The Real Reasons You Can't Stick To Your Workout Plan

So, you’ve decided to finally be serious about exercising and being fit. You make a solid workout plan that you feel quite good about.

You tell yourself that this time around will be different. Armed with your newly found motivation, you start your exercise routine, and it’s going well for the first week or so.

However, you wake up one day and you don’t quite feel like exercising, so you decide to skip it and tell yourself that you’ll do it tomorrow.

This happens a couple more times until you finally find yourself back to square one — your workout plan long forgotten.

Sounds familiar?

If you find yourself in this cycle of repeatedly starting and stopping, you’re not alone. Many people struggle with maintaining a regular exercise routine.

The good news is that understanding the root causes of these struggles can help you develop strategies to overcome them.

Let’s explore 3 of the common reasons why your fitness goals keep hitting a dead end, and what you can do to overcome them.

1. Unattainable goals

When starting out, it’s common to be overly enthusiastic and set ambitious goals.

While there’s nothing wrong with having an ambitious goal, most people find that with time, it starts to feel intimidating.

When the goal feels too big and you feel like you're struggling to achieve it, it’s easy to give up.

The key to overcoming this is to focus on making your goal more doable in the short-term.

Break down your big goal into a first step (that is your daily action) that’s so easy that you can start doing immediately.

For example, if your goal is to exercise for 30 minutes and that feels intimidating, lower the bar and commit to exercising for just 10 minutes.

Now, 10 minutes don’t seem so intimidating. It’s easier to tell yourself that you only need to exercise for 10 minutes than for 30 minutes.

The easier something seems, the more likely you are to do it.

Once you’re consistent with exercising for 10 minutes, you can then start to build up slowly until you’re able to consistently exercise for 30 minutes.

If your problem is feeling like your goals are too big and unattainable, try lowering the bar.

2. Lack of enjoyment

One of the biggest hurdles to maintaining a consistent exercise routine is simply not enjoying the workouts.

A common mistake when starting out is thinking that you need to be doing a certain type of exercise in order to see results.

For example, you might be forcing yourself to run because it’s “good for you,” even if you hate running.

However, when exercise feels like a chore rather than an enjoyable activity, it’s easy to find excuses to skip it.

Your brain will always try to avoid doing things that it deems unpleasant.

So, to overcome this, it’s important to choose an activity that you genuinely enjoy. You can do this in two ways:

• Identify your interests: Do you love dancing, swimming, playing a sport, or hiking? Incorporating these into your routine can make exercise something to look forward to.

• Experiment: Try different types of workouts until you find what clicks. From yoga and Pilates to kickboxing and Zumba, there’s a vast array of options out there.

When you enjoy doing something, you’ll keep doing it long-term. So, don’t get stuck doing something that you don’t like.

Remember, the best exercise routine is one that you enjoy and can maintain consistently. So, take the time to explore your options and find what makes you happy.

3. Unrealistic expectations

Influence of social media can lead to having unrealistic expectations that often go unmet leading to frustration, burnout, and eventually giving up.

Seeing others’ perfectly curated fitness journeys can create false expectations about what’s achievable in a short period.

We often fail to realize that we compare our progress with someone who has been on their journey for a longer time than we have.

By doing this, we misjudge the amount of time, effort, and consistency needed to achieve certain fitness goals.

To overcome this, there are a few things that you can do:

• Focus on process goals instead of outcome goals

  Process goals are the steps you need to take to achieve your desired outcome, like committing to exercise three times a week. Outcome goals are the results you want to achieve, such as losing 10 kg. Focus more on ensuring that you hit your process goals. This is what will lead to you achieving your desired outcome.

• Focus on your journey

  Everyone’s fitness journey is unique. Comparing yourself to others can lead to unrealistic expectations and unnecessary pressure. Use others' success stories as inspiration rather than a benchmark for your own progress.

• Educate yourself

  Understand the basics of fitness and how the body changes in response to exercise. Recognize that significant fitness changes take time. Muscle gain, weight loss, and endurance improvements don't happen overnight. This knowledge helps you to set realistic expectations.

Remember, fitness is a journey, not a destination. Celebrate each milestone, no matter how small, and focus on consistent, sustainable efforts.

By setting realistic expectations and embracing the process, you'll be better equipped to achieve your fitness goals and enjoy the journey along the way.

Thanks for reading! I hope you found something valuable :)

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