There are many challenges that stand in your way when deciding to keep exercising, because exercise has many health benefits for the body, including toning, weight loss, muscle building, and the Fitness Garage team always encourages girls to exercise with their different goals, so we'll offer you some habits to stop if you decide to start working out.
Habit one: Waiting to feel motivated to exercise
Most girls who exercise go through periods when they don't want to work out, but they don't skip their schedule because they are committed and want to reach their goals. You shouldn't wait to feel motivated. You have to learn discipline. When you feel lazy, try these habits:
- Give yourself a reward when you finish your workout: Enjoy some free time or you can go out at night.
- Write your goals on paper and keep it in front of you always.
- Don’t give in to laziness, ask yourself if you’re really tired and if you’ll regret your decision later today.
- Make sure your workout schedule fits you and your level, not too hard to tire you out, not too easy to be boring and useless.
Second habit: overreacting
When you skip a day and feel bad about it, don’t pile two days' workouts into one day. You’ll just tire yourself out and hate exercising. So forgive yourself and keep your plan going. Instead, do these habits:
- You can add some stretch or yoga exercises.
- Don't let one lazy day make you lose confidence in your fitness and commitment.
- Get a coach if you have a history of laziness and not finishing plans, you can continue with one of Fitness Garage coaches because they help you avoid laziness and give you constant encouragement.
Habit three: Don't set unrealistic goals
Doing exercise and cutting calories for two weeks is enough to start seeing results, but often it's not satisfying for some girls. They expect more and find the exercise painful at first and think it's useless and pointless. So before you set your goals:
- Set goals you can actually see like clothing sizes, body fat percentage, or reaching specific workout targets like lifting heavier weights or doing more reps.
- Make sure you know there is no magic wand for weight loss because many factors affect it. So try to focus on sticking with your workouts and you'll see results no matter how long it takes, especially for your health.
- Accept that many factors control weight loss and are beyond your control, like age, gender, and genes.
Habit four: making excuses
There’s always a chance to make excuses to skip or delay workouts, like being tired or busy with housework. But there are steps you can commit to:
- On busy days, try picking high-intensity workouts that take less time. You can look for workouts that last less than 15 minutes, and you can find them on the Fitness Garage Instagram account.
- Change your negative view of exercise. Get used to seeing it as your time to relax and let your body and mind rest from the day’s stress. Listen to music or watch a show you like while working out.
- Be honest with yourself. Is the workout time you set really doable? Or did you pick a time at the end of the day when you’re tired, or an early hour when you can’t wake up?
Habit five: Don't expect it to be easy
Joining a gym or booking a personal trainer will make the workout easier in the first sessions, but it's hard work and commitment like any plan you set for yourself. So it's best to stick to these steps:
- Be realistic, know the time and exercises you need, and make a plan with everything you need to see results fast.
- Know your fitness level and train based on that. Don’t pick exercises that don’t fit your fitness level.
- At first, exercise will feel uncomfortable for your body because you’re leaving your comfort zone and making an effort. So you have to push through that and work hard in the beginning.
Habit six: Choose the right time to exercise
You always say after Eid or during the holiday or when school starts. so you can organize your schedule. But these are just excuses to delay starting. You should start exercising even if you begin gradually. There are some steps you have to take to start:
- Stop procrastinating completely.
- Deal with your current life routine and try to find some time to exercise.
- Focus on a healthy lifestyle with some simple daily health steps and habits.
Habit 7: Expect failure
Sure, you will fail at something, maybe a workout or skip a day or take a break from your routine, so don't be hard on yourself and try again always stick to it:
- Forgive yourself if you feel you didn’t treat your body right.
- Convince yourself that a workout is not a battlefield and shouldn’t stress your nerves.
- Come back after a long break and don’t blame yourself.
Habit 8: Don’t mess up your body
Some people think the harder you push yourself, the faster you reach your goal. But that's wrong because what you really do is tire your muscles, damage them, and be too hard on yourself. It's better to:
- Stick to a workout plan that fits you, with gradual progress and matches your goal.
- Set your workout time, and get ready with all your gear, bag, and clothes.
- Don't get caught up in too many hard or complicated preparations that might hold you back.
Rule nine: Find a workout buddy
Find a friend or partner to encourage you and stick with you on workout days. One thing that can help is:
- Ask your friends and family for help and for support with your new lifestyle.
- Talk to a coach or nutritionist because they can save you a lot of time.
Habit ten: Don't try to be perfect
You might feel guilty for missing just a small step, because guilt sets you back and makes you hate working out and feel stressed, so always enjoy your workout time and think of it as time to breathe out and release all your negative energy.
