5 Barriers to Staying Consistent With Exercise
Have you ever been excited for a new workout routine? You have a goal, you take the necessary steps to get started and then after a few days/weeks/months….you drop off.
Or maybe you keep telling yourself “okay on Monday I’ll start.” But then Monday comes. Monday goes. And then you’re left frustrated for not following through.
I get it. We all get it. We’ve all been there! It’s a normal human experience to face obstacles that prevent you from reaching your goals. And sure, they might sound like excuses. But they’re very valid. And as with anything, the first step is understanding what’s going on. Addressing the issue. So what’s your issue?
Below, I will list 5 of the most common barriers we face when falling off in exercise consistency. You might be able to relate to one or two…or all of them. And that’s okay! Be honest with yourself. You might even realize there are barriers you didn’t realize you face daily. I’m here to help!
I will be posting short informational Instagram reels on each of these barriers and go more in depth within each of these blog posts. So stay tuned for more added each day. Let’s get started!
The 5 Most Common Barriers:
1) Lack of Time.
Do I even have to explain this one? Life can be very overwhelming with work, family responsibilities, social life, self care, etc. There just isn’t enough time in the day! And what might have worked at a less busy time in your life could drastically change as your life does. Let’s be real. Your availability at 24 was much different at 34. With each new phase in life, availability changes and it can feel impossible. BUT it’s not!
In an upcoming blog post, we’ll be chatting about how we can take a good look at your weekly and daily schedule to find the best time for exercises. We’ll even discuss ways to multi-task, habit stack, create efficient workouts and more to help you overcome this barrier.
I’m not here to tell you “you HAVE TO MAKE TIME!!!” I get it. It’s not as simple as that. But I want to find a way that works best with YOUR schedule.
2) Lack of Motivation.
Have you ever been sooooo excited to start something and then after 2 weeks….you just stop? Maybe it was trying Pilates, a DIY project or even a New Year’s resolution that didn’t make it past February. It might not have been lack of time that stopped you….you just used that time to do something else! That can happen all too often in exercise and physical activity. So how do you stay motivated?
In this blog post, I’ll be breaking down the reason(s) you’re struggling with motivation and how to fight past that. We’ll be visualizing your success (because it IS possible I swear), creating smaller obtainable goals, finding activities you actually enjoy, rewarding yourself and reminding you to BE KIND when you feel yourself falling off.
3) Physical Discomfort/Fatigue.
There are quite a few things that could fall into this barrier. This includes soreness from a prior workout/activity, chronic pain, injury or just being exhausted after work. In this blog post, we’ll dive into each of these issues and how you can overcome/work through them.
Even if you’re struggling with a physical or mental discomfort, there are different strategies and modifications we can make to keep you moving. That’s the most important part, even if it’s not perfect or what you expected. Consistency over perfection!
4) Lack of Support/Accountability.
Look, you can’t do this alone. Of course, I could preach that you need a coach to help you with accountability (and feel free to send me a message if you’d like one.) But this also includes who you have in your circle.
Do you have a significant other that doesn’t have the same motivation and/or goal? Do you wish you had a community (or even just one friend!) that also wants to add more movement into their life? In this blog post, we’ll be diving into facing these issues. This includes recruiting those around you, how to keep yourself accountable and even more ways that a coach can be of help.
5) Unrealistic Expectations.
Alright. With the other barriers, I’ve been pretty nice. But with this one…I’m about to give you some tough love. Maybe you told yourself that OF COURSE you could workout 5 days a week and meal prep and drink a gallon of water and get 8 hours of sleep and and and and and….But let’s be real. Did you actually accomplish ALL of those things at once? Or was it a bit overwhelming and you gave up after a couple weeks?
With this blog post, we’ll be diving into HOW you can create realistic expectations. A healthy lifestyle is a marathon and not a sprint. So let’s set you up with success by creating some obtainable goals and watching you CRUSH them one by one.
Although there are likely more barriers, I’ve found these are the most common. You may have felt all of them or maybe a couple resonate more with you. If you’re still unsure which one is hitting you the most, stay tuned for the upcoming blog posts where we dive into each one. Let’s get you on track!