How to make working out a habit

If you can make working out a habit, you will have the recipe for success whatever your goals might be: climbing 10 flights of stairs, running a half marathon, pressing your own bodyweight, completing a kettlebell challenge or losing 10 pounds. Having a results-oriented goal is good. Having a habit goal is even better. It will ensure you make progress.

If there is one secret to physical fitness success, it is consistency in training. Put a different way, fitness must become a habit, like brushing your teeth. You never miss. How do you achieve this? By making it a lifestyle choice.

Here are some tips to make this happen:

Make your goal realistic. Make it small enough that you’re sure you can achieve it. For example, "I will run for 15 minutes every day". Or, "I will practice push ups for 5 minutes every day". This is more achievable than I will do 10 perfect push ups in a row by the end of the year. The time you spend practicing, and the frequency are within your control but the outcome of your practice isn’t.

Make it frequent enough to become a habit. Working out for an hour twice a week is excellent but less likely to stick than working out for twenty minutes every weekday.

Make the time spent workable. If one hour five days a week is overwhelming, it won't stick. Pare it down to a manageable window.

Find a trigger that will prompt you to do the work. For example, every day when you get home from work, you work out. This way, you attach your workout habit to your existing habit of arriving at home after a day at the office. Or, you may want to work out before dinner, before work, or at lunchtime. Plan to do it before, during or after something you already do as a matter of course.

Find someone to take the journey with you. Having a partner who has the same goals can help with motivation. Being part of a workout community can make a big difference. Working out with others is always better than working out alone when it comes to building habits. Maybe you need a trainer to keep you motivated. Whatever works for you; including somebody in your plan will make it more likely to succeed. 

And remember consistency - not intensity, not volume, not frequency - is the key to success!