Do you ever wonder why it is so challenging to keep healthy and fit consistently? Do you often repeat the cycle of starting and stopping fitness routines?
Have you ever noticed that one moment you have a burst of motivation, and the next day, you can’t get your body to move an inch?
All of it circles back to the two keys to being fit for life: discipline and consistency.
Discipline and consistency are the keys to being fit for life because they keep you going regardless of your feelings or circumstances.
Motivation can fluctuate, but remaining disciplined in your fitness journey allows consistency, bringing faster, long-lasting results that encourage motivation.
If you want to maintain a health and fitness journey but struggle with staying motivated to stick to your workouts and healthy habits, it is time to make space for discipline.
Consistency is born from keeping disciplined, not from motivation. Let us look further into how that works.
What Is Discipline In A Fitness Journey?
Discipline is having a code of behavior in your life, following through on rules you set for yourself, and pushing through regardless of how you feel or busy you might be.
Having discipline means that when you decide to do something – like running, going to the gym, or eating better – you will not change your mind based on your momentary emotions.
You will follow through even when you don’t feel like it.
Discipline in a fitness journey is the sole incentive to getting and staying fit. Your fitness health will not maintain itself.
You must make an effort to sustain it for years to come, taking one day, one week, and one month at a time through practicing consistency.
Say you decide that you will hit the gym or head out for a run at 7 am three times a week;
practicing discipline in that scenario means that even if you don’t feel like waking up, had a late night, don’t like the weather outside, or simply feeling lazy, you will still push through and do your workout. Consistency in timing is vital.
It means you will choose discipline and not allow internal or external distractions to deter you.
Why Is Discipline Essential To Being Fit For Life?
Once you understand what role discipline plays in your fitness journey (as described in the first point), you will grasp the concept of why it is essential to stick to your commitments, but let us discuss that in detail:
Motivation To Workout Fluctuates
You might listen to all the motivational speeches or most recommended podcasts and feel a hype of motivation burst through you; however, that motivation will eventually pass at some point. Whether you get bored, have a life crisis, or feel lazy, you will ultimately go through high and low motivation phases.
Too many people rely on that initial spark of motivation that occurs in the beginning. That is why you often find yourself in repeated cycles of working out and then stopping them.
Motivation will not last, but discipline and consistency will keep you going even in challenging moments.
Discipline Creates Consistency In Fitness Tasks
Discipline and consistency go hand-in-hand, but consistency does not happen by default. It requires discipline to stay consistent.
If you want to work out three times a week, you must be disciplined enough to get out of your comfort zone consistently and hit the gym.
If you decide to replace your afternoon lunch with a protein shake, you must be disciplined enough to ensure you have your drink no matter where you go or how delicious other foods may look.
Being disciplined allows you to consistently make the choices and take action for the goals you wish to achieve.
Consistency Initiates Motivation To Workout
As previously mentioned, motivation fluctuates, and consistency to continue a fitness journey should not be based on how motivated you are but on how consistent you can remain with discipline.
When you are disciplined, you become consistent. Motivation is naturally initiated when you have developed consistency in your tasks to achieve your goals.
The more disciplined you are with doing what you set out to do, the more motivated you will become because you will see faster and sustainable results that become easier to maintain.
If you are inconsistent, you will not see results as often, and you can lose progress quickly, which can actually demotivate you by creating thoughts that your work is not paying off.
When you are inconsistent and don’t see improvements in your fitness and health, you can become despondent and feel ashamed and guilty for skipping workouts or stopping them entirely.
If you are disciplined, you will still feel accomplished from pulling through and staying consistent, even with slow and minimal progress.
How To Achieve Discipline And Consistency For Fitness Goals
Your reason for trying to achieve discipline and consistency doesn’t matter; you can get there if you put in the time and effort.
You’re probably thinking, “easier said than done,” which is true on many levels, but that’s not final. To maintain discipline, you have to get out of your own way and realize your goals depend on your ability to stay consistent.
An interesting and effective way to reach your goals is learning self-control. Pushing yourself to avoid the desire to stay in bed.
Choose Netflix over the gym, and eat wholesome food instead of bingeing on candy, will allow you to follow through on the activities required to reach your fitness goals and maintain them.
Motivation and excitement may help you get what you want for a short period. But learning self-control and discipline will instill consistency that you can carry out for a lifetime to ensure you can maintain and sustain your goals long after you’ve achieved them.
6 Ways To Build Better Fitness Habits
- Start small. Don’t try to change everything at once. Just pick one or two new habits to focus on and slowly add more over time.
- Make it convenient. Choose activities that fit easily into your schedule and are close to home or work.
- Find a buddy. Having someone to workout with makes it more fun and accountability partners can help keep you on track when motivation wanes.
- Set goals. Having specific targets to reach will help you stay motivated and see progress along the way. Track your goals by using a journal. There’s just something about seeing your progress in writing that makes it feel more real.
- Be flexible. Life happens! If you miss a workout or have an off day, don’t beat yourself up. Just get back on track as soon as you can.
- Celebrate your success! Give yourself a pat on the back for every milestone you reach – no matter how big or small.
Building better fitness habits doesn’t have to be hard. By following these simple tips, you’ll be on your way to a healthier, happier you in no time!
Conclusion
Consistency and discipline are essentially the primary keys to being fit for life. You can find your purpose and motivation to live a healthier lifestyle and get physically stronger.
But if you cannot maintain discipline and consistency, you will not get the results you want or be able to sustain them for a long time.