The Best Fitness Routine

We’re going to go ahead and just tell you right now that the best fitness routine is the one that works best for you. There is no perfect diet, and no secret workout plan that will make all of your fat disappear and your muscles tone, tighten or bulk overnight. There is no such thing as a one size fits all fitness routine, because different bodies respond to different situations better than others. Basically what this means is that you may have to sort through multiple workouts and diet plans before you find the best fitness routine for you. There are a few ways to make that process easier and less time consuming though.

Pick Your Favorite Workouts

You don’t have to be in love with your workouts but you can’t hate them either. They need to be something that you actually enjoy doing so that you look forward to them rather than try to find a way to get out of them. You will always be more likely to make time for things you enjoy and make excuses to get out of things you don’t. Pick a few of your favorite workouts so that you can mix it up and switch them around in your routine every once in awhile. After all, doing anything too often or for too long will make it lose its original novelty.

Make sure that no matter what exercises you choose to incorporate into your workout routine there is a healthy mix of cardio training, strength training and active recovery workouts. Focusing too heavily on one type of exercise will create imbalance and make it harder for you to progress towards your fitness goals. The perfect workout week will include a few days of each of these types of workouts, scattered so as to keep your routine interesting.

Choose Food You Enjoy

This is not permission to eat all of the donuts, ice cream and candy you can find. You can’t eat ANY food you enjoy and expect to lose fat and build lean muscle mass. Your nutrition makes up 80% of your overall fitness. What you eat matters more than how much you workout. Keeping that in mind is important the next time you decide to reach for a bag of chips. Instead of restricting yourself to boring foods throughout the week and binging on all of your favorite unhealthy foods during your cheat day, choose healthy foods that you enjoy for your weekly meal prep. Do not let your cheat day ruin your progress.

Instead of letting yourself become derailed by junk foods full of saturated fats and unhealthy sugars try making healthier versions of your favorite foods. We have plenty of recipes to keep your stomach full, your tastebuds happy and your calorie (or macro) counter on track. If you can’t find something to satisfy yourself on the recipes page of our blog then you probably just aren’t looking hard enough.

Make Your Plan Sustainable For YOU

Can you imagine yourself still waking up six months from now and following this same workout routine? Do you think that in a year you will still be following the same diet plan? Is the plan that you’ve created for yourself not just doable for today but also sustainable for the foreseeable future? If you have answered yes to all of the questions above then congratulations, you have a very good chance of not only seeing and feeling real results, but also of maintaining those results. If you answered no to even one of the questions above then you are in serious trouble and need to reconsider your health and fitness plan.

Not only is there not a one size fits all fitness plan that will work for everyone, but there is also not a “one size fits always” fitness plan that will always work for you. As your body changes so will your fitness needs and you may need to adjust your workout routine and dietary plan accordingly. But each new plan that you lay out for yourself needs to be something that you can see yourself still doing a year from now, or even two years from now. The worst types of plans are those you can’t even see yourself still following a week from now.

Get A Support System

It’s always easier to stick to a new routine when you aren’t the only one following it. If you have roommates or a live with your significant other, try to get them to commit to living a healthier lifestyle with you. A good support system will do whatever they can to make your transition easier. Even if they don’t want to give up junk food and they don’t want to commit to going to the gym, they will make sure that you aren’t tempted by sweets in your own home and you don’t feel guilty for taking the time out to work on your health and fitness goals.

A support system is even more important if you live by yourself. Getting a workout buddy helps keep you accountable for your gym time (as does a personal trainer). Of course your support system doesn’t have to be “in person” they could be online. By posting your progress on your social media sites or joining online workout groups you are automatically opening yourself up to the support of all of your online friends and followers. Not to mention the fact that this also happens to be another great way to keep yourself accountable.

Evaluate Your Progress

In order to see how far you’ve come you have to first know where you have come from. Take before pictures, measure yourself and go ahead and step on that scale. Each month, or even week if you’re interested go ahead and take new pictures, measure again and step on the scale. As time passes you should see a difference in the pictures and measurements even if the scale never changes. This is because lean muscle mass weighs more than fat but takes up less space in your body. So while your body is busy transforming your weight may not budge, and that’s okay.

Make sure to make small incremental goals that you can work towards rather than one large goal that seems insurmountable. Remember that being healthy and fit is a lifestyle not a goal. When you achieve each smaller goal take time out to celebrate your progress. Many people find that the journey is not only easier but also more enjoyable if they are constantly able to see and feel improvement, then celebrate it. The important thing to remember is that you should never stop making new goals for yourself and trying to out achieve your past self.

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