Be consistent: Get results
Last week during our 5 day free challenge ‘Find the Time to Do Pilates Everyday’ we chatted in the group about why it was important to stay consistent with your fitness routine. Being consistent is the single most important thing when it comes to your health and fitness.
Do you find that you struggle to stay consistent with your exercise regime? Do you get frustrated that you are not making progress with your fitness?
One day everything goes to plan and then the next day, something happens and your careful plans go out the window. You run out of time, feel too tired, lack motivation. We’ve all experienced these at some point.
Exercising increases our energy levels, motivates us to do more when we see results and helps us feel more positive to handle what life throws at us.
Let me tell you why…
Staying consistent
- First of all, you may not find it easy to stick to a new routine when it is not a habit, something you do automatically.
- Then each day you are making a fresh decision as to whether you should do it or not. As humans we don’t like making decisions, making decisions takes energy and it is easy to talk ourselves out of it. Decision fatigue is real. If something is a habit you don’t need to think about it in the same way. You just do it.
Completing a task is much easier when it is a habit.
Research by University College London shows it takes an average of 66 days for most routines to become a habit and the harder the habit the longer it takes to form. If you are trying to change more than one thing at once, it is also harder to make all the changes a habit. Do one thing at a time.
Lack of progress
- You may be getting frustrated about the progress you are making with your fitness because you are not doing anything consistently.
- In order to build strength and make changes in your body, you have to do something consistently. You have to move your joints and muscles repetitively in order for them to improve mobility, change, grow, get stronger and longer etc.
- If you only do exercise once in a blue moon, it’s not going to have an impact. You don’t just go to the gym once and expect to walk out with a 6pack.
- Also, we are constantly working with a body that is getting older. So, our fitness becomes harder to maintain.
It is not a case of getting fit and then you’ve done it! Being fit has to become part of your lifestyle.
Here are my top tips to help you create a new habit and be consistent with your workouts so you can be proud of your strong, toned body and feel back in control:
- Decide what your new habit is?
Maybe doing Pilates everyday!
- Decide when you are going to do it
Be specific – time, day
- Write it down and make a silent pact with yourself.
I find if you write it down, it is more likely to happen.
- Acknowledge what you have achieved
When you done a Pilates workout for the day – just take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back, because even though it’s just one workout – it’s the first step along the road to your new habit.
- Remember how it feels once you’ve done workout and remember that next time you don’t want to do it.
- Then repeat for 66 days in order to make it a new habit. A new lifestyle.
Be consistent and you will soon see and feel the benefits of Pilates. Bitesize workouts are perfect to fit into a busy schedule and are therefore realistic, so you can do something every day. You can be consistent and see results.
And if you need a little bit of motivation – watch this fun video!
You can find a range of different workouts on my YouTube channel. Please subscribe and then you’ll receive notifications every time I upload a new workout.
Stay consistent – Get the results!
I've created a bitesize guide for busy women that contains 33 Quick & Easy Ways to Integrate Pilates into Your Everyday Life! - Click here to download.
