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The Gym Consistency Conundrum – How to stay on plan and achieve your fitness goals

Whether you are working towards a specific goal or simply training to stay healthy, most of us have at some point felt the urge to skip the gym.

Although this appears to be a common thread, I believe that we can all also agree that increasing physical activity remains a top priority for most. In fact, Forbes estimates that improved fitness consistently ranks as the #1 New Years resolution.

Unfortunately, despite spikes in gym registrations in the months of January and February, it is estimated that over 50% of new members quit within their first three months. Moreover, that number jumps to 80% within the first 6 months of their registration.

At Action Sport Physio, our goal is always to get you back to life and a large part of that includes returning you to physical activity. Not only do we want to help get you out of pain and dysfunction, but more importantly, we want to help you develop a healthy and lasting relationship with exercise.

In order to avoid becoming a part of the statistic here are our three tips to staying consistent with exercise:

1. Have a plan that you enjoy

Like with most things in life, if you don’t enjoy it, sticking with it immediately becomes arduous. When applied to work, most of us are familiar with the adage, “find a job that you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. However, when we go to the gym we commonly see people miserably running on the treadmill or not enjoying themselves in the weight room. The fact of the matter is that much like the type of work that you do can be varied, so can your fitness plan. In other words, if you don’t enjoy running... don’t, there are many other ways to work on cardiovascular fitness. Whether you enjoy planning your workouts yourself or working with a pro, you should enjoy your plan.

2. Schedule your workouts

Sticking with the workplace analogies, schedule your workouts much like you would a meeting with your boss. There is no need to make or find time... reserve it. Having time blocked oX in our agenda dedicated to fitness marks it as a priority for us as opposed to an add on.

3. WarmUp, Rest & Recover

Unfortunately, in our line of work, the most common barrier that we see between our clients / athletes and consistency with their fitness plans is injury. Although a part of our role in your rehabilitation is getting you back to life an even larger part is keeping you there. In fact, I would argue that most therapists would prefer to help you prevent injury rather than react to one. This all starts with preparing your body for movement. Before your workouts, make sure to warm up and prime the body for movement. Although each case is diXerent, this should involve a combination of dynamic stretches, low weight exercises and light stretching. After your workouts, it is equally important to stretch, rehydrate and recover. In general listen to your body and give it the rest that it needs.

I often catch myself saying that “consistency is the hardest muscle to train”. Much like a muscle becomes stronger with exercise, consistency gets easier through repetition. If you are unsure where to start or would like help building a sustainable plan, the team at Action Sport Physio is here to help.

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