When it comes to fitness, people have the best of intentions with the worst results.  For decades we have been searching for the best workout strategies and the most successful results, just like diets.  Why have we not found it yet?  Simply because, just as in diets, there is no one answer for everyone.  The key is finding what works for you.  And to find what works for you, you need to keep searching, trying, failing and trying again to find the workout routine that you can be consistent at. 

There is a lot of information about how many days you should workout, how long, what you should do and how you should do it.  But more important than all of that is finding the workout that you will keep doing week after week, month after month and year after year.  Workout results are discovered with consistency, long-term benefits will only be realized with consistency and success is achieved with consistency.

There are a few tips that will help establish and maintain a consistent workout schedule.  Studies show that people who exercise regularly in the morning are more likely to stick to their workout routines. It's the perfect way to start your day and get your metabolism rolling.  It really is the only time of day that you are least likely to have things come up i.e. a late meeting, after-school activities and fatigue.

Getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning can provide you with some quiet time to exercise before the kids wake up or you head to work. If you’re not usually an early riser, start with getting up at an earlier time and stretching.  You can gradually progress to adding more of a workout each week as you adjust to the earlier time.  The key here is to wake up at the same time every morning regardless of whether you are working out or not.  If you work out four mornings a week be sure to wake up at the same time on the fifth day to do something else, maybe even enjoy the peace and quiet that you rarely experience.

The key to establishing a workout schedule is finding something that really works for you. The easiest way to start to establish your schedule is to test it with 10 minute workouts.  If your long-term plan is to run with some resistance training three times a week and walk one day a week your schedule may start like this:

Monday 6:00 a.m. 10 minute walk or
Wednesday 6:00 a.m. 8 minute walk / 2 minutes of lunges and push ups or
Friday 6:00 a.m. 10 minute run  and
Sunday 2:00 p.m. 10 minute walk

It will be easy to convince yourself to go for the ten minutes each day and it will allow you to test your ability to maintain that schedule.  You may discover that although Sunday afternoon is usually free, you are not motivated to go for a walk then.  You may wish to add a Saturday morning workout in place of a Sunday afternoon workout.  They key is to establish a schedule that works before you start the heavier or longer workouts, when it will be harder to motivate yourself to get going.  Don’t be hard on yourself.  If you find a certain day or time is really hard to get going, quit trying to beat yourself into doing it. Try something else or add a longer workout on another day.  Quit fighting what doesn’t work and seek out the schedule that will.

It is also good to establish what your favourite 10 minute schedule is.  Keeping your ten minute schedule in your back pocket when you really think you are going to have to skip a work out, will maintain your routine.  No matter what the situation is, we always have time for 10 minutes of exercises.  So for those crazy days, don’t skip your workout all together.  Do your ten minute plan and maintain your success. 

Note: if you work in a 10-minute workout each day, by the end of the month you will have exercised over 300 minutes.  That is 300 more minutes of exercise that some months….right!?

It is always fun to try and sneak small workouts into routine things we do everyday.  Why not make the most of some time wasters that we must do all the time.  You can build quick training ideas into your daily activities such as:

• Stand on one leg while waiting in line or brushing your teeth
• Stand on your tiptoes while making dinner
• Squats while folding laundry or at each washroom break ;-)
• Lunges as you vacuum
• Planks while you wash the floor or baseboards
• Leg lifts, sit ups when watching tv
  

The last piece of advise I can share it to check how your perceive your workout schedule.  If you dread having to workout and think about it all day, then it is causing you more stress than any benefit you may be getting.  Try to think of it as your time to spend alone or with a friend.  Think of your walk or run as a chance to get some fresh air or change what you are thinking about.  Use a good resistance training session as a way to deal with something that has been causing you stress.  If you can find what you do like or enjoy about your workout and focus on it, then you will start to change the way you perceive it and you will start to look forward to working out.