Find Workouts You Enjoy

When you are first beginning your fitness journey, you will often find yourself struggling to get to your workouts. While you may initially find yourself having a lot of energy and motivation, over time, you’ll likely see that motivation fall. Assuming you have a family and kids, you will also find a lot of things that will pull on your time and energy - working out may feel like the last thing on your mind in these cases.

Ultimately, you’re going to have to find your motivation for working out in order to keep your fitness routine intact. However, equally important is finding activities that you actually enjoy doing. If you’re working out and you’re absolutely miserable, you’re not going to want to workout. You’re going to wake up in the morning, remember how much work it takes to workout, and be less motivated to actually complete your workout.

Once you’ve gotten into a solid workout routine, and you’ve stuck to it for a long period of time (at least 6 months), then you can start adding in routines that you may not like as much. Doing exercises that you don’t like is not necessarily a bad thing - there are some things that you should really do for your health in the long term that you may not love. However, forcing yourself to do those exercises before you’re in a solid and reliable routine will basically guarantee you never get that consistent routine put in place.

If you’re not sure what you actually enjoy doing, then you’re going to have to experiment with different routines. Don’t be afraid to try new things - you’ll never know if you actually like something if you don’t try it. Depending on your starting physical condition, you may not be able to participate effectively in certain exercises. Make sure you consult with your doctor if you have any concerns or medical needs.

Don’t get it in your head that certain exercises are only for certain people. For example, weightlifting is a great exercise for men and women. Just because you’re lifting large weights doesn’t mean you can’t try it if you’re a woman. You don’t have to love it if you're male. Similarly, yoga or pilates are routines or classes that you may like even though they are generally frequented by the female crowd. Try different routines.

Make sure that you’re including some type of cardio in your weekly routines. That doesn’t mean that you have to do only cardio or that you should do cardio every single day. Make sure that you’re working your heart out and getting your heart rate increased into the cardio zone for at least 20 minutes three times a week (or for longer periods of time on less days). Having a healthy heart will go a long way in helping you live a longer life.

You don’t have to have only one activity that you enjoy doing. If you have multiple exercises that you enjoy, then you’ll have more choices that you can choose from. If you wake up one day and don’t have the energy or motivation to do whatever you had planned for the day, then you can switch to another activity. Ultimately, the most important thing is that you get in a workout on days that you planned, even if it’s not what you had planned.

Find activities that you enjoy doing. The more that you enjoy your workouts, the more likely you are to stick to it. Over time as you get your routine set in your daily life, you can expand to other less enjoyable activities.