Wondering how to create a workout plan that you actually enjoy? It’s definitely doable, but starting from scratch can be difficult. These 7 tips will help you overcome the hump jumpstart your planning process so you can meet your fitness and wellness goals.
The Problem:
- Making a workout routine on your own can be daunting
- You’ve made lots of routines, but can never actually seem to stick with one
- You aren’t sure if you should make your own routine or just pull one from the internet
Table of Contents
- The Problem:
- The Solution:
- Why should you bother creating your own workout plan?
- 7 Top Tips on How to Create a Workout Plan You Love
- Tip #1: Assess Your Fitness Level
- Tip #2: Set Realistic Goals Based on Your Life
- Tip #3: Create a Varied Routine
- Tip #4: Don’t Be Afraid to Utilize Time-Efficient Workouts
- Tip #5: Find Activities You Enjoy, and Drop the Ones You Hate
- Tip #6: Schedule Your Workouts and Give Yourself Grace if the Plan has to Change
- Tip #7: Invest in Home Workout Essentials
- Conclusion: How to Create a Workout Plan You Love
The Solution:
If you’re reading this, you probably already know that movement is good for us, but just in case you wanted to know more… Healthy movement (that means low-emotional-stress movement that meets your needs and abilities) has been found to improve brain health, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bone and muscle, increase longevity, and boost your enjoyment of everyday activities. You can click here to see the CDC’s report on it. And even a little bit helps, so don’t hesitate to get started if you only have 5 minutes a day.
Why should you bother creating your own workout plan?
This is a great question! After all, there are infinite workout plans and videos available online, so what’s the point in trying to create your own? There are three major reasons creating your own workout plan is beneficial, particularly for women.
Finding the time to workout can be difficult. However, creating a home workout plan tailored to your likes, dislikes, and goals is not only achievable, but can also improve your quality of life and well-being.
The plan will be tailored to your needs, preferences, and body
Creating your own workout plan allows you to tailor the routine to your specific life. Everyone’s body, schedule, likes and dislikes are unique, and a personalized approach ensures that you address your individual strengths, weaknesses, and focus-areas. Some people are focused on weight loss while others are focused on muscle gain or mobility. A customized plan increases the likelihood of success and enjoyment. Remember, enjoying your workouts boosts your chances of consistency by huge margins.
You’ll also experience increased motivation and enjoyment
Making your own workout plan is a balance between freedom of choice and having enough knowledge and guidance that you don’t feel overwhelmed by your options. The right support combined with choosing the pieces that go into your plan results in you enjoying what you’re doing, and motivation becomes a natural byproduct. Designing a workout plan that includes activities or exercises that you find a.) fun, b.) challenging, or c.) particularly beneficial makes the whole process more enjoyable. This intrinsic motivation is a powerful force that can help you stay committed to your fitness journey in the long run, leading to consistent progress and overall satisfaction, which is much more sustainable than workouts that make you miserable.
Self-made workout plans are flexible and adaptable to your schedule
7 Top Tips on How to Create a Workout Plan You Love
So now that you know why it’s a good idea to learn how to create your own fitness plan, the question becomes, how do you get started? These top 7 tips on how to create your own workout plan will give you the foundation you need to get a solid plan together without restricting your options. Enjoy!
Tip #1: Assess Your Fitness Level
Before diving into any workout routine, it’s a good idea to assess your current fitness level. This will help you pick exercises that are challenging but still achievable. No matter what your level, tailor your plan to your unique capabilities, gradually increasing intensity and difficulty as you progress.
One of the best ways to do this is to actually work out. But specifically choose exercises that you know are too easy for you. This will give you a baseline for your abilities and boost your confidence.
Try answering these questions about general fitness: How far can you comfortable walk on an easy route? Can you comfortably do unweighted squats? Can you stand up from a chair without your hands? Are you able to do push-ups, even if you have to modify them by using a wall or from your knees? Can you comfortably stand on one foot for thirty seconds? After you’ve warmed up, can you touch your toes? Shins? Knees? Can you do a butterfly stretch? How comfortably can you get up off the ground?
Try to answer each question by trying each movement and taking notes on your comfort and ability.
Your answers to these questions have nothing to do with shame. They’re just to help you get a baseline for the types of activities you can and should plan when you are deciding how to create a workout plan. Be mindful of any injuries or limitations. Don’t hesitate to modify any exercises. If something causes pain (not soreness, but pain) stop and try something different.
Once you have a good idea of your general fitness and mobility, it’s time to set goals
Tip #2: Set Realistic Goals Based on Your Life
When you’re figuring out how to create a workout plan and match it to your lifestyle, goals go a long way toward helping you stay motivated. Try to set realistic and achievable goals. It also helps if they are measurable. It might be a good idea to focus on goals about performance and comfort as much more than goals about appearance.
For example, if you are trying to improve your cardio with bicycling, it might help to set a goal of wanting to ride fifty miles over the course of a summer. Most of us have about 10 weeks of useable weather in the summer. That would be 5 miles a week, split up in whatever way works best for you. And maybe you reward yourself every ten miles. Adding a time component (ten weeks of summer) helps a lot of us when it comes to challenging ourselves.
A big caveat about setting goals: try not to attach your self-worth to your goals. They are there to help you see your own progress, not determine your worth as a person.
I recommend you set both short-term and long-term goals. Ideally, these goals align with your lifestyle and aspirations. Some people focus on weight loss, increased strength or cardio, changing body composition, or simply making movement a consistent part of your routine (this is a great place to start if you’ve gotten out of the exercise rhythm).
Don’t forget to be patient with yourself and celebrate your accomplishments along the way. And while it’s often helpful to have a workout buddy, try not to measure yourself against someone else. We all have different bodies, injuries, strengths, and goals.
Tip #3: Create a Varied Routine
This one is huge when you’re deciding how to create your workout routine because keeping your workouts exciting prevents boredom. There’s a couple of ways to do this. First, you can try and include a variety of exercises. Some people love trying new exercises. Second, you can try changing your timing on the same exercises. If you were doing squats for thirty seconds, try bumping the number up to forty-five seconds or add a simple variation like a lunge in between each squat.
Mixing types of exercises can also help. You can mix cardio, strength training, and mobility/flexibility exercises to engage different muscle groups and maintain overall fitness. You want your workout to be interesting enough that you aren’t bored, but not so complex that you feel overwhelmed and avoid working out altogether.
This variation not only adds interest, but also helps to prevent plateaus and ensures a well-rounded approach to your fitness journey. This significantly reduces the risk of injury, too, which is great.
Tip #4: Don’t Be Afraid to Utilize Time-Efficient Workouts
A lot of us know that small changes make a big difference and this is true for workouts, too. If you want more info about this, click here. Time-efficient workouts are workouts that give you a lot of value in a short time period. This is really important for maintaining motivation and regularity. When it comes to working out, 15 minutes a day is usually more beneficial than 1 hour once a week.
And many of us are busy. So, so busy. Busy schedules demand efficiency. Plus it leaves you more flexibility with your schedule. Interval training is great for this. The famous one is HIIT, but you don’t have to be blasting the intensity to be successful with intervals. Lots of people want a peaceful workout and intervals are great for this two because of the rhythm aspect.
Whether you are maximizing calorie burn and building strength with HIIT or want to practice 10-minute yoga for improved mobility, time-efficient workouts are your friend. They have huge benefits and are easily accessible. Aim for workouts that are thirty minutes or less, though sometimes when I get started, I want to keep going and that’s ok! Using a benchmark that’s less than thirty minutes makes it easier to get started even on the busiest days.
One way to do this is to pick 4-6 exercises you enjoy (like squats, curls, shoulder rows, and jumping jacks). Then you do each exercise for 30-45 seconds with a 15-30 second rest before you move on to the next one. If you only get through the circuit once, that’s ok! But if you feel motivated, go again!
Remember, short workouts are accessible workouts and accessible workouts are consistent.
*For those of us who are training for steady-state cardio events like marathons, triathlons, etc… you might not use time-efficient workouts as often, but they still have immense value, and I encourage you to give them a try!
Tip #5: Find Activities You Enjoy, and Drop the Ones You Hate
When you are working on how to create your own workout plan, it’s important to focus on the intersection of what activities/exercises you enjoy and which ones will help you achieve your goals. Finding activities you enjoy can be a really fun process.
And home workouts don’t mean you have to work out at home only. For example, I rely heavily on home workouts (especially in the winter), but still enjoy biking and swimming in the warmer months. On the other hand, I hate distance running, so I don’t do it. There are other ways to get the same benefits. Try to choose activities that bring you joy. This might mean you try a bunch of different things before you hit on exercises and activities that keep you happy. Don’t hesitate to try yoga, kickboxing, dancing, or even virtual fitness classes.
The bigger trick is identifying when you are avoiding workouts because you dislike the activity. Try to be conscience of when you are dreading something or avoiding something or even putting less effort into an activity. If this happens once or twice, it might just be that you’re still getting used to it, but if it happens every time or acts as a barrier to your movement, nix that thing from your workout routine and see if it helps your motivation.
Enjoying your workout not only increases your adherence, but it also improves your overall quality of life. Life is too short for miserable workouts.
Tip #6: Schedule Your Workouts and Give Yourself Grace if the Plan has to Change
Making a plan will help you build the habit of working out. Blocking out dedicated time for your workouts is therefore crucial. Try to treat your workout appointments with the same level of commitment as any other important task. Consistency is key to seeing progress, and establishing a routine will help make exercise a non-negotiable part of your day.
It might help to connect working out to something you already do, like waking up, making dinner, or showering. I like to connect workouts to lunch time because that’s when I’m most motivated and almost always have some free time. Whatever you choose, I suggest your write it down somewhere– your phone, a fitness journal, wherever works for you. Some people like to fill in tables, others like to make lists, and some of us like to set calendar reminders on our phones. My mother often does all three, while I’m more of a list person. Use whatever method reduces the most barriers.
And don’t forget to be nice to yourself if something happens that causes you to modify your schedule. I tried working out by getting up an hour early and only lasted two weeks because I hated it so much. I started to skip workouts and feel guiltier and guiltier. Then I tried switching to lunch time and felt so much happier it was unreal.
Not only did I enjoy the workouts more, but I felt more content because the guilt was gone and I was more consistent. Are there still days when I miss due to an unexpected staff meeting or I really want sushi instead? Absolutely. Is it the end of the world? No. I just jump back on the bandwagon the next. No guilt, not drama.
So, yes, have a schedule, but don’t be afraid to try different schedules until you find the one that is easiest for you. Then maximize your success.
Tip #7: Invest in Home Workout Essentials
This does not have to be an expensive process, and there is absolutely a ton you can do without equipment, so don’t be afraid to get started without and slowly acquired essentials over time.
Creating a conducive environment for your home workouts can be a fun and exciting process. Essentials look a bit different for everyone depending on the types of exercises you want to do and how much space you have. Resistance bands, dumbbells, and yoga mats are a great place to start. You might also want to think of ways to personalize the space with pictures, a stand for your phone or computer so you can follow workouts on YouTube, and a table for drinks and a fitness journal so you can track your progress.
The goal with essentials is to personalize the space so you have ownership over it and your workout routine, but also to choose equipment that has enough versatility that it can do more than one “job”. Resistance bands are great for strength training and flexibility, for example.
Having essentials readily available can eliminate barriers and make your home workouts more enjoyable.
Conclusion: How to Create a Workout Plan You Love
Learning how to create a home workout plan that you love is a personalized journey that takes into account your fitness level, preferences, and busy schedule. By setting realistic goals, incorporating variety, and making your workouts enjoyable, you can build a sustainable routine that contributes to your overall well-being. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments, empower yourself, prioritize your health and fitness, and let your home be a place where your wellness journey thrives!
What do you like to include in every workout? Let me know in the comments!