Why It’s So Hard to Stick to Your Workout Routine

In this story we’re gonna be answering the question of why it’s so hard to stick to a workout routine over the long-term.

And this is a problem that I’ve actually struggled with for most of my life.

I’ve always been a pretty active guy, but when it comes to actually sticking to a workout routine and seeing progress over the long-term, I’ve always had a problem with it.

However, back in 2020, I actually did start a routine that I’ve stuck to for the past two years.

And that has come with some results. I’ve gained about 30 pounds of mostly lean mass in that time, going from around 185 pounds to 215, I’ve achieved a 300 pound bench press, a 350 pound squat, and a 440 pound deadlift.

And I’ve managed to improve my cardio at the same time.

Mostly the thanks to picking up tennis, which is now my favorite sport.

So today I’m gonna share what I’ve learned with you, including sharing some of my actual workout routines within a notion template, of course, because, hey, it’s me.

And along with that, I also want to share some of the tricks that I’ve learned from making sticking to that routine a lot easier.

And I want to start by first breaking down the problem because as I see it there are really four main sub problems that make it so hard to stick to a workout routine for a lot of people. And those problems are:

You don’t know what to do or where to start.
There’s too much friction involved.
You’re making it too easy to fail.

So let’s tackle these one by one, starting fittingly with not knowing where to start.

Not Knowing Where to Start

Now, there is more fitness advice on the internet than there are grains of sand on a beach.

And no matter what routine you pick, it seems like Athlean X is gonna be out there telling you that it’s killing your gains.

And part of the problem, part of what causes this, is that it seems like people think there are these vastly different things you need to do, depending on what you want.

Like if you want to gain mass, it requires following a much different routine than you’d follow if you wanted to get stronger, or if you wanted to lose weight. And while that is true at a certain level, the fact is that most people, and that included me, especially at the start of 2020, aren’t at that level yet.

And that means that a basic strength training routine with some added cardio is likely gonna help you improve in nearly every area you want, strength, lean body mass, cardio, even weight loss.

Which to be honest is more function of a diet anyway. And if you are at that more advanced level already, where specialization truly is important, you’re probably not learning this story.

You’re probably off watching Jeff Nippard instead.

So for the rest of us, I want to make this as easy as possible.

And to do that, I’m gonna actually share a couple of the routines that I have been following over the past couple of years, including my current routine, which does require some gym equipment, at least a power rack and a bench, along with my original lockdown quarantine workout, which needed nothing more than a single kettlebell .

And one of those doorframe pull-up bars, the costs around 20 or $30.

Not Seeing Results

Our second sub problem is that a lot of us deal with not seeing any results. And if you’re not seeing any positive changes, then what’s the point of putting in all this effort, right?

Well, one of the biggest reasons that a lot of people don’t see any progress is that they’re not recording it. See in strength training, and in pretty much every other skill area as well, you make progress by using a technique called progressive overload.

And this is just a fancy way of saying you push yourself to near your limit so your body is forced to get stronger. It’s an adaptive response.

But the problem is that a lot of people don’t actually commit to progressive overload.

A lot of people just show up at the gym and decide on the fly what they’re going to do. And for those that actually do show up with a predetermined routine, a lot of them get stuck following the same routine with the same numbers for months without seeing any real gains.

And the reason for this is that they’re not recording their progress.

When they don’t do this, if you don’t record your progress, then you don’t really know what you’re doing or how you’re doing. And you can’t make intelligent decisions that are gonna help you get stronger.

So if you want to see results, start recording your progress. Now, since I work with a coach, I actually use their app, the Barbell Logic app to do it through my phone, but you can also do it with an old school trusty notebook as well.

Just record your sets, your reps, and your weight or each exercise, maybe time and distance for things like cardio, and then use that data to push yourself.

For example, here’s my journal for a workout where I hit three sets of five reps at 275 on the squat. So on the next workout, I, or actually my coach in this case, bumped that up to 280 pounds for a three by five and then 285 on the next one.

Now we’ll also note that recording my progress in this way has caused me to be more excited to get into the gym because while changes in my overall body composition are really slow and take a long time to notice, I can see changes in my numbers pretty quickly when I’m recording them.

And that gets me excited to see them improve.

Too Much Friction

Now, our third sub problem here is that there’s often too much friction involved in getting into the gym or getting started with your routine.

And you probably have a lot of days where you feel like this, where you feel like you’re just too busy to work out, or you just can’t fit it into your schedule.

I know I do. And that’s why it’s crucial to do anything you can to reduce that friction.

This is actually why I built a garage gym recently. It’s at home so there’s very little preventing me from just getting out there and getting my routine done.

The commute has been eliminated so it’s not a potential source of an excuse. Now you don’t have to build a home gym like I did just to reduce friction because smaller changes can help as well.

Like for example, laying out your gym clothes and packing your bag before you go to bed so it’s all ready the moment you wake up.

Also keep in mind the actual problem you’re trying to solve here.

Because in the beginning what you’re really trying to do is build and stick to an exercise routine.

So if you’re feeling like there’s just too much friction right now because your routine is too long or too difficult, just remember that doing something is better than doing nothing at all.

It’s Too Easy to Fail

Finally, our last sub problem here is that it’s probably too easy for you to fail.

Ask yourself what happens if you decide to push a workout off into the next day or you skip it altogether?

Well, if you’re like most people, the answer is probably nothing other than the fact that you don’t make any progress from that workout.

And that’s a problem.

If you want to more reliably stick to your routine, you need to make it somewhat harder to fail. Which means that you need to introduce some accountability into the mix.

And this is actually probably the number one reason why I’ve been able to make so much progress over the last couple of years.

I have people in my life that hold me accountable to my workout routine.

Now the primary source of that accountability is my lifting coach, Matt, who actually coaches me remotely.

I’ve got to journal my sets and my reps, and then I actually film the final set of each exercise.

Now, in addition to my coach, I do have one other big source of accountability in my life.

And that is the activity sharing feature on my Apple Watch, which I use to share my exercise data with a few different friends and who do the same with me.

And this actually brings in a different dimension of accountability and support as we typically don’t hound each other when we don’t do a workout, but we do send each other emojis and other support when we do complete our workouts.

And that’s something that I feel doesn’t actually get talked about as much in the realms of habits and productivity.

It’s useful to not only have accountability to know that somebody is going to hold your feet to the fire but also to have positive encouragement from people who care about you as well.

Those positive messages can really keep you going. So if you can find a way to get both of those by enlisting other people, that’s gonna help you really stick to your routine.

Now you can work with a coach like I do, but there are other methods as well, like getting a workout partner, using the Apple Watch thing, or maybe even using the social features in an app like Habitica to party up with other people and track habits together.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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