Many of us make fitness goals with the best of intentions but somewhere along the way we can lose sight of them.
Why?
Well, sometimes it is because we are ‘too busy’ to commit to our exercise routines. And sometimes, we can get bored because our exercise routines become just that – a routine!
And there are other reasons why, including feelings of failure after failing to meet some of our expected targets. “There’s always next year,” we tell ourselves after admitting defeat.
But here’s the thing. If you’re relating to what we are saying, our advice is this: Don’t give up! You made your fitness goals for a reason, be that to lose weight, to improve your health, or some other reason besides. It would be a shame to lose sight of the goals you set yourself, even if you have fallen by the wayside along the way.
So, do what you can to reconnect with your fitness goals. You can do this in a number of ways as we will discuss here. Keep reading, and if you can find a suggestion that suits you, then great. Finish what you started and keep going. You can do this!
Carve out time in your schedule
If you have been telling yourself you’re too busy, you might want to look at your schedule. Yes, there will be things that you won’t be able to budge, but make room for your fitness goals where you can. It might be that you need to get up earlier in the morning if you need to work out before your kids get up. Or it might be that you need to cancel non-essential appointments to prioritize exercise opportunities.
It is possible to stay fit despite a busy schedule (as you will see below), so block out time where you can. And when you have blocked out time, stick to that when you can, and work out at the same time each day and week.
Make time to exercise when at work
If your fitness goals have fallen by the wayside because of your work commitments, do what you can to exercise while at work. We aren’t telling you to cycle around the office and perform somersaults over your co-worker’s desks, but you could use your break times to go for a walk or a run. You could walk to work instead of using the car too, or you could get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way. It might be that your place of employment has a gym or a break room containing exercise equipment. If so, use the facilities available to you. And if you’re rooted at a desk for much of the day, consider these deskercises.
So, don’t let your busy day at work get in the way of your fitness goals. Make time to keep fit when you can, and perhaps encourage some of your colleagues to join you too.
Exercise with your family
If you have family commitments, it’s understandable that you might get pulled away from your fitness goals occasionally. However, don’t let the needs of your family become your excuse to stop exercising. They need to stay healthy too so they can actually become an excuse to exercise instead of an excuse not to.
So, walk or cycle with your family to school instead of taking them in the car. Sign them up for classes at your local leisure center and either join in with what they are doing or take part in another type of fitness class at the same time. And have fun with your family. Play physical games in the garden or at the park. Go for walks and bike rides with one another, and perhaps take up an active family hobby together. You will be doing much to support their health needs if you do, and you will also be making time to reconnect with some of your fitness goals.
Use a professional service
If you have given up on fitness because you have failed to meet your goals, it might be that you need the support of a professional. For 1:1 or group coaching, or other advice related to your overall levels of fitness, find somebody who can help you succeed in your targets.
There are a number of businesses that are set up to help clients improve their fitness levels. For one example, see more at www.thebeachbodycompany.com/. They offer in-home fitness and nutrition content on their streaming platform, Beachbody on Demand, and are certainly worth considering.
And then there is your local gym to consider. You will have access to a fitness coach there, be that on a 1:1 basis or within the confines of a class. Of course, you could also hire a personal trainer outside of the gym if you preferred.
Mix things up a little
As we suggested earlier, one reason why people give up on exercise is boredom. When exercise becomes too much of a routine, it is easy for them to quit before reaching the goals they have set themselves. If this is something you relate to, consider what you might do to move out of your routine.
So, you might want to experiment with new equipment if you’re a regular user of your local gym. If you’re a weight user, you could use the advice at bodybuilding.com to alternate your workouts. And if you regularly walk or run (or if you used to before giving up), you could change your route or exercise in a completely different area of your town or city. By taking these steps, exercise should become less of a chore. The next tip might also be useful to you.
Have fun while exercising
To meet your fitness goals, you don’t have to take part in activities that bring you little room for joy. Yes, there are times when you will have to put the effort in if you want to reach your goals, but this doesn’t mean you should train like an army cadet. You can still have fun while exercising, so find different ways to do so.
As suggested, you could take part in physical activities with your family. From playing games to sharing hobbies, you can all have fun together. Think about your friends too. You could take up a shared hobby with your besties and make it a regular habit. This could be a sport that you all get involved in, or it could be some other physical activity that you can all do indoors or outdoors. Even going for a run can be fun if you have a friend or two by your side, as you will be able to chat and have a laugh in between breaths when you’re together.
For more ideas, here are some other fun ways to exercise. Have a read and then kickstart your fitness goals with something that will put a smile on your face!
Track your fitness progress
How far or how close are you to your fitness goals? If you don’t have a way to track your efforts, you might never know. You might quit, despite being close to achieving your targets. Or you might lose interest if you have no way of knowing how far you have to go.
If you have lost sight of your fitness goals, this could be your problem. You will have a greater incentive to keep going when you have the means to measure your progress. Your ‘lack of exercise excuses’ will disappear into the distance when you reach the end game, so find a way to keep track of how well you are doing.
The easiest way to measure your fitness progress is to weigh yourself on the scales, assuming your goal is to lose weight. However, as you can see in the following article, there are ways to track your fitness progress without using the scales. You could keep a workout journal, for example, or you could download a fitness app on your phone. Read the article to learn more and use one or more of the methods mentioned.
Curb your excuses
And finally, kick your excuses into touch, especially if they’re not valid. If you’re serious about getting fit, you should motivate yourself to exercise more. Put aside your excuse of being too busy, if by being busy you actually mean you can’t be bothered! Remember the reasons why you made your fitness goals in the first place and let this be one way to incentivize yourself to exercise more. Find ways to exercise using all of the suggestions we have provided here, and read the other fitness articles on this website.
When your excuses have been laid to rest, you will have the opportunity to reconnect with your fitness goals again. So, don’t give up! Make the effort to do everything you can to make fitness a priority again.