![How to Exercise More and Stay Consistent in 2025](http://um-sports.com/cdn/shop/articles/UM_Sports_Blog_Article_How_to_Stay_Motivated_and_Consistent_in_2025_Fitness_1800x1000_crop_center.jpg?v=1737594049)
How to Exercise More and Stay Consistent in 2025
Article At A Glance |
---|
Progress Over Perfection: Building a fitness habit takes time, and missing a workout isn’t failure. Focus on the "Never Two in a Row" rule—if you miss one, don’t miss the next. Flexibility and self-compassion are key to long-term consistency. |
Plan for Success: Don’t wait for time to appear—make time. Schedule your workouts like important meetings and experiment with activities you enjoy to stay engaged and motivated. |
Accountability Matters: Leverage social support, fitness apps, and challenges to stay committed. Tools like Strava, Fabulous, and 7-Minute Workout can help track progress and build lasting habits. |
Every year, countless Australians make New Year’s resolutions to get fit. Regardless of your previous exercise experience or current activity level, completing regular exercise can benefit every organ and body system, improving both physical and mental health. If you’ve ever struggled to maintain a regular exercise routine, know that you aren’t alone.
In 2022, 41% of women and 34% of men in Australia aged 18–64 were insufficiently physically active, and over 7 in 10 (73%) did not do the recommended 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activity (1). Among those who were physically inactive, "lack of time" was the most reported barrier (2). Staying consistent and achieving our fitness goals is a challenge many of us struggle with. Continue reading for tips on how to exercise more and stay consistent in 2025.
Progress Over Perfection
The first step of being consistent, is forgiving yourself. It’s okay to stumble. Life happens, and you may end up missing a day here and there. Missing a workout doesn’t erase your progress. It takes time to build fitness, and it takes more than a missed session to lose it. Instead, be mindful on that day that you should not miss the next. Missing two workouts in a row can be the start of a trend, so focus on breaking the pattern and keep moving forward.
If you’re having a busy week, reduce your commitment to your habit, but still commit to doing it. For example - If you had scheduled to do a 15-minute walk on your break at work but didn’t get time, try and do a 5 minute walk after work instead of skipping it. Flexibility and self-compassion are key to building sustainable exercise habits, so focus on adopting a realistic and sustainable mindset, such as “Never Two in a Row.”
Identify your “why”
The next step to staying consistent is identifying your “why.” Why is this important to you?
Is it having more energy to play with your kids, manage stress, improve overall health? Understand your deeper reason, focus on the emotional and long-term benefits, and stay connected to your "why".
Tip: Create a vision board to visualize your goals or write them in a journal.
Small, intentional steps help keep commitment strong and bring you closer to your goals.
Creating the Blueprint for Success
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. So, when it comes to working out consistently, we need to define what “consistently” actually means. When planning your week, ask yourself these key questions:
· What type of exercise are you doing?
· When do you plan on doing your exercise?
While both are important, the “when” is crucial for being consistent. Your schedule won’t magically free itself, so don’t find time, make time. It’s essential to schedule your workouts in your calendar and treat them like the most important meeting of your day (because you are important). Seeing your workouts on your schedule helps you prioritize and make the necessary adjustments to fit them in.
Exercise Should Be Fun
Next up is the "what" —What type of exercise are you doing?
The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all exercise routine, and sometimes you need to experiment with different activities to find which one works for you. What matters most is doing something you enjoy. Whether it’s swimming, cycling, hiking, or dancing, choosing activities you love not only encourages consistency, but also removes the dread associated with working out.
Start with a simplified and small version of your exercise goal. The exact amount doesn’t matter, it's about being intentional and slowly building a new habit.
Tip: Repeating the same workout every day can lead to boredom and burnout, so don't be afraid to mix it up and keep things exciting.
Accountability
Changing habits can be challenging because they haven’t become part of our autopilot system, so they require intentional effort. When the brain notices you repeating the same activity, the routine gets stored, so overtime, you no longer have to think about it—you just do it automatically.
Simplifying new behaviours makes it easier to integrate them into your routine over time.
One of the best ways to stay consistent is through social accountability—a workout buddy, fitness group, or even a coach can keep you motivated and remind you why you started. Consider using fitness apps, wearable trackers, signing up to virtual challenges, setting mini-challenges, or joining competitions, as these add a layer of excitement. With the right support and tools, consistency becomes far more achievable.
Tools and resources
Here are a list of apps to help get you started on your fitness journey:
1) The fabulous app: A self-care coaching and accountability app that helps you make smart changes and build healthy habits.
· The Fabulous app (Apple)
· The Fabulous app (Android)
· Notable mention - HabitNow Daily Routine Planner (Android)
2) The 7-minute workout app: A quick, yet impactful workout routine for busy individuals who may not have the time to commit to longer exercise sessions.
· 7 minute workout app (Apple)
· Seven app (Android)
3) The Strava app: Offers a way to record runs, rides, hikes, yoga and over 30 other sport types, making it a popular app among runners and cyclists. It also recommends popular routes based on your preferences.
· Strava app (Apple)
· Strava app (Android)
4) The SmartGYM (Gym and home workouts) app: Creates personalised workouts that can be done at home or at the gym, based on the equipment you have, the muscles you want to target, and for how long and how often you want to work out.
· SmartGYM: Gym and home workouts (Apple)
Key takeaways
- It’s okay to stumble (Forgive yourself): Instead, be mindful to not miss the next. Focus on breaking the pattern and keep moving forward
- Identify your “why?”: Understand your deeper reason and stay connected to your “why?”
- Create your plan: Don’t find time, make time. Schedule your workouts in your calendar and start prioritizing.
- Make it fun: Experiment with different activities and do something you enjoy. Any movement is better than no movement.
- Find your accountability strategy: Find the right support and tools to hold yourself accountable (workout buddy, fitness group, virtual challenges)
References
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Physical activity. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/physical-activity/physical-activity
- Koh, Y.S., Asharani, P.V., Devi, F. et al. A cross-sectional study on the perceived barriers to physical activity and their associations with domain-specific physical activity and sedentary behaviour. BMC Public Health 22, 1051 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13431-2
Authors:
Teigen Faux, Exercise Physiologist (Honours) for Scientific Accuracy