Committing to a fitness program is really hard. It’s tough to stay motivated when you are the only one saying you have to do it. It’s hard to see the fruit of your labors when some of them are only measurable with a doctor’s complex testing and instrumentation. It’s exceedingly easy to be consumed by the pressing responsibilities of life and it’s really easy to tell yourself that one more day won’t make a difference.
To make fitness a priority in your life, you need to give yourself as many reasons and as many helpful tools as you can. Here you’ll find five great tips for making fitness a priority in life, rather than an afterthought.
5 Tips To Make Health And Fitness A Life Priority
Clarify your undeniable need for fitness, enlist some help, and pencil—no pen—fitness in to make sure that you live well and live long.
Write it down—what gets done in the course of your day? The things you’ve made time for. Exercise should be top of that list because it is what will ensure that you are around to do more and live better. Schedule time for fitness just as you would for getting dressed, working, and attending important meetings. Block out your time for fitness in your daily planner first so that you make the time. Schedule exercise in at a time that makes sense and the rest around it.
Buddy up—get a friend to be your fitness buddy; or, if a friend isn’t interested or available, partner with a like-minded acquaintance at the fitness center and make him or her your friend and fitness buddy. Having a buddy makes fitness fun and (close to) painless and helps you support each other. You’ll find that the reasons you give your buddy to go on work for you, too!
Make a list—list all the reasons why you want to get fit and be healthy. This helps you set fitness goals, motivates you with clear reasoning, and works as a reminder for those times when ambition is waning. Refer back to your fitness list to see what goals you’ve accomplished, what goals need revamping or replacing, and for general motivation.
Reward yourself—create a reward system as further motivation; with one caveat—your reward cannot be food. Give yourself something worth working for, something that promotes fitness, and something with lasting motivational power. A spa treatment, new clothes/wardrobe, a long weekend or vacation, or new recreational or even fitness activity are some good rewards to start with.
Look to the pros—the guidance and support of a good personal trainer is unbeatable as a prioritization strategy for fitness. A personal trainer will help you in innumerable ways by making exercise more enjoyable, more ‘do’-able, providing ongoing information and support, structuring a fitness program tailor-made for you, and being a general source of motivation. You’ll find that keeping that appointment time and being accountable to someone else helps, too.
You’ll find these five simple tips for prioritizing fitness in your life will go a long way toward your success on the fitness trail. Small changes like these can make a big impact and really help you keep your good health and well being at the forefront of your list of things that need doing.
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