Building Consistency: Three Tips To Keep Showing Up

At this time of year, the holidays are right around the corner, fall is in full swing, and challenges like MOVE 100 are out there (check it out if you don’t know what this is…it’s FREE!). All these things can challenge any normal person’s consistency in the gym, not to mention how much life itself can already be a factor. But, as most of us know, consistency is the name of the game when it comes to seeing results in the gym or even maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

As someone who has previously lived a life solely focused on my own athletic progress and now struggles (at times) with my ability to make it to the gym, I have learned a lot about the ever-elusive process of staying committed to fitness.

Here are my top three pieces of advice when it comes to building a consistent gym routine, whether you are brand-new to working out or if you are coming off a break.

Start smaller than you think

If you are anything like me, you might overestimate the time and energy you have to throw towards training, especially if you are coming off a break for any reason. Start as simply as possible, and know you can always build the volume from there. Whether running a single mile or just doing a single strength piece, find something to start that feels as low a barrier to entry to you as possible.

Take a similar approach for the frequency of your sessions in a week, and only look to build from there after multiple weeks of nailing what is “simple.” 

In practice, routines can be an uphill battle to maintain, especially when they are skewed from previous personal norms, so do yourself the favor of making the “sign-up” cost as low as possible for the first two to three weeks. You can always build in more volume later. Remember, doing something is usually better than doing nothing if you want to get results.

Ensure life in and out of the gym supports your next opportunity to move

As a personal rule, I try not to do anything in the gym today that might keep me from coming in tomorrow if I want to. Now, I am not suggesting that someone trains every single day of their life, but holding to the idea that you will navigate your in-gym choices with a longer-term approach than just that specific session can serve you well when building consistency. Take risks with caution in terms of movement and weight selection, or when it comes to choosing the volume of your sessions.

With that said, be sure your life outside of the gym supports what you do inside. Going out to train or move your body is a privilege, and if you are reading this blog, I would not be surprised if you already know that. However, despite knowing that, shooting yourself in the foot with a bad diet, poor personal scheduling choices, or an unsustainably low sleep regimen is easy. If training consistently and/or your fitness goals are important to you, keep this in mind when making decisions outside of the gym, too.

Expect changing your routine to be hard

Working out is hard. Sleeping the correct amount is hard. Eating right more often than not is… well, hard. Expecting the process to be difficult can help prepare you for the inevitable moments when the desire to slack off from your training routine comes calling for you. I like to envision myself as “someone who does hard things,” and as simple as that sounds, that mindset shift is helpful for me when it comes to navigating the difficulty of maintaining a routine.

Like anything worth doing, building a consistent training routine is not always easy, and it is certainly not always perfect. These tips are not exhaustive, and they definitely overlap. What ties them together is a mindset: being realistic, being intentional, and giving yourself enough grace to keep showing up over time.

There will be good weeks and bad ones. But if you are willing to start small, think long-term, and embrace the fact that staying consistent will feel hard sometimes — then you are already on the right track.

Whether it is MOVE 100 or your mission to move more in the days ahead, remember this: consistency does not mean being perfect — it just means not quitting. So keep SHOWING UP, do the HARD WORK you can manage, and MAKE YOURSELF PROUD.