6 Tips to Stick to Your Fitness Plan

2 mins to read

Having trouble sticking with exercise? Try these simple ideas to craft a plan and glue your gym shorts to it!

Energy & exerciseEveryday health

#1 Have a plan, Stan

Too often, hopeful fitness fiends start with a vague ambition such as ‘I’d kill to drop 5 kilos’, then strap on the runners and embark on sporadic runs. According to The Mayo Clinic in the USA, this approach rarely yields results. “Start with simple goals and then progress to longer-range goals. Remember to make your goals realistic and achievable. It's easy to get frustrated and give up if your goals are too ambitious. If you haven't exercised in a while, a short-term goal might be to walk five minutes once or twice a day. An intermediate goal might be to walk 20 minutes three or four times a week. A long-term goal might be to complete a 5K walk,” it advises.

#2 Start slowly

Pushing yourself too hard too soon may not only crush your motivation, it could also lead you to pull a muscle (or suffer any other array of nasty injury!). “If you pace yourself and start with less vigorous activities in shorter bouts, you will be more likely to succeed in the long term,” says Tasmanian doctor, Kelly Shaw.

#3 Variety is the spice of sport

The same routine performed repeatedly gets old quickly. “Alternate walking or biking with swimming or a low-impact aerobics class,” advises The Mayo Clinic. “When the weather cooperates, do your flexibility or stretching exercises outside. Play soccer with your kids. Join a health club or martial arts centre to broaden your access to different forms of exercise.”

#4 Think daily, not sporadically

The general advice when it comes to the question ‘how often do I (really) need to work out?’ is that you should aim not to miss two consecutive days of fitness—a principle personal trainer Andrew Cate stands by in his book Lighten Up. One way of making exercise a part of daily life is getting creative: take a walk during your child's music lesson, take the stairs instead of the elevator at work or pedal a stationary bike while you watch TV at night, suggest the Mayo Clinic.

#5 Fuel up to avoid cramps

Cramping can be enough to stop any fitness plan in its tracks. In many cases, magnesium deficiency is the behind-the-scenes culprit. Magnesium helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, As the mineral is essential for many cellular functions, particularly those functions involved in energy production, consider using a powder supplement or topping up on these magnesium rich foods: almonds, cashews, soybeans, spinach, potatoes, bran and yoghurt.

#6 Reward yourself!

“When you reach a goal, give yourself a treat,” says Shaw. “You might pick rewards like going shopping for something you really want, or going somewhere special. Anything can be a reward as long as it’s something special that you are doing because of your achievement.”

References available on request