How do you avoid skipping exercises and workout plans?

I started counting a streak. Every time I missed one, it reset. After a while of getting to 5 or 6 days, I got tired of resetting. And now the number is so high that I CAN'T miss!

It also had to be a workout I enjoyed and that I wanted to get better at. It had its own reward built in. I do it 3 days a week, cross-train 3 days, rest 1.

I also made a counting streak....
And it's the first thing I do when I roll outa bed every day....even weekends. If I don't.....3 kids demand all my time after that & it doesn't get done. Plus I work full time, & im dead in the afternoon....
Friends on here also help....make a deal with someone....buddy up. They help keep you motivated, & accountable....

This may sound really weird, but I only allow myself to shower after a workout. I workout every other day, then shower. If I'm feeling too lazy for a workout, then I just think of how gross I'd feel the next day before my workout then shower. I've missed a few days and I do feel pretty gross on day 3. Its worked for me for a few years! I think people shower too much anyways, I might be a bit of a hippie...

I also think of how great I feel after HIIT or a kettlebell workout, or Insanity...energized and more alert.

On days I don't feel like it, I make myself get up and go. I tell myself I'll just do it for 15 minutes. Then I usually complete my workout. I also give myself a couple of rest days.
Also if you don't like your routine you may want to find something you like better.

i try to make it as easy as possible for myself, and remove any 'barriers' to not going. Meaning, pack my bag the night before and put it in the car.

I also do the ClassPass workout app, that if you cancel a class with less than 12 hours notice, you get charged for it anyways, and I hate wasting money, so that's a good motivator not to bail :-)

I do it first thing in the morning and take a pre-workout. Once I'm up and energized, it's way more difficult to talk myself out of it.

Find something you actually like doing for your exercise. You'll probably be likely to not skip it, if you like it.

CheesyPurritoCat wrote: »

How do you motivate yourselves to keep going and not skip workouts??? It's very hard for me to keep up with my workout schedule as I follow it for 3 days then stop

I keep a spreadsheet of weekly minutes. That way if I do half a workout (short on time, whatever)......I get the rest of the week to make it up.

Mark your workouts on a calendar.....put in in a public place. Whatever you choose, find a way to make yourself accountable.

I agree with @TR0berts......maybe you don't like your current exercise. Keep trying new things.

Maybe this might come across as discouraging... From the day I decided enough was enough and I signed up a gym membership ( my first cardio workout lasted 12 minutes) to when I felt bad about missing a workout it was almost 5 years...starts and stops... medical issues...and every excuse to skip a workout, then it hit me... exercise.. unless you earn a living doing manual labour of some kind (which I done in my youth) is as necessary as eating, drinking (water) and breathing, BY NOT exercising on a regular basis you are creating physical and emotional difficulties later in life.

I see it this way... WE as a species developed over many millennia a need to hunt and forage and later farm in order to "live" As first world inhabitants we have robbed ourselves of that (those) task(s). and by not engaging in those tasks our bodies have begun to deteriorate far quicker than they ought to. bad knees, hips, backs, cancers, fatigue, depression, anxiety... ALL this can be fixed or at the least controlled with increased meaningful physical activity... I exercise because I want to be happy... I exercise because I want to have energy, because My life is a better place with me in it... I want to be a participant... I want to look in the mirror and like who I see smiling back... THAT only happens when I have hit the gym and walked out with a sense that I did my best...

YOU want to create the positive habits... be your best... and wake up every morning telling yourself you will do your best... then day by day... workout by workout... you will begin to move the needle towards that goal... exercise is as important as eating, drinking, and breathing... begin to understand thatand you will create the good habits that will see you striving to be the best version of you.

I set aside a fixed block of time every day. This is my workout time. It's on my personal/business calendars so nobody gets that time. Generally works....

I primarily cycle...I love to cycle...it's not really an issue. Do something you enjoy doing.

A little background first. I spend two weeks out of the month working out of town and the other two weeks of the month working at my company's home office.

That said, I've made it a point to make exercise and movement a part of my "work" day. What I mean by that is: on the two weeks I'm out of town working, as soon as I get home, I immediately put on my work out clothes and walk to the gym. Then, on the two weeks I'm working from the home office, I exercise during my lunch break. Additionally, I'm sure to plan and grocery shop for a week's worth of meals. One some days, dinner is prepped and just needs to be popped into the oven (while I take a shower). On others, I'm eating those leftovers. Finally, for lunch I typically have a nutrient-dense shake filled with hearty greens, fruit, flax, and protein as well as a small (200-300 calorie) protein, carb, and piece of fruit snack around 3:30 or 4:00p.

Planning, planning, planning. The more thought you put into a schedule (that works for you!), the more the complexity is taken out of your routine, and as such, it becomes simple. Simplicity = success.

Mine is quite simple, I just have a no excuses attitude. I don't ask myself if I want to workout because the answer is usually no. I just do it!

I'm all over the suggestion of moving your body in a way that you enjoy. It took me two years of running with my then-boyfriend to realize I actually don't enjoy running (even though I was pretty decent). But I DO love being outside. So I do lots of "functional exercise"...if I have to pick up something from the grocery store, I make that my exercise...4km there and back with great "Rock My Run" playlists spurring me on. Or shovelling snow. Or going on a long-distance snow shoe trek or cross-country ski. None of those activities seem like "going to the gym". Of course I have to occasionally step it up and do some strength training...but I try and do that at home and go to the gym for yoga!

I wrote down WHAT I wanted. After that I wrote a list of WHY I wanted what I wanted. When I don't feel like going and working out, I read over the list and ask myself if I still want those things. The answer is yes. Well, to get those things I know I have to move it, so that helps me get in the right mindset and helps me get up and go.