12 Simple, Doable Ways to Stick to Your Workout Routine

Inside: Easy, yet effective tips for how to stick to a workout routine and staying on track to reach your fitness goals.

You want to exercise and know it’s important.

But life tends to get in the way: sick kids, work deadlines, birthday parties to plan, soccer practices to get to. The desire to workout is not necessarily the challenge, but sticking with the workout routine can be.

Despite the clear physical and mental benefits and our bodies saying “you must exercise!” the calendar and other driving forces may restrict us from doing so.

To overcome the excuses and revel in the rewards I’ve uncovered simple tricks for how to stick to a workout routine.

Once I began applying the tips listed below, sticking to a workout routine became much easier and I developed a regular habit of consistent exercise. The benefits of feeling better physically and mentally have been extraordinary.

So how did I go from making excuses to sticking to a workout routine? Please keep reading for simple tricks to regular exercise.

12 Tips for Sticking to a Workout Routine

1. Discover What You Like

As we know, there are tons of ways to exercise: the gym, at-home workouts, long runs, and playing sports are just a few. You would be hard-pressed to find something you didn’t like.

Personally, I enjoy walking and a variety of at-home classes like HIIT and cardio. I like group fitness or long walks in my neighborhood.

Maybe for you, it’s hiking or playing tennis. Perhaps you love the vibe of a high-energy gym or you prefer a calming yoga class.  Whatever you like go with it.  Don’t do the latest trend just because all the moms in school carpool are doing Orangetheory.  If you like the exercise you are doing, you will be more motivated to stick with the workout. 

2. Dress the Part

There is no denying the rush of confidence you get when you are dressed for the day.  No matter if you are a businesswoman, a doctor in scrubs or a SAHM mom with little kids, when you are dressed for a specific activity you are ready to take it on.  This applies to working out. 

Treat yourself to well-fitting, quality exercise clothes.  Splurge a little if possible for quality, not quantity. Wearing the right type of clothing will help you stick with a workout routine as it puts you in the similar mindset when you actually like and feel good with what you have on.

3. Make It Convenient

Convenience is key to sticking with a workout routine or making anything simple. If the gym is 20 minutes away or the yoga class starts too late or the tennis courts are never available, the motivation to workout quickly drops. It must be easy to at least start the exercise.

Convenience is especially important when you are living on borrowed time away from the kids or your job…every minute matters.  Once you discover the type of workout you like, make sure it is accessible or you’ll always have an excuse not to do it.

4. Give Yourself Visual Cues

Give yourself a visual reminder that you will workout today. Out of sight, out of mind is a real concept. Inverse this idea and put what you need to do in clear sight so your brain says “oh, right, I need to do that.”

Visual cues helpful for sticking to a workout routine:

• Put your workout clothes beside your bed for the next morning
• Keep your yoga mat unrolled and where you can see it
• Have your gym bag in the passenger seat of your car
• Schedule an appointment for exercise on your daily calendar
• Create a reminder on your phone
• Display a habit tracker on your fridge (click here for the Health + Wellness Planner that includes habit tracker printable)

5. Hold Yourself Accountable

Find a support group (online or in-person) where you have to be somewhere at a specific time or stay competitive. One of Gretchen Rubin’s four tendencies is the Obliger. This is me all the way. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it. I don’t like letting people down and I feel an obligation to follow through.

Showing up for others is often more motivating than showing up for ourselves. Also when you see the progress others are making you instinctively feel a bit competitive and want to catch up.

An accountability group could be found within your neighborhood, mom group, or Facebook. Chances are others you know would appreciate this accountability as well.

6. Use a Habit Tracker

In addition to being accountable within a group, hold yourself accountable with a habit tracker for sticking to your workout routine. Habit trackers are proven methods for staying consistent with an action. Everything from daily exercise to water intake to sales calls for work can be tracked and you will stick with the routine when progress is marked.

7. Know Your Why

Why even bother? What is the number one reason sticking to a workout routine matters to you? For me, it lowers my overall anxiety when I do regular exercise, not to mention I sleep better and feel less tight in my lower back (an ongoing issue). Knowing your why and keeping it in the forefront is key to goal-reaching and habit formation.

Prompts to help discover your why for a workout routine:

• How do you currently feel physically?
• How would you rate your overall health?
• Do you have a family member or loved one that would benefit from you being physically healthy?
• Do you have a life goal you wish to reach (i.e., run a marathon, go on a hiking trip with your family?)
• Are you struggling with a physical or mental health issue and is it recommended you get a certain amount of exercise daily?

8. Start In the AM

Many people workout in the morning and for good reason — it gets it over with and starts your day off right. You just don’t have the same level of productivity later in the day as you do first thing.  Saying, “I’ll hit the gym after work or do a fitness video while the baby naps” is harder to stick with. 

Morning doesn’t have to mean before the sun rises. It could be directly after school drop-off, allowing gym time on your way to work, or a brisk walk before the kids wake up.

9. Give Yourself a Reward

Habits are more easily formed when a positive feeling or reward comes from them. I used to work out at a studio where there was a mom-and-pop coffee shop next door. Their small-batch coffee was delicious and a cup would be my “reward” after a workout.

Oftentimes the feel-good endorphins alone can be the reward you are looking for. Or perhaps something more tangible like after a certain number of workouts treat yourself to a new tank top or breakfast at your favorite spot or Saturday morning sleeping in. Whatever gives you a feeling of “you deserve this.”

10. Multitask

I often do long, speedy walks as part of regular exercise. One reason I enjoy these walks is I listen to podcasts I love at the same time.

Perhaps running on the treadmill is a good time for you to watch your favorite show. Maybe an exercise class with a friend is the only time you get to hang out with her. Walking with your spouse is a good way for you to catch up on family matters. Coming up with ways to multi-task working out can boost its appeal so you are more likely to stick with the routine.

11. Set (Realistic) Goals

Simplify your fitness goals by making them realistic and doable. For example, my goal beyond exercise was to lower my sugar intake. This simply meant slow down the Trader Joe’s mochi ice cream after dinner! If I could accomplish this, it would help snowball into other ways to lower sugar and beyond.

Being specific and realistic with your goals will help you stick with a workout routine. Perhaps you are in a season of life where you simply cannot get to the gym every day but you can 3 times a week. Maybe losing weight is not your goal but getting stronger is and you want to go from using 5-pound weights to 10 pounds. Or you are trying to improve your tennis game or run 5 miles instead of two.

12. Show Up

When something is convenient you are more likely to do it and showing up is half the battle. Even if you only do a 5-minute stretch, walk 10 blocks, or do 15 minutes of a HIIT video, you’ve done something and that creates a snowball effect to keep moving. Nike has it right “just DO it.”

Action creates action. Step one is to show up and the rest will follow.

The tips above helped me overcome my rut and find a consistent workout routine that I enjoy, look forward to and actually prioritize. My hope is they do the same for you. We are all so busy so finding simple tricks for sticking to it will greatly payoff!

Recap for How to Stick to a Workout Routine

• Discover what you like
• Dress the part
• Make it convenient
• Give yourself visual cues
• Hold yourself accountable
• Use a habit tracker
• Know your why
• Start in the morning
• Give yourself a reward
• Multitask
• Set realistic goals
• Show up