3 Secrets To Staying Consistent With Exercise

Now that we’ve tackled ways to live a cleaner, more natural life in 2015, I want to move on to what may be the most important topic of all when it comes to living a healthy, balanced life: consistency.

Consistency is the perhaps THE most important factor in your success this year.

And ironically, it’s one of the most challenging skills to master.

Let me tell you the truth. It’s a LOT easier to stay fit, than to get fit.

Mastering the skill of consistency was a pivotal point on my journey to changing my relationship with exercise and my body. Now, I am able to maintain my physique with very little effort and have finally broke free of the guilt cycle that comes with long periods of lazy living.

Over the next week I’ll be sharing 3 secrets to staying consistent with exercise to help you see results once and for all.

These secrets come from my own journey and from working with hundreds of women through my online programs over the past 4 years.

If you want to get to the point where it’s EASY to stay in shape and EASY to eat well then I encourage you to dive into this series with me.

I’ll be providing a lot of information over the next week to help you transform your relationship with exercise and your body.

So visit the blog, open my emails, get involved, ask questions and together we’ll master the art of staying CONSISTENT in 2015.

Secret #1: Keep A Narrow Focus

This one is BIG. In fact it may be the most important concept you implement all year.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when creating New Year’s resolutions is setting too many goals. Yes, there is such thing as being too driven or too ambitious.

Research shows that the human mind is really only capable of effectively focusing on ONE thing at a time. (Which is why multi-tasking is becoming such a problem but that’s a topic for another day…)

When women join The Pilates Body Program (my flagship online program), I have them set goals before the program even begins. Many participants ask how much cardio they should be doing in addition to their Pilates workouts.

My answer? None.

Don’t get me wrong, cardiovascular exercise is important and should be part of a well-rounded exercise plan BUT these women are joining my program because what they’ve been doing hasn’t been working. And often the problem is trying to do too much.

I coach women in the PBP to focus solely on Pilates for 6 weeks.

If opportunities for cardio come up, great! If the desire to go out for a run appears, awesome! But I strongly believe that keeping a narrow focus is the path to success and true change.

Once my clients form the habit of Pilates and healthy eating/meal planning, many go on to add cardio into their routine as well. But you see, they’ve already created the Pilates habit through 6 weeks of laser-like focus. So after 6 weeks they are ready for ONE additional focus. This is the path to success. I’ve seen it work time and time again.

Success doesn’t happen by doing everything all at once. It doesn’t happen over night. Success is sequential. Success happens by making one change at a time, over a period of time.

As Gary Keller says, “When you think about success, shoot for the moon. The moon is reachable if you prioritize everything and put all your energy into accomplishing the MOST important thing. Getting extraordinary results is all about creating a domino effect in your life.”

So let me ask you…how many goals are you working toward right now?

How many things are you trying to add or take away from your life in an attempt to be healthy this year?

Challenge: I challenge you to go back through your health goals and/or resolutions and narrow your focus. It doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish all of the things on your list; you just may not be able to accomplish them all at once.

Take it one step at time; One goal at a time. Narrow your focus. This is secret #1 to consistency in 2015.

Stay tuned, I’ll be sharing secret #2 in a few days. But let’s stay focused on this one thing for now.

As you go through your day, ask yourself, “what is the ONE thing I want to focus on this week when it comes to exercise and health?”

Come over to my Facebook page and tell me your ONE THING. I’ll hold you accountable and cheer you on. ☺

Cheers to a healthy New Year beauties…you’ll be hearing from me again soon!

xo,

PS – I’m sending these post out via email too because I think they’re THAT important. If you want to receive the next 2 secrets in your inbox sign up here. I promise I don’t spam. 🙂