How To Stay Consistent With Exercise (Even When Life Gets Hectic)

What separates people who progress with their fitness from people who regress with fitness is how consistent they are.

If you can follow these 5 components, you will have the secret sauce on how to stay consistent with exercise.

Even when life gets hectic.. because we all know, it’s bound to get hectic.

Find Your Tribe

Finding the right people is crucial to staying consistent, motivated and disciplined.

Studies have shown that you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Surrounding yourself with like minded individuals will help push you to stay consistent in the gym.

Your tribe should be encouraging, yet hold you accountable when needed.

Nothing like a little tough love to keep you moving in the right direction.

Have A Set Schedule

Set a schedule that is realistic and don’t change it.

Treat your schedule like a meeting with your favorite celebrity. You wouldn’t want to miss that would you?

Block your workouts into your calendar the same way you would a non negotiable meeting.

The most consistent people in the gym have set days and times each week that they are always in.

When you are too flexible with your time, it’s easy to put your workouts on the back burner and then the “I’ll do it tomorrow” cliche begins.

Prioritize Rest (Yes, counts as part of training)

You can’t pour from an empty cup.

And you definitely can’t deadlift like a beast on four hours of sleep and a double espresso.

Your muscles grow between workouts, not during.

It’s easy to be excited about a new goal, think you have to go balls to the wall as hard as possible and then end up injured in return.

Managing your stress, sleep, and nutrition are important factors in even being able to keep a consistent workout schedule.

Now let’s say you did have a rough night of sleep for whatever reason, rest and recovery doesn’t necessarily mean you have to skip the gym.

You can still go in and do a mobility or recovery session instead of the original workout. This is what we call active recovery and it’s very beneficial because it keeps you consistent and on schedule while not pushing you past the point of return.

Track Progress Beyond The Scale

The scale doesn’t tell the whole story. It can actually be a detriment to some people who see the scale number without knowing the whole story.

Focus instead on strength gains (you should have a record somewhere of your training progress), better energy, improved mood, how your clothes fit, or that one time you didn’t get winded while climbing the stairs.

Small wins stack up.

Tracking them keeps your momentum going even when the number on the scale refuses to cooperate.

Be Realistic

Some weeks will feel golden. Some weeks will feel like your dragging yourself to the gym with one leg and a bad attitude.

Remember that that’s okay. The goal isn’t to be perfect, it’s to keep showing up.

When you are starting out, it’s important to be realistic about the volume of training you’re going to be doing.

If you are not used to working out at all, it’s not realistic to set a goal of working out 4+ days a week when you haven’t even been making it in for one.

If you want to lose weight and know nutrition has always been a challenge for you, don’t cut every thing out cold turkey because it’s not realistic and it’s not going to last.

Progress is like compound interest. It adds up overtime. You just have to keep depositing.

Final Thoughts

Staying consistent in fitness isn’t a superhuman discipline.

It’s about building a system that supports your goals when life gets chaotic.

Your future self- the one with more energy, better strength, and fewer aches and pains will thank you.

Find a gym with a supportive community and one that holds you accountable.

It is important to find good coaches and people who make staying consistent easier.

So block out your workouts on your calendar, focus on your recovery, track your progress beyond the scale, and be realistic with the standards you set for yourself.

Practice these 5 components and you’ll keep showing up.