Easy fitness tips for making exercise a daily habit

In the ideal world we’d all be able to easily incorporate a workout into our everyday, but life can be busy and in our free hours it can be hard to part with! Here’s our top tops for making exercise a daily habit though. It may seem impossible at first, but you’d be surprised how easily it can become routine!

Start Small

While you may have decided you’re going to make yourself exercise daily, try not to focus on the bigger picture – break it down each day. For instance, “Today I’m going to go for a 15 minute walk!”. Try to do something manageable. If you’d like to work your way up to a 45 minute workout, then that’s great! But there’s no need to start with an intense 45-minute HIIT workout. If your muscles aren’t warmed up properly – it may do more harm than good!

Find a form of exercise you enjoy

This might sound silly but finding a form of exercise you enjoy is crucial to making exercise a daily habit. The more you enjoy something, the more likely you are to try it again! Try walking, running, dancing, weights, yoga etc until you find a few you enjoy.

Schedule your workout

Once you’ve set aside some time in your day (be it morning, after work or before bed) it’s much easier to stick to your decision. Start by finding 10-20 minutes you can use for exercising, then working your way up to your desired amount.  

Turn off the technology

Let’s be honest – our smart phones are incredible and make such a difference to our lives. Unfortunately they can prove to be quite distracting too… turn turning them off or putting away in your pocket or gym bag, so you can focus on whichever activity you’d like to try. Even if you can manage 15 minutes, it is a step in the right direction!

Sign up for a group exercise class

While the idea may seem nerve-wrecking at first, a group fitness class is a great way to stay in shape. With someone else telling you what to do, you don’t have to come up with something creative yourself! There are so many types of exercise classes too, that if one doesn’t seem right for you – you can easily try another. Who knows, you may make some new friends too!

Reward yourself

Associate exercise with a treat afterwards. We’re not suggesting a double-cream cake every day, but if that helps motivation occasionally – go for it! We like to reward ourselves with a hot shower or relaxing bath… but sometimes a nice sit-down with a cup of coffee helps too.

 

If you're looking to join a gym and try group exercise classes as part of your way to make exercise a daily habit, click here to see our list of health clubs to find one near you.