As we gaze upon another month starting, you may have already forgotten about your resolution for the New Year. Do you remember yours? According to statistics, exercise is the most common New Year’s resolution. Unfortunately, a good majority of resolutions don’t succeed – not at first anyway. So, if you planned on adding a new exercise routine this year and you haven’t stuck with it, there may be some things you are doing that get in your way of success. Consider these three reasons your exercise routine isn’t working – and how to conquer those challenges.
1) Your workouts don’t fit into your lifestyle.
It could be that working out every day isn’t possible for your lifestyle right now. Maybe you are balancing too much between home and work to have an hour on the treadmill. And that’s okay! Rather than letting defeat takeover and not exercise at all, consider changing up your approach.
Take a good look at your schedule and what is possible for you. Rather than planning on a daily goal, consider a weekly one, such as doing 30 minutes of cardio exercise three times a week and 1-2 days a week of strength training (consider these easy strength-training exercises!). Doing a weekly goal rather than a daily goal allows for life to happen and considers the fact that you won’t have the energy to work out every day.
2) You aren’t enjoying your exercise routine.
If you aren’t enjoying your workouts, you are increasing the chances that you won’t continue them. Attitude is everything when it comes to exercise and not every exercise will be the right fit for you. So, if you stopped your routine because you weren’t enjoying yourself, try something new! Join a class or recruit a workout buddy if you need some company and don’t like working out alone. Try exercise that feels like play such as tennis or basketball. If you need fresh air, take a walk around your neighborhood after dinner (bring the family!).
3) You are feeling impatient.
A lot of people start out strong when they set resolutions. It could be that you started out strong this year, but didn’t see any results. Whether you haven’t hit your weight loss target or your stamina hasn’t improved, give yourself time to adjust to your exercise routine. Unfortunately, results don’t happen overnight when it comes to losing weight or hitting various target goals, so it’s important to have the right expectations. Remember that things take time. In the long run, your overall wellbeing benefits overall from a regular exercise routine, so keeping that focus as your overall mindset will help you.
