Restarting a fitness routine you’ll keep

Most “new year, new me” fitness plans peter out by February or March. If you’ve been out of the workout habit for a while or you’ve lost your resolution enthusiasm, consider a more realistic and motivating fitness routine.

Here are a few key points to consider when you’re mapping out your new plan.

It doesn’t matter why you quit before (mostly)

Stop thinking about it. New fitness routines require a fresh outlook, so get out of your head and focus on what happens NOW.

The only caveat to the “just move on” approach would be an injury or other health-related reason you stopped working out. If that’s the case, get clearance from your doctor and start with a personal trainer to prevent the same thing from happening again.

You can do it alone, but it’s harder

We’re often our own worst accountability partners. Recruit a workout buddy or at least an accountability partner who isn’t going to listen to your excuses. If you don’t have one, hire a personal trainer to keep you on track and showing up.

Be SMART to stay focused

Set SMART goals – long-term and short-term – to stay focused on the road ahead and invested in each step of the journey. Goal-setting helps us be more accountable. It’s also motivating to reach those smaller goals along the way, and they add up to big progress when you put them all together.

Make one change at a time

If you’re changing your diet, working out every day, completing a new professional certification, and upgrading your social life all at once, something will give. Make one big change every 21 days. It takes about three weeks to form a habit when you focus on it daily. Add changes as you go along – that’s all part of SMART goal setting. Don’t add too much change at once.

Plan your new fitness routine with better information

Rather than throwing some rando moves into your workout routine and following a nutrition plan made for someone else, know thyself. Check out our Genetic Direction DNA testing services that can help you identify and map out your ideal workout or eating plan. Dial into what really makes you tick to see better progress in less time. That can keep you motivated to stick to your plan and watch it work.

Check out this article for a few more tips to help you steel your resolve and get back to workouts.