If you’ve got a busy life and career, finding an achievable exercise schedule to lose weight can be difficult. Between work, seeing friends and family, and keeping on top of your to-do list, it can feel impossible to find the time, energy and motivation to stick to an exercise schedule — can’t it?
And yes, while exercising to lose weight does take some time, it’s also well worth it — thanks to the energy and confidence boost it gives you — not to mention how good it helps you feel and look. That’s why I’m here to make it as simple and easy as possible for you.
So, keep reading to learn:
- The best exercise schedule to lose weight — it’s not what you think.
- How to lose weight with as little as 5 minutes of exercise a day.
- Why exercise shouldn’t take up a lot of your time, especially in the beginning.
- The #1 way to stick to your exercise schedule.
- How to stay motivated and stick to your exercise routine.
The Worst Exercise Schedule
Contrary to popular belief, the best exercise schedule to lose weight doesn’t look like any of these:
- A 12-week intense boot camp.
- 5 exercise classes a week.
- Going to the gym every day.
- Or, running 4 times a week.
Want to know what the best exercise schedule is?
The Best Exercise Schedule to Lose Weight
The best exercise schedule is the one you can stick to consistently — an exercise schedule that’s easy and doesn’t require much motivation — especially at first.
Let me explain why by asking you a few questions:
Did you say this year would be different? But still, find yourself setting exercise goals you’re not sticking to. Things like going to the gym three times a week or running every other day?
First, please know this is normal — it’s just that no one tells you they’re doing it too. And second, it’s definitely not because you’re lazy, unmotivated or not disciplined enough.
In fact, it’s because you’re such a driven high-achiever this is happening to you. What do I mean by this?
Well, because you’re always trying to be your best because you work hard and because you’re a high performer, you automatically set yourself big goals. And while there’s nothing wrong with big goals, when it comes to exercise schedules, losing weight and being healthier, big goals aren’t the best place to begin.
Stick to What You Say You Will By Starting Small
The best place to start, especially with your health and fitness goals, is going small. Because when you go small, you create something you’ll stick to consistently. And when you stick to something consistently, you get (and keep) the results you want.
As an example, think about your career. You might not realise it, but the reason you’re where you are now is likely the result of small actions. Small actions that turned into habits, and that have added up to get you where you are now.
Big Goals Are Hard to Stick to
The reason big goals, or intense exercise schedules, are hard to stick to — especially when you’re first starting to exercise regularly (or get back into it) — is because they take up a lot of mental and physical energy.
And since your body is always trying to conserve energy, it doesn’t take long before you feel too tired, or can’t be bothered, to continue with your exercise schedule. This, by the way, is the reason you lose your motivation after a week or so of a new exercise schedule or healthy eating plan.
And this is what a lot of people teaching and promoting fitness forget. They forget they’ve been following their exercise schedule for years — and now have habits in place that make it easy for them to do it most of the time. They forget that when they started, they began small (even if they don’t think they did) until they turned their exercise schedule into a habit.
Small Goals Are Where It’s at
So, if you said this year would be different for you. Or, if you’re worried you’ll never lose weight or stick to an exercise schedule. Remember that for anything to be different, you need to do something different.
The good news is doing something different — paradoxically — comes from doing less, not more. This means to start exercising regularly, whether to lose weight, tone up or, feel and look better, you need to start with less.
You need to start with small goals.
Are You Setting Yourself Up to Fail?
If you often start your week with the best intentions and set yourself an exercise schedule like this:
- Monday — 30-minute run
- Tuesday — 45-minute gym class
- Wednesday — 30-minute run
- Thursday — 1-hour bootcamp
- Friday — 45-minute gym class
- Saturday — 30-minute run
- Sunday — rest
You’re unintentionally setting yourself up to fail.
Even if you stick to this exercise schedule for a week or two, eventually, you’ll lose your motivation. And what’s most soul-destroying about this, is that you probably lost some weight, or at least felt better in yourself — but because you quit (understandably), instead of celebrating what you did achieve, you beat yourself up instead.
Getting motivated, starting a new exercise routine and then quitting after a week or two, is such a vicious cycle I know you hate — yet nobody is helping people get out of it, are they? Until now ;).
This is the Best Exercise Schedule
When you’re starting a new exercise schedule or getting back into one, the best way is to focus on building some new habits. And the great thing about habits is they’re created by starting small.
So, a great exercise schedule to start creating healthy habits with might look like this:
- Monday — 5-minute run
- Tuesday — 5-minute walk
- Wednesday — 5-minute run
- Thursday — 30-minute bootcamp
- Friday — 5-minute walk
- Saturday — 5-minute run
- Sunday — rest
This is a fantastic exercise schedule because it’s easy to motivate yourself to do something small consistently. And, when you stick to something consistently for long enough, it becomes a habit. And, once something becomes a habit, it takes less energy and motivation to do. Which means you’re highly likely to stick to it long-term.
This not only helps ensure you stick to your exercise goals long-term and keep weight off for good but, maybe more importantly, it makes you feel proud of yourself and builds confidence in yourself that you’ll do the things you say you will.
Building on Your Small Habits
Now I know you might be thinking, but surely 5-minutes a day won’t make a difference. But, honestly, it does — because 5 minutes is always better for you than no minutes.
And secondly, it leads to a secret no one tells you — that once you’ve got your small habits in place and you’re doing them consistently, you can slowly build on them until you reach your big goals.
For example, you might add 5 minutes a day to your exercise schedule until you get to 30 minutes a day. Or, you might swap some of your 5-minute walks for 10 minutes in the gym. Then build up to 15 minutes, then 20 minutes and so on.
Creating Your Own Exercise Schedule
Now you know the secret to the best exercise schedule, it’s time to create one that works for you and your life.
My recommendation is to think about your big goals first. Or put another way, in an ideal world how would you like your exercise schedule to look for you?
For example, you might wish for this one day:
- Monday — 30-minute HIIT class
- Tuesday — 30-minute weight class
- Wednesday — 30-minute HIIT class
- Thursday — 30-minute weight class
- Friday — 30-minute pilates class
- Saturday — 1 to 2 hours of fell walking
- Sunday — rest
Once you know what you want your exercise schedule to look like someday, it’s time to break it down into small habits so it becomes achievable.
For example, initially, it might look like this:
- Monday — 5-minutes of jumping jacks
- Tuesday — 5 kettlebell swings
- Wednesday — 5-minutes of jumping jacks
- Thursday — 5 kettlebell swings
- Friday — 10-minute pilates class on YouTube
- Saturday — 10 minute walk
- Sunday — rest
What could your initial exercise schedule look like? Give it a go now by writing it down.
Do you think you can stick to it no matter what? No matter how you feel. No matter your motivation. No matter how good or bad your day’s been.
If not, make it even easier for yourself. And once you’re doing your small habits consistently, build on your exercise routine from there.
Looking For More Ideas?
If you’d like more support and ideas on creating an exercise schedule that works for you and helps you lose weight for good. Please feel free to sign up for my free coaching offer below.
Just enter your name and email, and I’ll be in touch.
You Don’t Need More Discipline or Motivation
I know you wish you could be more motivated and disciplined, but please know this isn’t what you need to do.
You already have what it takes to become the person you want to be. You simply need to start small with your goals and use them to build healthy habits into your life.
When you start small, you always do what you say you will. You build confidence in yourself. You feel good about yourself. And, over time, you’ll become “That Girl”.
I know it feels so far away right now, and sometimes you don’t believe you’ll ever become the version of yourself you imagine. But, please believe me (as someone who was once where you are), with small consistent actions and healthy habits, you’ll become the person you want to be.
With love,
Becky x