12 Small Mindset Shifts That Finally Made Me Workout Every Day
Start focusing on the right ideas to create a habit that sticks
Are you a yo-yo exerciser? Do you tell yourself you’re finally going to commit to a workout program and achieve your dream body just to quit a week or two later? We’ve all been there. This was me up until this year, when I shifted my thinking about working out.
For some background, I used to solely make my workouts and diet a priority before big events: spring break, big parties, weddings, anything where I planned to wear a dress or a bikini essentially. For about two good weeks I would workout for hours and deprive myself of all the foods I wanted by choosing an arbitrary weight loss diet. I’m typically such a foodie and have too many other things I’d rather do than workout for hours at a time, so this was unsustainable from the beginning and I knew it.
I was overtraining in this short period of time, which was actually counterproductive for any weight loss goals I had. Overtraining releases cortisol, stressing the body and leading to body fat retention. I also found myself overeating to compensate for all the work I was putting in at the gym. This was not a healthy way of reaching my goals.
The reason I chose to show up at the gym was fundamentally wrong. I was running and lifting out of guilt and shame in my appearance, I was giving myself goals that would take much longer than two weeks to achieve, and everything revolved around what my scale said. I realized my reason for showing up was pivotal for creating a healthy life-long habit, I just needed a strong ‘why’.
I work at a hospital in the cardiac department, constantly bearing witness to patients who have experienced heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and more. In most cases, their diseases were preventable. Although on average these patients are in their 50s–60s, many can’t even turn themselves in their bed or get up to go to the bathroom on their own.
It is eye-opening to see the future effects of choices people made throughout their lives. I can tell who was sedentary for a majority of their life versus who made time to prioritize their health. I can tell who looked at food as medicine versus who had no forethought to the future illnesses they could be causing for themselves. Delayed gratification is a virtue, but also extremely crucial to develop.
This is where my why was born. I absolutely refuse to be the patient that can’t even walk from their bed to a chair on their own. I want to be the patient in their 90s who gets around like a 40 year old. These patients exist, I’ve seen them. With luck, I’d like to avoid being a patient at all.
Now, instead of thinking of my workout as something I have to do, it is something I get to do. Because not everyone can. If I don’t make movement a priority while I’m still able, I will risk becoming the patient who can’t walk two steps on their own in the future.
Today, I’ve changed just about everything about how I approach working out. So much that I barely think about it at all, it’s just a habit I’ve formed. And I will never go back. Here are the other mindset shifts I’ve made that truly made a difference.
Working out does not look the same for everyone
I would like to preface this with the fact that I will be referring to lifting and cardio often, but of course no one is bound to these forms of exercise.
Whatever you enjoy, whether it is swimming, biking, boxing, pilates, etc., it is of the utmost importance that you genuinely enjoy the activity and are willing to do it often.
That said, if you have been forcing yourself to lift or run and you hate every second of it, this might be a time to reevaluate a different form of exercise that you can see yourself being more consistent with.
Find time each day
Take time to look over your schedule and evaluate where you can fit 20–30 minutes of time for yourself. It is better to commit to moving your body 5+ days per week to stay in the habit. Your workouts can also be much shorter and you don’t feel any sense of guilt. Additionally, your habits contribute to your identity. If you do something every day, it becomes part of who you are.
Make it easy
In general, once I’ve started a workout I’m not going to talk myself out of it in the middle. This is the case for most. The most delicate part of your workout happens in the anticipation stage before the actual workout. This makes or breaks your exercise habit.
I used to go home after work, get workout clothes on, drive 18 minutes from my house to the gym (giving me a long time to think about how I’d rather be home watching a movie), arrive without a plan to a packed gym where I had to wait for machines I wanted, walk on the treadmill, then drive back. This process never took less than an hour. Not terrible, but not exactly effortless either.
Now, I always have a prepped gym bag in my car. It has a full set of workout clothes, gym shoes, a towel, hair ties, my AirPods, a shaker bottle and protein powder. This way, if I’m ever feeling a wave of motivation and want to hit the gym two minutes away from my work, I can. If it’s nice outside and I want to go for a quick run, all of my stuff is ready. If neither of those options sound good, I have even easier workout options.
The key is to limit the amount of brain power it takes to prime the environment and yourself for a workout. I have a small workout zone in our house dedicated to any at-home workouts I do. I end up doing these most of the time now since they are the least time-consuming and I also don’t have to think about anything. It’s nothing fancy, but all of my stuff is there already and I just have to follow along after choosing a workout program.
I use a paid program called BODi (formerly known as Beachbody), but there is also a vast assortment of at-home workout videos for free on YouTube. Just type in the kind of workout you’re in the mood for that day and I guarantee there is a video for you. I throw on some shorts, roll out my mat, cast the workout to my TV and that’s my workout for the day. It can help exponentially to have a coach motivating you, even if they aren’t physically there.
This saves me hours during the week by reducing commute time and the need to plan out my routines. I feel more consistent since my workouts aren’t very time consuming. They average out at about 30 minutes, but since I do them more often and they are led by a trainer who keeps me in check the entire time, this is enough. How can you make it easier for yourself to get set up for your workout?
Your workout does not have to look the same every day
I generally prefer lifting and running. These two activities bring me to the present moment while also making me feel strong. That said, I do deviate from these activities a couple days per week or else it can feel monotonous. On those days I play volleyball with a group of friends, take a long walk, do yoga, whatever I am feeling that day. It is better to think of this time less as a workout and more as daily movement.
Plan your workouts strategically
How do I stay on track if I’m changing what I do all the time? I do not plan workouts in advance per se. I have different levels of workouts depending on my energy levels, time, and mindset that day. When I do lift, I do keep track of what areas I am working so I am putting in even effort toward all of my muscle groups
The problem with strict workout plans is that they rely heavily on your discipline, and if you’re reading this article, your discipline probably changes from day to day. Account for the variables that can change daily such as time commitment, energy levels, recovered muscles vs inflamed muscles, etc. That way there is really no excuse to skip your workout that day.
Choose a higher intensity movement for days that you feel good along with other lower intensity exercises on days when you need to recover or need more stress relief. Have a 10–20 minute shorter workout to rely on when you aren’t feeling your best or you have an especially busy day. Because it’s only 10 minutes and you are still showing up for yourself.
Give yourself grace
On this note, know that it is completely normal to feel this way some days and that there is nothing wrong with you. There will be days (especially if you workout daily) that you will not be at your best. You will not be achieving any personal bests and it will feel like you are simply going through the motions.
When these days arise, and they will, try choosing something simpler to do. It can be as simple as lowering the distance on your run that you planned, or choosing a 10 minute workout instead of your usual 40 minute workout. It can be going on a long walk with your dog instead of weight lifting. Listen to your body. Continually forcing yourself to do workouts you do not enjoy does not work.
Give up tracking
The only thing you should be tracking is that you showed up to your workout. I know, I know — The workout doesn’t count if you don’t track it, right? Hear me out when I say that it can be extremely liberating to move your body purely for yourself instead of calorie burn and step counts.
For me, I found myself obsessing over burning an arbitrary amount of calories or reaching a certain distance in a certain amount of time instead of simply being proud of myself for showing up. Data is great for training purposes, but if your goal is simply to create a good habit, too much data can actually be quite discouraging. It can lead you to viewing your workout as a failure if you do not reach a magic number.
I just check off the fact that I did my workout, and that simplifies my life while giving me the satisfaction of accomplishment. That said, some people truly are more motivated by trackers, and if this works for you then by all means continue tracking workouts.
This is about your future self
The only person you are trying to be better than is the version of you that decided not to make time for movement today. Every time you show up, you are improving multiple facets of your life. You will sleep better. Your energy will improve. Your mood will improve. You will be stronger than you were before. Your future self will have a better quality of life. This time is a gift to yourself.
This is not about your weight anymore
I highly, highly, highly recommend that you stop weighing yourself. Weight is not an accurate way to assess if you are reaching your goals, especially if you’re a woman since our weight fluctuates so often within a given week.
If you are planning to begin strength training, using a scale can be especially discouraging in this case. Your muscles go through a period of inflammation after weight lifting (essentially water weight), and your weight will most likely increase in the days after a weight lifting session. You will also be putting on muscle which can be confused with increased body fat when you are using a scale.
Progress pictures about once a month are the best way to track body changes if this is something that is important to you.
Think of it as “you” time instead of working out
Moving your body is one of the healthiest ways to destress and improve energy levels. It is also a time in the day that is entirely about yourself. Instead of thinking of your workout as a chore that you have to do, think of it as a few minutes in the day when you get to be selfish and not think about anyone else. Because you deserve it. If you’re working out with a friend, even better. Think of it as productive quality time with that person.
Not every day will be perfect
I used to fall into the trap of letting all of my efforts deteriorate because I had a “cheat day.” Yes, on a normal day to day basis, follow the 80/20 rule. Avoid processed foods and fuel your body properly 80% of the time and give yourself something you truly just want to have about 20% of the time. This is a great way to think about your diet instead of needing a perfect diet.
If you have a special occasion like an anniversary or a vacation that you’re on and you feel yourself experiencing FOMO by not having the food you really want, get the damn food. It’s great that you want good health but life is also meant to be lived once in a while. Don’t put your diet above life experiences.
Time doesn’t matter
Lastly, stop giving yourself deadlines to reach a certain weight. The goal is not reaching a certain number of anything, the goal is to maintain this habit for life. The best way to do that is to focus on non-scale victories such as feeling stronger, higher endurance, higher energy levels, better sleep quality, or better moods. This will lead to the intrinsic motivation needed to keep you going.
*Disclosure: Julie is an affiliate coach with BODi. She does not receive any financial compensation for the writing of this article.*
