How to *actually* stick to a workout routine 👀

Last year I wanted to prioritize movement in my life — as someone who’s gone through ups and downs with my workout journey, I was determined to make this round stick! It took some trial and error to find a routine that worked for me, but these are some of the tips that have helped keep me on track with my movement journey!

What is your “why?”

Like most healthy habits, a commitment to working out requires some sort of intention to push you on the days when you don't feel like slipping into your exercise gear. Before 2021, I had experiences with bursts of exercise motivation (a month or two here, a few weeks there, etc.) but what really changed for me this time around was creating a realistic goal that I actually WANTED to achieve, not a goal that would appear good to others.

For me that goal was to move my body everyday for 30 minutes. Why? To get stronger, feel healthier, and to develop a deeper relationship with my body.

So before starting your movement journey, nail down that WHY. I rely on my WHY all the time because the act of working out is not something I get super excited about each day— but I do get excited about the prospect of gaining strength!

2. Ease in, start slow

The perfectionist within me hates the concept of starting slow. My instinct when an idea comes to mind is to act immediately haha! But with any big lifestyle shift, rushing the process can lead to burn-out.

When I started getting back into the routine of 30 minutes of movement, I started with 10 minute workouts until I was feeling ready to increase the time....within weeks I was up to 30 minutes, but that gradual approach was so helpful because it got me into the habit of showing up to my mat everyday without the intimidation of what I was about to do.

Whether you're a beginner (or have been working out for years but have gotten into a rut), breaking down your movement goal into the smallest piece possible and building on it will be a lot more sustainable than trying to rush to step 100!

3. Get your schedule out!

I'm always talking about putting things that are important to you in your schedule, and time for movement is no exception to that. Beyond just adding it to your planner, it's also critical at this stage to be realistic about when/where you're planning to make strides towards your movement journey.

If you are not a morning person, working out right after getting out of bed may not be the right move for you....if you feel really drained at the end of the work day, perhaps a 5PM workout isn't the route to go. No one, but yourself, can answer when the ideal time is for you! Be honest with yourself about the timing— we can so easily set ourselves up for failure by planning for an "ideal" version of ourselves instead of planning for reality.

4. Experiment

Working out from home, for me, is the easiest and most enjoyable way for me to break a sweat, so my form of experimentation comes about from trying out different workout instructors on YouTube. I've tried yoga, pilates, HITT, cardio, etc. and have noticed that I thrive when I'm cycling through many of them rather than committing months to one style.

Movement can come in so many different forms beyond those that involve a gym or yoga mat....there's countless activities and sports that can be just as effective at breaking a sweat. If you can find something that you enjoy, you'll be doing a lot less internal complaining — what a win!

5. Get Tracking

Accountability partners can be so powerful, but we don't all have a friend to keep us focused. Thankfully, trackers can be just as effective at pushing you forward.

Not to brag or anything, but I have lots of experience designing my own trackers in my journal— I'm pretty sure there's one in every “plan with me” video that I put out. Tracking your movement with a pen and paper is a simple way to be visually confronted with your progress (I can confirm, filling in a box everyday scratches a particularly satisfying itch every time).

Another tracker tool I adore is my smartwatch that I got in Spring 2021. Unlike trackers I make in my journal, I don't need to remember to mark anything down with my watch because it's recording everything automatically. I've been finding it to be a really powerful tool to my movement journey because I can't lie to my watch...it knows all haha (let the record show that I mean that with equal amounts of genuine laughter and pain)!

6. Listen to Your Body

As I've been on this movement journey, I've really started to pick up on the fact that — even if I'm doing the same workout that I did the day before— I don't always show up to the mat the same way. Some days I'm really energized and feel like I can breeze through all the moves, and other days I question whether I'm a 24 year old with a 80 year old body.

There's so much that goes into our energy levels: how much sleep we got the night before, what we've been consuming, how stressed we are with work, hormone levels, etc. Getting in the habit of recognizing where your body is at everyday is one of the gifts that movement has given me this year. More than just understanding your own body’s patterns, actually responding to them through action is a critical component to the puzzle that is being a human. But what does that mean in a practical sense?

On days where I feel high energy, I’ll opt for a more intense round of HIIT that leaves me sweating! But on days where I feel low energy, I'm trying to get better at not forcing myself through a tough work out. Sometimes a little push is good, but if I notice I'm being sloppy, I change gears because I don't want to risk injuring myself. Everyday my goal is to meet my edge, but I also now understand that edge is in a different place every day....accepting that fact has been so helpful in letting me drop the guilt of opting for a low impact workout versus a high impact one.

7. Make It Fun

"Blah blah blah, Caitlin, this all sounds painful!" I get it, I really do! I will be the first to admit that this movement journey for me is all about the joy AFTER it's completed each day— I can't say I'm throwing confetti when I'm holding a plank, ya know?

On the bright side, there is still opportunities to have fun while moving!

Listen to a fire playlist that gets you energized — this is one I’ve been listening to lately
Wear a cute workout set — you don’t need fancy workout gear to move your body, but starting your journey with an outfit you feel excited to wear can help give you that extra push to start your workout (starting truly is the hardest part)!
Slowly invest in equipment that gives you heart eyes — again, you don’t need to spend a ton of $$$ to get a good workout in at home, but as I get deeper into my journey, I find it really motivating to invest in equipment that I’m excited to use as a reward for my commitment! A cute yoga mat….fun coloured weights….pretty bands to make my squat game beautifully painful …a fun water bottle….etc.