What’s the Best Way to Make an Exercise Plan Stick?
Have you ever started a fitness workout program with high hopes, but weeks later it fizzles out? Join the club—and it’s a very big club: a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that only 25 percent of Americans meet the guidelines for regular exercise.
We talked to UR Medicine sport psychologist Dr. Craig Cypher about why fitness plans flop, and how to build healthy habits that go the distance.
Why can't I stick to my workout plan?
Making a life change, even one you want very much, is challenging; you need an incredible amount of repetition to make a new habit stick. Very often, people get enthusiastic and set fitness goals without thinking about the obstacles they will face along the way, and without developing strategies to overcome them. A fitness goal without planning is like rocket fuel—it starts strong but burns out very quickly.
How can non-exercisers make plans that pan out?
For many of my clients, I use a tool called the WOOP process, developed by psychologist and researcher Gabriele Oettingen. WOOP stands for Wish, (best) Outcome, (main inner) Obstacle, and Plan. It’s a way of:
- Setting a goal—the Wish
- Defining what success looks like for you—the Outcome
- Identifying the internal Obstacles that will get in your way
- And coming up with a Plan to get around those barriers
Wish: How do you make a “Wish” about fitness?
How do you set fitness goals that you’re likely to stick with?
Find your passion. Do something meaningful and enjoyable for you. Think back to what you enjoyed doing most as a kid. If you loved water sports when you were young, maybe swimming or kayaking would be good fitness activities for you as an adult. If you loved team sports, you could join a club and pursue that. If you have fun doing the activity, you’re more likely to stick with it.
Think about the change you want to make. Your goal should be meaningful to you, and it can be challenging, but it also should be realistic and achievable.
Outcome: How do you create an outcome?
Think about what fitness means to you and why you want to achieve it. Define for yourself what success will look like to you.
Do you want to be a Division 1 athlete and get recruited by a top school? Or do you want to be able to finish a run, walk, or cycling distance during Wilmot Warrior Weekend? Maybe you want to be able to walk a mile without difficulty, or build up enough stamina to keep up with your grandkids. Your individual goals will help shape the fitness routine that will get you there.
Obstacles: What about obstacles? What keeps people with good intentions from getting to their goal?
This is where self-reflection is important. What are the internal characteristics you have that may get in your way? Are you hesitant to try new things? Do you get bored easily by repetition? Are you distracted easily? Do you get discouraged if you don’t see early results? Do you tend to put off difficult tasks? Knowing what can sabotage your efforts is essential.
Plan: Walk us through the planning process.
Think about your internal challenge, and consider some ways to counter it. If you’re hesitant to try new things, you could start with something simple like walking or a fitness regimen you’ve tried before. If you get bored easily, try a competitive team sport, learn a new athletic skill, or switch up your workouts.
If you’re easily distracted, you could schedule workouts in your online calendar, and enlist a friend or hire a trainer to help you stick with it. If you’re impatient to see results, don’t think about pounds lost in the first few weeks—instead, set process goals: track the number of times you worked out and congratulate yourself for hitting those marks. If you tend to put off difficult tasks, try scheduling your activity first thing in the morning so you knock it out of the way and nothing derails you. Or create a reward system to motivate you.
So it really depends on each individual taking stock of themselves?
You know yourself best, so you can build the best strategy for you. The real value of this step comes from you thinking about your obstacles and problem-solving in advance, so you’re set up for success. The key is to be flexible and to recognize that sticking with your goal is more important than executing it perfectly.
At some point, many people get discouraged. What should they tell themselves when they feel like quitting?
Recognize that there will be hard days for you to navigate. In the face of discouragement, some people might say, “think positive” but positive thinking can actually be toxic if it’s ignoring your reality.
I recommend neutral thinking. If your goal is to work out five times a week and it’s Saturday and you haven’t worked out once, don’t deny the problem with rah-rah statements, but also, don’t go the other way and beat yourself up.
Instead, try saying, “I haven’t exercised yet this week, but what can I do today?” If it’s 15 minutes to midnight, can you do 15 push-ups or crunches to get some kind of a workout in? If you can, that’s a win. Start stacking up those small wins to build your confidence and give you momentum.
Should you adjust your workout goals if you’re struggling too much?
Absolutely. If you are finding that your initial goal was too ambitious, scale it back to what makes more sense for you right now. You can always adjust your goal upward once you’re ready to do more.
People who have succeeded at incorporating a fitness routine in their lives have developed the mindset skills to learn it, do it, and own it. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable; get used to setting new goals and if you fall a bit short, don’t let that be the end of your effort. Adjust, adapt, and stay with it.
Being mindful about the positive changes you see in yourself along the way will strengthen your resolve to keep going. Maybe the first week of your new workout you could only do three push-ups but the next week you hit five. Count that as a win and be proud of yourself. Recognize that if you keep going, you’ll see your results keep building until you achieve your ultimate goal.
UR Medicine Fitness Science
Our team works with patients to optimize performance through an integrative approach that includes four crucial pillars: Strength Training, Nutrition, Sport Psychology and Data Analysis.