You finally made the decision to take care of yourself and make a positive change in your health and fitness. You go to the gym, work really hard, then come home and eat a healthy meal. You feel positive and energized and you can’t wait to see the results of your hard work. You go to bed feeling a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment daily...
But when morning comes you wake up stiff and sore. You oversleep and have to skip breakfast. Then a project at work keeps you late and you just can’t make it to the gym. Tired and frustrated, you grab something to eat at a drive-thru on the way home. Afterward, you sit on the couch snacking and watching TV, just trying to unwind. By the time you go to bed, you feel more frustrated and defeated than ever.
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. Half of all people who start a health and fitness program quit within the first three weeks, and 90% give up before they ever reach their goals.
Why do so many people give up so quickly and so easily?
We will discuss why many people find it so hard to reach their goals, and how to prevent that from happening to you. First, let’s take a look at the top reasons why most people quit exercise programs:
- Lack of time
- No motivation
- Doing too much too soon
- Boredom
- Not enough support from family and friends
- Frustration with lack of results
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Lack of time. - Getting results does not mean spending hours in the gym. Find a program that fits with your schedule. It is absolutely possible to get a great workout in under an hour. In fact, we’ve designed our cardio and weight training workouts to last only about 20-30 minutes. With these workouts, you’ll get an effective workout in about half the time, making it much easier to fit exercise into your busy schedule.
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No motivation. - The key to motivation is having a goal. Without goals, you have nothing to work towards. Choose a goal that is realistic and meaningful so when you do feel like giving up, you’ll remember that you’re working towards something that matters. Visualizing your results and knowing that they are achievable makes it easier to stay motivated, so remind yourself often of what you’re working towards.
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Doing too much too soon. - Overdoing it at the gym can leave you sore, tired and injury-prone. Instead of going all out, start slow and listen to your body. You’ll decrease your risk of injury and be less likely to skip workouts, plus your muscles will be able to recover more quickly. A little bit of exercise every day is much more effective than a lot of exercise one day, so pace yourself and you’ll see results.
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Boredom. - The key to overcoming boredom is change. Try reversing the order that you do things, or set up a circuit of instead of doing each exercise one by one. You can also skip the gym entirely and go to a park that has bars for pull-ups and benches for pushups. With a little creativity, there’s always something you can do to change your workouts and keep them fresh and exciting so you never get bored again.
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Not enough support from friends and family. - Changing your lifestyle will always have an impact on those close to you. If you want support, involve the people around you so they can be a part of your success. Get the kids help you prepare a healthy dinner or have a friend meet you at the gym. The more people you involve in your transformation, the more support you’ll have to reach your goals.
- Lack of results. - First of all, make sure your goal is realistic so you don’t get frustrated and give up. Once you have a realistic goal, check your progress at regular intervals so you can make changes to your program when you hit a plateau. Knowing where you are helps you make adjustments and stay on track to reach your final goal.
Starting a new exercise program is not easy, and there are many issues that can make it even more difficult. Identifying the problem is the first step towards solving it. The next time you feel like quitting, figure out which of these problems is the culprit and then implement these solutions to solve it. Once you know how to stay motivated you will realize all of your efforts are getting you closer to reaching your full potential. Don’t be another gym statistic; set a goal, create a plan and follow through. You’ll be glad you did.