Accountability in Fitness
In a past post, I’ve discussed being consistent and how your personal fitness goal is achieved by the sum of many workouts logged over a period of time, rather than a few sporadic, very intense workouts. We all have the best of intentions, but those intentions don’t get us anywhere without a sense of accountability. I tend to think of accountability and consistency together, although they are separate qualities—a goal is most easily reached when employing them both together.
As a trainer, a good portion of my job is providing a source of accountability to my clients, whether it’s holding my clients accountable to the quality of their reps or to their sessions each week. My job gets harder during the other 167 –give or take- hours of the week that I don’t see a client, and they are then responsible for maintaining forward momentum in the form of supplementary exercise, healthy eating, adequate sleep, and recovery. Uderstandably, these things are all very difficult to manage on top of other responsibilities and activities (especially ones that are often more appealing).One of the most difficult things about accountability is that it can’t be taught—some people are more self-motivated, while others need an extra push. Here are some strategies that can help you hold yourself accountable:
1) Schedule an appointment with yourself: Makingyourself and your workout a priority is key, but it’s easier said than done. Review your upcoming weekly schedule and block off times you know you are available to exercise. Seeing these times already committed within your schedule to an exercise program makes it easier to stay on track when things get chaotic
2) Plan it out: Have an idea of what you are going to do in the gym before you get there, if you are not working out with a personal trainer. This will help you save time and energy so you can use it for your workout. While stretching and mobility work is important, it may be better to limit it to the first ten or fifteen minutes, especially if your time is limited.
3) Track it: Something that has greatly helped me with accountability in the past has been tracking my workouts in a notebook. Keeping track of my workouts holds me to accountable to a certain standard, especially where weightlifting is concerned—I can always refer back to past workouts to see specifics, which means I won’t cruise through my workouts. Keeping a log also gives me tangible evidence of how much I’ve improved, and that always motivates me to stay on track.
4) Surround yourself with the right people: If making it to the gym is consistently a problem for you, consider enlisting the help of a friend/family member or, if your budget allows, a personal trainer. Provided a friend or family member keeps a similar schedule at least a couple of days a week, having to meet them at the gym can make it feel more like an obligation and less like an option, meanwhile tempering at least some of the drudgery. If you like to take group fitness classes, becoming part of a class community can make it easier to keep going. If it’s possible, enlisting the help of a trainer 1-2 times a week will hold you responsible not only for your appointments, but also to the quality of your movements and repetitions and, ultimately, your success in the gym.
A sense of accountability is essential to success, but during the holidays is where it tends to wane the most. So maybe there are some people who never skip a workout, but there tends to be many people that struggle with accountability in some way or some time. Try using one or more of the strategies I’ve suggested—anything is great as long as you keep showing up!
