate ourselves right to NEXT New Year! So how can we succeed this year?

You need to set some parameters. That’s right. You need rules! Adults HATE rules. We sure love to dish them out to kids, but we forget why rules are created – because we need boundaries. God recognized our need for rules from the very beginning. Remember the apple tree?  How about the 10 commandments? Of course we could never keep them all, but they were created so that we would have standards to live by for the best life possible.

Well, if you haven’t set any fitness rules, then you are doing yourself a disservice. Because of our rebellious lazy nature, we must have rules in place to keep us in check and to give us something to reach for. Living life without rules is a recipe for disaster – and the same goes with fitness.

Here are some rules to get you started. Fill in the blank, add to the list, or make your own set of rules to fit your needs. Whatever you do, today is your day to play by the rules so you can be the winner you know you want to be.

5 Simple Rules to help you Stick with it!

Rule #1: I will never go more than  _______ days without exercise.

It’s one thing to miss a couple of workouts, but it’s another thing to miss a couple of weeks. Make a pact that you will never miss more than a set number of days between workouts. For me, that number is 3. I will never miss more than 3 days in a row without exercise. During the week, I will only allow myself to skip 1 day. But, in the event I go out of town over a long weekend (3 days), that is the only chunk of time I will allow myself to take off so that I never get used to being lazy.

Rule #2: I will workout a minimum of ______ days a week. 

If you don’t have a weekly goal, how do expect to stick with it? You have to have something to shoot for. My goal is to workout 5 days a week. However, I may workout more – or less. So, I have rules. I will never workout fewer than 3 days a week. This keeps me from ever getting out of a routine.

Rule #3: I will never miss a __(day of the week)   .

One of my rules is to never miss a Monday. Mondays are the best day for most people to start fresh. By committing to hitting it hard every Monday, you increase your chances of sticking with it during the week too. If nothing else, you will begin to develop some consistency. 4 workouts a month is much better than none. And, if you follow the first 3 rules alone, you are working out 3 times a week Monday – Thursday, and that’s not too shabby!

Rule #4: I will do       (the workout you need the most, and I like least)         first.

We love to put off the the stuff we hate the most. That’s why I do my least favorite body parts first. For me, that’s legs. Since I am committed to going to the gym every Monday, I know I will be hitting the body part that needs the most work, and getting it out of the way. With the worst out of the way, I then look forward to the rest of my workouts and am less likely to want to skip. However, if I put off the worst for last, I will be much more tempted to skip it.

Rule #5: I will never give up.

As soon as you say “if”, you are setting yourself up to quit. Just like my mom said when I was a kid, no “ifs, ands, or buts”!  Quitting simply can’t be an option. I am always better off doing something than doing nothing. That means, even a 15 minute lame workout is better than skipping your workout altogether. That means working out only 2 days a week is better than nothing at all. Sticking to ANY routine is teaching yourself to stick to A routine. Then, the longer you stick with it, the easier it is to build on that routine and develop even a better one. No matter how bad you think you are doing, just remember, quitting is worse.

I put my top 4 rules in this this mantra for you guys today to post as your reminder 🙂