Three Ways to Persevere Through Your Exercise Program

Perseverance… holding on to a course of action or purpose without giving up. Sounds simple, right? As you probably already know, when it comes to exercise, it’s not. In the gym industry, 50% of people stop exercising before the first year of membership is up. I bet this number is even higher for those trying to exercise at home.

What will ultimately determine your success with exercise is your ability to persevere. There is no doubt that there will be times when progress stalls. Or a situation arises in your life that results in you abandoning your exercise program for a period of time. There is also the possibility of getting injured or sick, making exercise almost impossible for a while. The only way to get through these unexpected events is to persevere through them.

When you think about persevering through exercise, don’t think of it as a long run you have to endure. Rather, look at it as a series of short runs in succession. An example of the long run would be like saying, “I have to lose 50 pounds and that will take forever.” Look at it from a different point of view (ie the sprint) and say, “This week I’m going to start a walking program… next week I’ll add a few extra minutes to my walking time… then I’m going to make one or two minor adjustments to the way I eat” and so on. By winning the small races, you move towards victory in the big race, whatever it is. In the process, you’ll be better able to persevere through difficult times. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh once said, “In life or in football, touchdowns rarely happen in seventy-yard increments. Usually it’s three yards and a cloud of dust.” .

Let’s look at three ways to persevere and make exercise a part of your life.

1. Find a purpose: For something to work, you must know why you are doing it. Having a purpose is the fuel that ignites perseverance. You can’t just say, “I need to lose some weight,” since that’s your purpose for starting an exercise program. That’s too vague. If you want to lose weight, set a reasonable amount to lose and give it a time frame. Or forget about losing weight and find another purpose, like running a 5K this fall, lowering your cholesterol levels at your next checkup, or being able to keep up with your kids for more than five minutes at the end of vacation from summer. Whatever it is, post it where you see it every day. John Maxwell said it best: “Purpose breeds passion, and passion breeds perseverance.”

2. Eliminate Excuses: Excuses can result in a permanent diversion from making exercise a part of your life. If I only had a penny for every excuse I heard, I’d be a millionaire! Heck, I wrote an entire book on the excuses people give for not working out – Fitness One Day at a Time. Learn to take responsibility for your actions. You know when you’re making excuses. George Washington Carver once said, “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who are in the habit of making excuses.”

3. Find ways to see progress: One of the most powerful motivators for persistence is seeing progress on a regular basis. If you set goals that are too big, you will get discouraged in trying to achieve them. We live in a reward or instant gratification society. We want things now! Review what I wrote earlier regarding winning the small races. Winning each small race shows progress that leads to a bigger achievement. Paul J. Meyer, author of Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul, says, “Plan your progress carefully, hour by hour, day by day, month by month. Organized activity and constant enthusiasm are the sources of your power.”

Perseverance begins when you are tired and ready to give up. But every day you stay in the race you learn more, get stronger, and make a positive investment in yourself.