Exercise Regularly in 3 Easy Steps

By Warren Wong

Exercise can be a tricky thing, especially exercising regularly. For some of us it comes naturally, and for others, it’s just plain dreadful.

Who knows a friend, family member or colleague who just can’t seem to get to the gym and exercise consistently?

No matter what they do, they keep falling off the bandwagon and can’t see the results, eventually quit and then attempt again when they feel “motivated” a few months down the road. Maybe you know someone in that vicious cycle.

“I’m too busy” to exercise

At one point or another we’ve all made that new year’s resolution to go to the gym more, lose weight, get in shape.

Every year gym memberships see a spike during January and February, and sooner or later those motivated individuals who thought this was their year silently disappear from the ranks back into their “busy” lives.

“I use to be that guy. I was so caught up in being ‘busy’ that I didn’t have 30 minutes for exercise.

So busy that I didn’t prioritize my health, and so busy, that I neglected the most important part of me, and that was me.”

We all know the health benefits of daily exercise, so I won’t go down a rabbit hole in trying to convince you why you should exercise.

Tips to exercise regularly

I’m going to give you a few tactics and tools that has helped me from going to the gym whenever I “felt” like it to now going to the gym at least 5 times per week.

For many of us, the sheer task at hand is the biggest obstacle. After a long day we think of how much work is required to exercise. You have to go and find your gym clothes, make your protein shake, get yourself in your car and drive to the darn place.

Then you have to actually exercise, go and take a shower and then repeat the next day.

The process of getting to the gym is more difficult than actually working out. It is making you hate the gym more and more.

The trick isn’t to avoid doing all those tasks. The trick is to automate, and eliminate. You must make the act of going to the gym as seamless as possible.

Imagine this. If you had to drive to get groceries and you decided to use your car and you had to assemble all your car parts, get it built together, find gasoline, and then build a road to get to the grocery store, you’d probably say, screw that. This may be an extreme example, but the concept remains the same.

Some smart individual out there has made the process of driving as seamless as possible. In most cases our car fully functions at the press of a button or a turn of a key for those of you stuck in 2014.

This did not happy by accident. There were many scientists, engineers, manufacturers who spent many nights figuring how to make cars the way cars are today. Luckily, you have me.

I will give you 3 simple steps to make going to the gym easy or easier.

STEP 1. Make it as easy as possible to exercise.

That means having your exercise clothes prepared the night before so you don’t have to go find exercise clothes and waste your mental bandwidth when you’re on the go or give yourself an excuse to say I’m too tired today.

Keep a stock pile of clean clothes at my workplace so all I have to do is grab a set and throw it in a bag and head to the gym.

Prep your clothes the night before or keep a ready set in your gym bag or locker.

If you like to have a pre-workout and protein shake make sure to have that prepared with ingredients the day before.

Better yet, keep it in the same spot of where your clean gym clothes are, so all you have to do is add water to it.

Location, location, location.

If your gym is 30 miles away from where you work or home then you need to find a new one.

No you don’t need fancy gym showers, no you don’t need a tantric massage with scented oils post workout.

Opt for a close gym, no frills and has the essentials. The further away the gym is the more reason you give yourself to not exercise.

Luckily my gym is 5 minute walk from my office and that gives me absolutely no wiggle room as to why I’m being a lazy sack of potatoes if I don’t go workout.

Find a local park if you have to. There’s plenty of exercises you can do while in the office.

It doesn’t have to be sexy, just functional.

STEP 2. Set a time to exercise.

Have your exercises the same time every day, and don’t deviate from it. By doing this, you build a  a habit.

Try to have your workouts during the mornings or during a lunch break if your job permits.

I personally exercise during my lunch break as it gives me a chance to get out of the office, catch some sun, and get a good workout in to keep me focused for my second half of the work day.

However, I don’t recommend exercising at night mainly because you will be the most mentally and physically tired from the day and everything will seem like a painstaking chore.

You need to do everything in your power to make it simple and pain free as possible.

If you’re that guy or gal that loves working out at night go ahead, but for everyone else try to do it in the mornings.

So you found some motivation, go to the gym, hit the weights hard, and get a real adrenaline rush. Next day you wake up and your entire body is sore.

You say to yourself, I’m going to take a rest day, no a rest week.

Whose been there before? I have.

STEP 3. Baby steps goes a long way!

As with any new habit, it is important to take it slow. I can’t count the number of times I watched some motivational video, decided to work out with a buddy or come back from a holiday and decide to exercise like a deranged dog with rabies and be totally in pain the next week or two.

The trick to building the exercise habit is to keep it simple and have a plan.

Have a rough idea of what your workout is today. Whether you’re doing legs, back, glutes or if it’s a cardio day or maybe it’s a day of basketball.

Whatever it is, have an idea so when you head to the gym you get to it right away and cut the thinking to a minimal and focus on the doing part.

Once you’ve decided on your workout, start off slow. Test out the weights.

You don’t have to start with 305 pound squats if you haven’t hit the gym in forever. Start with a light warm up and progress up when you feel ready.

I know too many people, mainly guys that think they have to compete with all the other guys in the gym. As if they are all watching us.

Repeat after me. “Nobody cares”.

That’s right, everyone is more focused on themselves. So start slow, because your sorry behind will be back at the gym tomorrow.

Conclusion

Getting to the gym is more difficult than the exercise. If you follow these 3 steps you will be surprised with the results.

Now, all I do is grab my gym bag with all my gear, put on my Beats, blast my favorite playlist, and start lifting.

After years of starting and stopping, I’ve finally able to make fitness a lifestyle.

It’s no longer when I feel like it nor do I care what others think. I exercise at my own pace and not there to impress anybody.

I do it for myself, my health and my mental well being.

Question for you

Why do you exercise?