Most people assume that workout compliance comes easily, naturally, and conveniently for personal trainers. While some aspects are helpful – like having proximity to the gym – it’s not as easy as you think!

In fact, now I only train a few clients each week in the gym, it’s actually easier for me to comply to my workouts than it was when I trained 4-5 clients a day in the gym. Sometimes, the last thing I’d want to do after working with others 5 hours with their workouts is to do my own workout myself.

Lately, I’ve been looking forward to just about every single workout on the docket, and I credit that mainly to having concrete goals. In my opinion, knowing why you’re training is critical to not only workout compliance, but also progress, direction, and results!

But I have to admit, even with a clear cut goal in mind, some days it’s just a tougher battle to check off that workout than others. That’s when I rely on my fitness hacks, including the #1 thing you can do to stick with your fitness goals.

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#8 Have a Backup Plan

“I didn’t have time to complete the workout that day.”

Not having enough time is the #1 excuse when it comes to working out. When I first started training clients, I let it slide. Hey, if a meeting ran long and they couldn’t complete the workout I had scheduled them, what could they do?

While I let it slide, it still frustrated me, and I couldn’t let it go. After some time thinking about it, I came up with an idea – a back up workout. This workout was always an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) style workout, so that way it could be completely customized to how much time they had available. Have 20 minutes? Complete as many rounds of the exercises in 20 minutes – or split up into 2 10-minute sessions. Only 10 minutes? You can still complete your workout, wherever you are.

Soon enough, I started hearing that excuse less and less, and clients started complying more and more. Don’t let the excuse of time deter you from working out. All you need is some space and a few minutes.

#7 Put up a Workout Calendar

Whether it’s a white board or a printed off calendar, write your scheduled workouts down for the week or month on each day and hang it in a place you see every day. As you complete each workout, cross off the workout.

Doing this not only allows you to see what’s ahead and on the schedule, but also provides a sense of accomplishment by showing you the work you’ve done so far! Of course, stay flexibly scheduled by allowing yourself to move workouts around or change one out for one of those backup plan workouts you have just in case.

#6 Purchase a New Gym Outfit

This one is all mental, but whenever I wear a new piece of workout clothing to the gym, I have a stellar workout.

It doesn’t have to be a fancy new pair of lululemon leggings either; it could be a new pair of socks from Old Navy, or even a new patterned headband.

#5 Rise with the Sun

I’ve been a morning exerciser for as long as I can remember. Working out before you begin your day not only allows you to start your day off on a healthy note, but it also gives you less time to make excuses. Whenever I have an afternoon or evening workout on the schedule, I know I’m that much less likely to do it, since I have all day to make an excuse or have something come up.

If I’m working out when I wake up, I’m on autopilot, and nothing can get in its way.

#4 Commit to 5 Minutes

Just 5 minutes! Sometimes the act or thought of working out is more exhausting than the workout itself. Commit to 5 minutes, even if that’s just lacing up your shoes and stepping out the door. Chances are, if you do that much, you’ll do more.

#3 Commit with Your Wallet

Invest in your health by signing up for a punch card at a new or your favorite fitness studio where you have to sign up for the class in advance. Most classes have a cancellation policy of 8-12 hours. If you sign up for the class and cancel last minute, you’ll lose your money for that class. Pro tip: sign up for the morning class, that way you’d have to wake up in the middle of the night to cancel and flake on your workout without losing money!

and the #1 thing you can do to stick with your fitness goals is….

#2 Find a Someone to Keep You Accountable

Accountability is HUGE. Fine someone. My clients know they will be meeting me at a certain time in a certain place for each of their workouts, and my online clients know that I’ll be looking for that post-workout check-in after each workout.

If you don’t want to hire a trainer, find a friend! Commit to a friend that you’ll meet her at the gym – or better yet, be her ride – it will make it that much harder to cancel on your workout, because you’ll be letting a friend down.

But here’s another cool thing – you don’t even need to have a workout buddy, per say. Just tell someone at the gym around you that you’ll see them tomorrow. I notice that when the participants in my spin class tell me they’ll see me for my next class, there’s a 99% chance that I will, indeed, see them that next day. I’ve actually also learned that even if I’m the one who says, “see you Thursday??” they’ll say yes, and feel that much more committed to being there and getting it done.

 #1 Move in a Way that Brings you JOY.

Move happy, people! If you’ve tried running and you know you hate it, don’t run! There are plenty other forms of cardio out there to suit your needs.

Just because everyone on social media or all of your friends are doing crossfit/body building/-insert fitness mode here- does not mean it’s the only way and does not mean it has to be the way for you.

Part of my job as a trainer is to help others find what type of movement brings them joy. I work with clients all the time who hadn’t found their own way to move happy. They might have been ‘satisfied’ in their previous form of exercise, but they haven’t quite found what lights their fire when it comes to fitness. Explore. Experiment. If you dread your workout day in and day out, it’s time to make a change.

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Your turn: What hacks do you rely on to keep consistency with your workout routine?