Staying consistent with workouts can feel impossible in our busy lives. With family and work responsibilities, it often seems easier to say we don’t have time rather than make time to exercise. Many of us use excuses, putting fitness goals at the bottom of our priorities and risking long-term health issues.
Skipping workouts shouldn’t be an option, even if you think you can’t find the time. To make fitness a priority, address a few small obstacles and change any unhelpful beliefs or attitudes. You might discover one or more solutions to your struggles with consistency in these five surprising reasons why you’re finding it hard to stick with your workouts. These reasons can also be convenient excuses not to try, so let’s break through them and help you lead a healthier, more active lifestyle by staying consistent with your workouts.
1) YOU ALWAYS PUT YOURSELF LAST
Does this sound familiar? “I don’t have time for myself because I have to take care of my kids, parents, and more.” It’s common for society to expect mothers to put their children’s needs first. But does that mean you have to put yourself last or skip healthy habits? Actually, when you focus on your own health and well-being, you gain more physical and emotional energy to care for others.
This also applies to those caring for aging parents who need a lot of attention and support. While it may seem unkind to just say “make time for yourself,” we aren’t superhuman and can’t keep up this pace without some self-care.
The Solution
Make a promise to yourself to prioritize your needs, or at least not put them last. By setting boundaries around your personal time for exercise, you not only improve your workout consistency and long-term health but also build more energy to care for others in your life. Taking time for yourself can be a crucial break that helps you handle caregiving without feeling resentful.
If people rely on you for their care, what happens if you burn out? If there’s no one else to step in, it’s even more important to take care of yourself. Investing in your health and well-being is an investment in your long-term ability as a caregiver. You could even think of it as your duty to maintain your energy and strength by making time for your fitness and wellness goals.
When cooking for children or other family members, parents often end up eating unhealthy and convenient foods. But this doesn’t make sense, especially since it’s easy to cook healthier options for everyone, including yourself. It usually doesn’t take much extra time or effort to cook in larger batches.
Also, don’t use parenting and caregiving as excuses to neglect your health. It’s a convenient way to avoid the discomfort of not taking care of yourself while feeling like you have a noble cause. Sometimes, you need to give yourself permission to focus on your well-being and let go of the guilt of not dedicating 100% of your time and effort to your family. It’s important to care more about your own health than worrying about what others might think of your choices.
2) THE SKILLS LEARNED IN YOUR TEENS AND 20S ARE NOW FAILING YOU
“If only I had time to work out and eat healthy.”
You know how to get in shape—you did it in your teens and carried those habits into your 20s. Back then, you spent hours each week on strength training, sports, and running, which kept you fit. But as the years went by, careers, kids, and life in general added up, and so did the pounds. Now, you find it hard to make time for workouts, and you need to jump-start your exercise routine.
Interestingly, a recent study published in the journal “Science” found that our metabolism doesn’t slow down significantly until around age 60. It’s actually our lifestyle changes as we age that cause weight gain and muscle loss.
Even if you’re determined to start again “when you have more time,” life always seems to stay busy. As your career advances, it demands more of your time. You think you’ll have more time once the kids are older, but then there are piano lessons, dance recitals, and sports practices that fill your evenings and weekends. A new promotion at work requires more office hours. So, the gym gets put on hold, and before you know it, years have passed, and you’re even further from where you want to be.
The Solution
Getting in shape and feeling healthy doesn’t need to take up as much time and effort as it used to.
Forget the old beliefs that aren’t helping you anymore, and let go of the all-or-nothing mindset. Even small efforts add up over time. A good 30-minute strength session today is way better than putting off a longer workout for “tomorrow.”
There are plenty of easy ways to fit shorter workouts into your busy schedule. You could turn your lunch break into a workout, or find a gym on your commute home and exercise while waiting for rush-hour traffic to ease. If you’re not into gyms, consider setting up a basic home gym. A pair of adjustable dumbbells can cost less than a yearly gym membership.
If you feel pressured to give up your favorite leisure activities to fit in workouts, try multitasking. Get a treadmill or spin bike and watch your favorite show while doing cardio. Invite friends for walks to be active and enjoy social time. Find other creative ways to combine healthy habits with daily tasks, like listening to audiobooks or podcasts while cooking, driving, or doing chores. If it’s feasible, you could even try biking to work.
A little planning and taking advantage of small windows of time can make a big difference throughout the week. As your energy levels improve, you’ll find it easier to stay active, and soon your old sedentary lifestyle will be a thing of the past.
3) YOU ALWAYS RESET ON MONDAY
You start each week planning to eat healthy and work out daily. But as the weekend gets closer and you get tired, one “bad” meal or missed workout turns into a total free-for-all. You tell yourself you’ll start fresh on Monday. These high expectations set you up for failure at the first sign of slipping up. You might not realize it, but you’re giving yourself an excuse to go off track each week, knowing you can just start over on Monday and not feel guilty about the weekend splurge.
The Solution
When you realize that you’re giving yourself permission to fall off track, you regain control. It’s not about blaming yourself; it’s about taking ownership of your choices.
Instead of waiting until Monday to get back on track, focus on your next choice. If you go out for beers and indulge in burgers and wings on a Friday night, enjoy it without guilt. Plan these moments as treats you can look forward to, which helps you stick to your plan throughout the week and sets boundaries around indulgences so they don’t ruin the whole weekend.
If we learn to enjoy ourselves without feeling guilty, we won’t fall off track as easily. For example, if Friday night is your social time, plan to have a big glass of water before bed instead of grabbing “street dogs or pizza.” Manage the hangover and plan to enjoy a healthy breakfast on Saturday morning. Don’t think about the big picture all at once; just focus on the next good choice, make it, and then focus on the next one.
Many of these situations are predictable, so you can prepare in advance. Decide ahead of time how many drinks you’ll have, and choose a healthy snack at home instead of hitting the fast food drive-thru. When you plan with intention, it’s easier to make better choices in the moment.
As you reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of binge episodes and missed workouts, you’ll lessen the impact of going off track and build up more positive habits for better progress.
Also Read: Breathing Techniques for Weight Lifting: 2024
4) THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU SABOTAGE YOU
Decision fatigue and limited willpower already make healthy choices tough enough. It gets even harder when the people around you seem to undermine your efforts. Sometimes, this sabotage isn’t intentional, but it can still be damaging.
People often feel insecure about their own appearance and choices. They might feel guilty or ashamed about not putting in enough effort with their diet and exercise. So when someone around them starts focusing on healthy habits, it can trigger these feelings. To make those unpleasant feelings go away, they might try to sabotage your efforts.
For instance, your new commitment to eating healthy and working out might be met with more office donuts, baked treats, and pizza. Sometimes this isn’t done out of malice—people do like to enjoy treats. But if these temptations come with extra pressure to “live a little,” it’s a sign they’re trying to make the reminder of their own struggles disappear. Learn to spot this kind of sabotage.
Sabotage often happens at home too. An unsupportive partner can be tricky to deal with. They might feel insecure about their own appearance when you start making positive changes, which can lead them to interfere with your efforts.
I’ve worked with clients who faced unsupportive partners. One client’s spouse always seemed to find last-minute errands to keep him from training. Another made sure there were always extra chips and soda in the house. Sometimes, providing easy access to treats comes from a place of love and wanting to comfort someone. But it can also be a serious violation of boundaries. There was even a case where a man was charged with secretly grinding steroids into his wife’s food to keep her at home—she started growing hair on her face and back.
The Solution
Dealing with unsupportive coworkers and partners is tough and often means having hard conversations and setting clear boundaries. It’s about finding ways to make your partner feel secure and getting their support for your health goals. It also means taking responsibility for your own choices and not letting others derail your progress. Sometimes, it might even mean distancing yourself from problematic relationships.
But remember, not everyone will interfere with your efforts. Your healthy choices might actually inspire some people around you and spark positive changes in them. Support those who want to make changes too, spend more time with them, and use their support to boost your own efforts.
And don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up. Willpower isn’t endless, and you might stray from your best intentions now and then. If you enjoy a freshly baked muffin at the office, it’s not the end of the world. Allow yourself to be imperfect, and then focus on making the next choice a good one.
5) YOUR IDENTITY ISN’T ALIGNED WITH YOUR GOALS
Willpower is like a limited resource. Work and life stress can drain it, leaving you with little energy to resist evening snacking or to drive to the gym instead of heading straight home.
Have you ever noticed how it’s easier to stick to behaviors that fit your core identity? For example, if you’re a parent, you might automatically take care of parenting tasks, even when you’re tired. Or if you’re involved in a faith community, a volunteer group, or a sport, you naturally keep up with those activities. It’s because we tend to act more easily and automatically when our actions align with our identity.
The Solution
Align your identity with the choices and outcomes you want. Ever wonder how some people manage to wake up early, hit the gym before work, or run in bad weather? For them, it’s just part of who they are. They’ve made fitness a core part of their identity. While you might not be that extreme, you can work on connecting with the identity of someone who is active and eats healthy.
If you were active in the past—maybe you played sports or enjoyed going to the gym but got too busy—try reconnecting with that version of yourself. Make it a part of who you are now. If you’re starting fresh, focus on the person you want to become. Picture your future self as someone who works out regularly and makes healthier choices. Imagine someone you admire who lives the lifestyle you’re aiming for, and try to make decisions like they would.
Remember, short bursts of intense effort won’t change your long-term health. That’s why there are no reunion episodes of “The Biggest Loser”—most participants gained the weight back. Identify the obstacles in your way, let go of attitudes that don’t support your goals, and make yourself a priority. Stop giving yourself excuses to quit and build up your consistency in working out and living a healthier, more active life.