Last Updated on October 11, 2021 by Andrew Blakey
What Is A Sustainable Fitness Plan
Hmm sustainable fitness plan? What does that even mean? Well, let me tell you.
Have you ever seen someone go from not working out in months or years and then all of a sudden start a plan that requires them to workout 5-6 times per week?
Have you ever struggled with the implementation of a fitness routine that you can actually stick with?
Perhaps you’ve started multiple workout plans only to fall off the wagon time and time again? Let me be the first to say that you’re definitely not alone – bodybuilding.com found that 73% of individuals fail to meet their fitness goals when it comes to fitness goals set as a new years resolution.
Simply put, in all the situations above, you may be trying to implement a plan that is unfortunately; just not a sustainable fitness program.
If this is you and you’ve found it hard to stick to a fitness routine, you’ve come to the right place. Today we’re going to discuss why people struggle and what you can do to ensure you implement a routine that meets your lifestyle.
Why Do People Struggle With Sustainable Fitness?
While there are many different reasons why people struggle when it comes to implementing a plan that they can stick to, we’ve narrowed it down to the top 3 reasons why people are unable to reach their fitness goals.
#1 – Lack of Accountability
Many people report being unable to keep themselves accountable when it comes to their fitness goals. What does this mean? It means that on days when they’re tired, “not feeling it”, or any other of the hundreds of reasons that come up, they’re unable to bring themselves to either eat healthy, or get their workout in.
So what can you do about it in order to create a long term sustainable fitness plan?
Try to find an accountability partner
This is one of the most common ways to help work towards the implementation of a sustainable fitness plan.
By working with a friend or family member towards your goals (they don’t even have to be the same goals), you put into place a system that promotes you being accountable to someone other than yourself.
Maybe you decide that you’re going to go for walks together. Perhaps you’re gym buddies. When a reason comes up that makes you want to not do the things you know you need to do, you’re going to be less likely to give in to the excuse.
Hire a personal trainer
Another thing you can do to help promote you sticking with your fitness plan, is to hire a coach or trainer.
I get at least one client a week telling me “If you weren’t here today, I probably wouldn’t have worked out”. Having someone to give you the gentle nudge you need to do the tasks at hand, can have dramatic effects on your likelihood of success.
If you’re looking for someone to help keep you accountable, reach out to me and let’s see how we can get you up and going!
Get crystal clear on your “why”
You’ll hear this from any trainer you talk to, you need to find your reason for why obtaining a certain goal is important to you. Without this solid “why”, you’ll never be able to stick to any long term fitness program. If you want to learn a bit more about learning about figuring out your why check out this other article we wrote!
You need to understand why losing “X” amount of weight is important, why do you want to be able to run 5km, why do you want to be more mobile? Whatever your reason is, try to dive deep and understand what the root reason is for this goal. Write this down and refer back to it regularly to help keep your motivation high and continue with your sustainable fitness plan.
For example if your goal is to lose 20 lbs, try to dive deep into this. Your reason could be something along the lines of “I want to lose 20 lbs because I want to be proud of the person I see when I look in the mirror. I know if I lose 20 lbs, I’m going to be more confident in myself and that’s going to make me happy with who I am”.
#2 – You’re Following Bad Advice
This is perhaps one of the most cynical reason behind why someone struggles with implementing a sustainable fitness plan.
The reason why, is because perhaps your friend, family member, or someone at the gym told you that they lost 20 lbs by doing (Insert unhealthy weight loss story here). They are genuinely trying to help you, but unless they are a credible fitness health professional, they may be giving you information that could be detrimental for your health.
I once heard a story from a person I shall not name… that someone they knew had lost weight from performing all their workouts as “1 rep max” workouts. This means that they would lift as much weight as they possibly could for 1 single rep and repeat this multiple times.
The problem with this is that this made the person who told me this story think that they should be doing the same thing. Why is this a problem? Well not only is that likely not the best way to lose weight, but the person involved also had incorrect form in certain exercises – add a heavy amount of weight to poor exercise form and you’re ASKING for an injury to occur.
Here are my recommendations for overcoming this struggle
Consult with a qualified fitness professional
Although their are many people out there who know their stuff when it comes to health and fitness without having formal degrees or certifications – I would say this population is extremely small.
It simply takes too much time to study and and learn everything you need to know when it comes to creating sustainable fitness plans, for someone to learn it in their spare time while also balancing their full time job, friends, and family time.
This is why I recommend everyone speaks with a health professional at some point to even just go over their plan and ensure that it’s what they should be doing in order to reach whatever their goal is.
Learn to keep or throw away information
As mentioned above, their are many individuals out their who are telling people information that may not always be true. It’s important that you learn to either keep and remember information that is correct, and throw away anything that may seem “too good to be true”.
For example, you should probably listen to your trainer when he says that improvement doesn’t happen overnight, vs your cousin Axle who says he lost 80 lbs in a month by only eating chicken noodle soup.
#3 – You’re Following A Plan You Hate
Would you watch a Netflix show you didn’t like?
Probably not, and if you did, you’d likely only watch an episode or two before you shut it off and found something else. The same thing goes when it comes to fitness.
If you’re following a plan that includes all the exercises you despise, why would you do it? You may be able to follow it in the short term, but, just like the netflix show, eventually you’re going to shut it down and never do it again.
It’s important to find a routine that fits your lifestyle, takes into account your likes and dislikes, and ensures that the program is create to help you create a sustainable fitness plan you can stick too.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of different exercises out there. If you don’t like planks, then find a different exercise to train similar muscles, it’s literally THAT easy. Problem solved
Now I know you’re probably thinking “well I read online that I need to do planks to strengthen my core” or something along those lines. While planks are a great exercise for building core stability, that is not the only exercise to do that!
If you need help creating a workout plan, reach out to us and schedule an initial consultation where you can talk to a trainer professional and either work with us, or at least get a good idea for where to start your fitness journey!
