I work out almost every other day now. And I still hate the gym.
I do a 25-minute workout while my dinner cooks. That's it.
It's not impressive. But it's more consistent than any other routine I’ve tried.
Truth is, I never liked going to the gym. It seemed boring. Sports were better but finding the right group and setup was a different story.
Being raised in a mostly sedentary family didn't help either.
Then my body started protesting. Backaches. Varicose veins at 28. I couldn't sleep, felt tired constantly, couldn't think clearly.
That's when I started digging into research and kept finding the same answer: consistent movement matters more than anything else.
So I bought some rubber bands and a mat. Watched about 15 YouTube videos. Put together a 3-day routine.
Due to my poor warmup and the lack of technique, I used to get injured quite often, and I wasn't consistent.
So I improved my warmup and put together a 1-hour (nearly) full-body resistance training routine. Just one set per exercise. Pushing about 85%.
And it worked. For a while…
Although the injuries became rare, I came up with so many excuses not to work out.
But I kept learning more and more stuff about nutrition and health, and I wasn't happy with my look.
Then I heard this phrase: "The best workout is the one that you will actually do consistently".
So, I devised a 25-minute Pilates workout (including a 5-minute warmup) split in two days. Two reps for each exercise, either in a superset or triset, which makes it really time efficient.
Now, even if I don't feel like doing it, I kinda feel ashamed to skip such a short workout.
So it works.
Because I made it really easy to complete the task.
Will my exact routine work for you? Probably not.
But the principle will: strengthen your commitment by making it ridiculously easy to start.
One trick that works for me is linking a new habit to an existing one. That's actually how I made my workout stick: I do it while dinner cooks. The oven timer is my workout timer.
Find your version of that.
This week's action:
Imagine you're watching your life like a movie. You're the director, not the actor.
From this perspective, ask yourself: What exactly is restricting me from moving forward right now?
If you have trouble finding it, think about the most disturbing thing from the last week.
Share this with a friend who's ready for a second try.
Thanks for reading,
Valentin