How to Stick to a Physical Fitness Program for More Than a Week

Are you starting a fresh physical fitness program this week and intend to continue with it for the rest of the year? In that case, ask yourself one question: how many times have you tried the same and out of that number, how many times have you succeeded in keeping up with the pace?
The biggest problem faced by individuals while trying to stick to a fitness regime is to maintain its consistency. Statistics show that the first six to eight weeks of this regime is marked with remarkable performance in terms of regularity. However, after this initial success, most people lose interest in the regime and start skipping the routine.

One of the best ways to stick to a physical fitness program is to proceed gradually. Every exercise routine has two aspects to it: duration and intensity. You must correlate the level of duration and intensity of your routine to a specific time period. This means, that in the beginning of your exercise routine, the duration and intensity of your workout should be minimal and you should continue this for the first three weeks.

After the first three weeks, increase any one of the aspects of your exercise. Either increase the duration of your workout (say, from the initial 45 minutes to 60 minutes) or increase the intensity (by running faster on the treadmill and increasing the weights of your workout by 2 or 3 pounds). Trying to advance both the duration and intensity may lead to fatigue and injury, both of which are responsible for interrupting your fitness routine.

After the next three weeks, you must check for any difference in your body caused due to the exercise. Don’t judge the effectiveness of your workout based solely on the weight you lose. Most people have difficulty losing weight within the first 8 weeks of their fitness regime. However, losing inches from your body is more likely during this initial period.

If there is no change, it may be time to switch from the current combination of physical fitness exercises into something that has a higher potential of affecting your body. If there is even the slightest change, stick to what you are doing. However, you must push your body into more intensive routines as well as increase the duration of your workout by alternating between the two changes. This will not only prevent your exercise routine from becoming monotonous, but it will also prevent your body from reaching a plateau which results in no change.