Use a Monthly Calendar For Exercise Motivation

If you haven't developed a weekly workout routine you adhere to consistently, one way to change that around is by using a monthly wall calendar. This has worked wonders for me and one of the reasons why I regularly repeat my workouts each and every week.

When you have a visual stimulus directly in your line of sight on a daily basis, you get a subtle reminder to stick with your exercise commitment. This is especially helpful when you are first changing your habits to be more health conscious.

On my personal wall calendar, each day I complete a minimum of a one hour workout of any kind, it gets notated directly on the calendar using a bold blue marker. I use the same marker every time so the calendar maintains a uniform look.

Each type of workout gets a different notation so that becomes easy to track at the end of the month. For instance, attending my local Bootcamp class gets a capital B on that day, running with my dog gets a capital R, playing tennis gets a capital T, snowboarding naturally gets an S, etc.

As the week progresses it is easy to tally up how many workouts have been completed up to that point and of what type. If you notice a number of days going by without you making the time to include some type of exercise, this can motivate you to change that around as soon as possible.

By using a calendar for motivation, I can really delight at the end of the month how many workouts I completed. For February I had a total of 24 workouts which directly translates to a minimum of 24 hours of exercise for the month. Actually it's more than that since snowboarding, hiking and tennis usually run well over an hour's time frame.

If you are having trouble sticking with a consistent workout routine, try using a calendar for motivation and see if it helps you adhere with this healthy habit. You can easily find year-long monthly calendars at your local discount store or Walmart sometimes costing as little as one dollar. Then all you need is a mere tack or nail and your favorite color of marker and you are all set.

Give it a try next week and see how well it helps you stick with your exercise commitment. Even if you are just able to increase your number of weekly workouts by one or two a calendar for motivation has still worked in your advantage.

Just an extra 1-2 workouts each week means you're getting an additional 4-8 hours per month of physical activity. Your body and your waistline will definitely appreciate that.


Gregory L. Gomez, a LAUSD teacher who's also on journey to develop a healthy life in an effort to lose weight and get in shape. Follow his progress on http://HealthyChoicesInLife.com as he strives to lose nearly 100 pounds by eating healthy and maintaining a consistent exercise routine. Get a FREE monthly Healthy Choices Newsletter along with a Healthy Eating eBook just for stopping by at http://healthychoicesinlife.com/healthy-eating.

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