When I was younger, I was surrounded by sports. I started playing softball when I was only 6 years old and started to play volleyball when I was 13. So, the majority of my life consisted of practices, games, lifting sessions and more practice. But, that all comes with somebody telling me what to do. That was the hardest thing I had to let go when I stopped being an athlete. It is so much easier when you have a coach telling you what to do. When I ended my athletic career I found myself not ever going to the gym, because I just didn’t have a reason to anymore. I eventually found my way back, but it was not easy to stick to. Follow along and I’ll share with you some ways I made working out a part of my lifestyle.

Start Small

This was something that helped me get through the hard days of working out. When I start exercising, I always start with a lot of energy and think I can do more than I really can. However, doing too much, in the beginning, leads to burnout, which leads to quitting. When you first start making working out a habit, your body is most likely not used to it. Ease into it, do not do anything your body isn’t ready for.

Don’t skip a day

It is so easy to say “Nah, I’ve been doing it for four days…I’ll just skip today!” For the first time getting into working out consistently, you need to be consistent. If you do skip a day, don’t beat yourself up. Get back into the next day and continue to keep doing it every day. I work out almost every day, but when I skip a day I know I won’t make it a habit. Since when I started working out a lot I did not skip a day for as long as I could remember. This helped me so much when making it a lifestyle for me. I now feel weird and not myself when I don’t get a workout in during the day.

Listen to your body

I live by this motto so much throughout my life, especially when it comes to working out. Some days you want to push your body and have the best workout of your life, but if your body is just not feeling it, don’t push it!! Pushing yourself is good, and you should always try and do things you normally do not do, that’s how we reach goals! But, pushing ourselves too hard in the face of pain and putting ourselves in danger, that’s not good. If you get to the gym and had a long intense workout in mind but your body isn’t up to the task, don’t push it. Exercise is good, but it has to be the right amount with the right intensity for you. Next time you head to the gym and your running that mile with 3 more to go, but you’re about to pass out, stop! Your goal can be reached when your body is letting and is ready you reach it.

Go to the gym!

This has got to be the most common tip when starting to workout consistently. But it truly is the best tip out there when finding the motivation to workout. There are so many times when I truly do not want to get up and go workout. But, getting your workout clothes on and heading out the door is the hardest part sometimes. Some days I am so tired and sick of the gym, but I go anyway. I can’t tell you how many times I tell myself I am just gonna go do a quick, easy workout but end up doing the most intense workout that ends up being an hour and a half long. You really can surprise yourself when you get up and just go! I still live by this tip and will for a very very long time.

Make it a journey

The one mistake people make when they first start working out is making it a destination, not a journey. Sure, making goals and reaching them is great, but stopping once that goal is reached is too common. When you are trying to make working out a lifestyle you can’t think of it as an endpoint, you need to take it day by day.