BlogHer - 6 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable to a Fitness Routine - Comments

No joke!

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:50:02 -0500

I didn't get to exercise very much when I was in San Francisco last weekend, and by the time I got home (even though I was overjoyed that I went, and had a fantastic time), I felt like a slug because I hadn't been active in way too long!

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

Excellent!

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:48:31 -0500

Now THAT'S a good reason to stay on track! I love it. Many kudos to you for training for a marathon and raising money for a charity at the same time. :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

That's the way it should be!

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:46:25 -0500

If you have the ability to be flexible with your fitness routine, you might as well take advantage of it! I don't like doing the same thing at the same time of day either. As long as I get my activity in, that's all that matters. :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

Me, too!

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:36:46 -0500

I feel guilty when I don't do what I'm "supposed" to do, too -- which is why I try to follow through as much as possible!

Thanks again for the great compliment. :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

Fundraising

glossyveneer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:56:53 -0500

I'm training for a marathon with Team In Training to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Every single dollar that is donated to my fundraising is motivation to keep going, I'm not going to wimp out when people are donating money and counting on me to cover the distance!

Running Blog: JillWillRun.com
Personal Blog: GlossyVeneer.com

Don't Like Schedules

Blondie In Brazil — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:55:07 -0500

The best thing for me has been flexibility in my workout schedule. I used to force myself to do it the same time everyday and I got so bored with it. I seem to be motivated at different times on different days. It is never the same and i had to stop forcing myself to be on a regular schedule. Fortunately, I have really flexible work hours so I can switch my workout times around.

You hardly ever see me at the gym at the same time each day, unless it is a class I love. I go in the mornings, at lunch, late at night - whatever works for that day. Switching it up makes it more interesting for me.

Blondie in Brazil

www.blondieinbrazil.blogspot.com

www.fakefoodfree.com

Great Post Again!

Kathy333 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:07:52 -0500

I love reading your posts! I think my main way to stay focused on fitness is the way that I feel, so number six. I know that I am tired at 5 AM but I know that at 6 AM if I get up and go for a run or swim or whatever, I will feel GREAT! If I stay in bed, when I do wake up I will feel tired, still, and not have had a workout.

I think working out has to be a top priority as well. You can't just say yea I should you actually have to plan it out like you said. Hold yourself responsible when you don't go. I know my workout schedule, so I know if I don't do it I feel guilty afterwards knowing what I missed. I also talk about my workouts with people to hold myself accountable.

Kathy

Mama Marathoner

I Make my Journal Public

cdardet — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:20:45 -0500

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I think what has been working for me is making my journal/goal public combined with wanting to reach a goal badly enough. My parents, friends, family, etc. know what I am working toward and check in on me. I don't want to have to tell them that I fell off the wagon or gave up!

Yeah, accountability is a good

KatieBeez — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:18:29 -0500

idea. Especially when you are starting to work out or if you don't look forward to the activity (whatever it is).

Perfect timing...

slmagill — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:24:37 -0500

Thanks for the post. This is perfect timing as I've been in a rut lately. I totally agree, accountability is way more powerful than motivation.

Meeting my neighbors for a class or walk around our lake has really helped.

Suzi

http://pinkvanillacupcakes.blogspot.com

What helps me stay on track

Vered — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:18:00 -0500

It's simple really... I just feel SO GOOD after a workout, and so sluggish when I don't workout for a few days - that's my main motivation.

Also, seeing the results. Feeling strong. I like that. :)

Vered DeLeeuw

http://momgrind.com/

Working out at home is

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:46:55 -0500

Working out at home is perfectly fine! As for forgetting/being interrupted, try writing it down or telling someone that you NEED to do it. Much less likely to drop it that way. :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

Stop relying solely on motivation...

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:45:17 -0500

...and switch to accountability. I swear, it works! :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

All or nothing!

itwillallbefine — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:38:49 -0500

I enjoy exercising, but I like it with a DVD in the privacy of my front room. It's the holidays, so I need to commit myself to doing it once a night and getting back to it properly. I tend to do things for a while, and then suddenly something happens, and I forget or get interrupted, and that's it, all gone!

Inside the heart of each and every one of us there is a longing to be understood by someone who really cares. When a person is understood, he or she can put up with almost anything in the world.
~ by Rev Ed Hird ~

I suck at accountability

sassymonkey — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:17:37 -0500

On the fitness front that is. I'm great at making fitness plans but the opposite of great at fulfilling them. I'll figure out what works for me someday but I think what I lack is good motivation...

Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

6 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable to a Fitness Routine

Zandria — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:19:31 -0500

A lot of good things can be said about motivation when it comes to sticking to a regular fitness routine. Motivation makes us feel mentally pumped-up; it energizes; it's about seeing physical results and wanting to go even harder and faster. But motivation is impossible to sustain 24 hours a day, every day. When your alarm goes off before the sun rises and the very last thing you want to do is get out from under the covers? Enter: accountability.

Accountability is what gets you out of bed at 5am for a morning run when you know your friend is waiting for you. It causes you to do things like fill out exercise and nutrition logs, so you can go back and look at your progress and make sure you’re staying on track with your goals.

People are much more likely to stick with something if they hold themselves accountable in some way. For some it can be as simple as making a decision and telling a friend they're serious about sticking to it -- but could that friend please check in once in a while, just to make sure they're staying on track? Other people need something more structured. Me? I can go both ways, depending on the goal. With certain things, I have no problem sticking to my plan -- but with other things I do much better if I have backup.

A good example of something I need to hold myself accountable to is my 101 Things list. (Maybe because it's a long-term goal, and not something I work on every day or a certain amount of time per week?) I hold myself accountable to completing the things on my list by posting monthly updates, no matter what.

When a goal is more short-term and I'm not holding myself accountable, I tend to get into trouble. I announced last month that I'd like to be able to do at least 10 standard push-ups by Labor Day. I can do 5 of them at this point, but I only have a month to go -- and last month I could already do 3-4. That's not a lot of progress. But I’m sure a big part of it is due to the fact that I haven’t been following any kind of specific plan.

Here are 6 ways to hold yourself accountable:

1. Use a website like SparkPeople or Traineo to track your exercise and food intake.

Advantages: It’s convenient and easy to use. It’s also helpful to see changes made over time.

Disadvantage: Having to remember what exercises you did (or what you ate) once you get back to a computer -- either that or you have to write it down and then transfer it to the computer later, so you may be duplicating your efforts.

Other electronic options: track your activity using Twitter; commit to posting regular before-and-after photos on your blog; start a new blog that’s specifically set up to track your activity and progress.

Ali at The Office Diet describes the benefits of keeping a food/exercise diary.

2. Use a paper journal (like one of these free downloads from FitSugar)

Advantage: You don’t have to go online if you don’t want to.

Disadvantage: There could potentially be a lot of paper to keep track of.

Maria Kang gives 6 Tips to Start Running in the Morning, one of which is to “Keep a running calendar on your wall.” Maria says she’s “a very visual person who constantly needs to see reinforcement of what I am doing. I hate to see blank spots so it motivates me to have none!”

3. Hire a personal trainer
Knowing that someone is going to meet you at a particular time, kick your butt, and you’re paying them to do it? Sounds like a great way to hold yourself accountable!

Legally Heidi wants to hire a personal trainer to get her back on track.

4. Sign up for a class
How about trying boot camp for 6 weeks, or an 8-week dancing class? A recommendation -- if you're just starting out, try a class that lasts a certain period of time rather than something that goes on indefinitely. If you don’t care for it after the time is up, you can always try something new.

5. Work out with a friend or partner
I don’t currently work out with a friend, but there are certain situations where it’s nice to have company. I had a great time with my sister when I took her to my gym last month when she came for a visit. It would also be fun to have company when I go out to ride my bike.

That’s Fit: Working Out as a Couple

Isaac at Got Strength?: The Pros and Cons of Group Exercise

6. Establish your own "fitness rules"
I hadn't thought of it this way before I read Jacki's post at That’s Fit about her five fitness rules, but I tend to adhere to this more than anything else right now. I don’t want to carry paper around with me; it can be annoying to me to track my activity online; I don't have a personal trainer; I don't work out with a friend.

The “fitness rules” that I follow are making sure I work out with weights three days a week (unless I'm out of town). I don't stay on a strict schedule for the other stuff, but it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll find time for walking, running, and biking throughout a typical week.

What helps you stay on track?

(Contributing Editor Zandria also blogs at Zandria.us and just posted her BlogHer ’08 conference recap!)