Sticking to an Exercise Program: 25 Tips to Achieve Exercise Success

Sticking to an exercise routine is challenging for just about everyone, which is why it is vital to have evidence-based exercise motivation tips and adherence strategies that are proven effective in developing long-term exercise habits. Regular exercise reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, depression, anxiety and obesity. Yet, 80% of adults do not meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic exercise or resistance exercise.  

According the research linked above, the most commonly expressed reasons for not participating in exercise are lack of time (due to family or work obligations), lack of motivation, caregiving responsibilities, lack of a safe environment to exercise and lack of social support. Interestingly, most individuals who drop out of an exercise program do so within the first six months of starting the exercise program. To counter this exercise drop-out phenomenon, research on this topic indicates that health and exercise professionals ought to target the self-efficacy behaviors of the person starting an exercise program to help them adopt a long-term exercise program. This means finding ways to support people in their initial desire for optimal health and fitness and provide them with an exercise program that includes tools to help them succeed. 

As a class project, the 64 students in my Introduction to Exercise Science class at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, scoured research articles and internet pages, and selected 25 highly useful tips for achieving exercise success. These tips help target a person’s self-efficacy to adopt an exercise program and avoid dropping out. As you read through this list, identify those strategies that resonate with you and fit best with your lifestyle, then incorporate those that will make the biggest impact.