You made it through January maintaining your fitness without access to a gym. Now you are back at the gym or maybe still at home working out. How do you keep moving forward and make your health and fitness a lifestyle? 

1)   Celebrate your small wins weekly. We all have BIG goals, but these can get out of site very quickly. The key is to celebrate your small wins weekly. Like showing up to the gym three times a week or eating veggies twice a day for 6 days. These are small wins that over time can compound to big results. 

2)   Measure your progress. Depending on your goals have an assessment tool. Remember that progress = motivation. To stay motivated towards your goals you must see progress. At least every 90 days you should do an assessment whether that be a fitness test, body fat or measurements.  

3)   Choose a method you enjoy. You must enjoy the method of fitness you use in order to stick with it. If you despise what you are doing and dread going to the gym, then you need to find a new method. Working out isn’t always going to be enjoyable in the moment but you should at least enjoy how you feel after the fact and enjoy the environment you are in when you work out. 

4)   Do not try to be perfect. Trying to be perfect will set you up for failure. If you miss a workout that does not mean you should not workout the rest of the week. It just means you get back on track tomorrow. When it comes to fitness and nutrition many people quit when things don’t work out perfectly as it was planned in their head. Use the toothbrush analogy. If you miss a night of brushing your teeth that does not mean you will not brush your teeth the remainder of the week does it? I hope not. So why should you throw away a week of workouts after missing one. You shouldn’t. Focus on being consistent and not perfect. 

It is about one month after the new year. It is a common time for many people to quit. Celebrate the small wins, measure your progress, have fun and be consistent! You got this!