Category: Fitness

How do I start and stick to my exercise plan?

8/5/2025

By Ethan Farr, Myotherapist

Starting an exercise plan can be exciting, but sticking to it can be tough. Whether you're a beginner or looking to get back into a routine after a break, it can feel challenging to maintain motivation, avoid obstacles, and keep up the momentum. The good news is, with a little planning and a strategic approach, you can set yourself up for success. Here’s a few tips that I use to help get you started—and stay—on track with your exercise plan.

1. Set Clear, appropriate and Realistic Goals
Before you jump into any fitness routine, it’s essential to know why you want to exercise. Are you aiming to lose weight, build strength, increase flexibility, or just improve your overall health? Understanding your goals will guide your workout choices and help keep you motivated.
Setting up proper goals is a skill and it isn’t as easy as just “lose weight” or “exercise more” to set yourself up for success, make sure your goals are SMART goals:

Specific: Instead of vague goals like "get fit," aim for specific outcomes like "run 3 miles" or "do 10 push-ups."

Measurable: Track your progress with quantifiable milestones, such as "lose 5 pounds" or "work out 4 days a week."

Achievable: Set goals that challenge you but are within your ability to accomplish.

Timed: Give yourself a timeframe. For example, "I will run a 5k in 3 months" or "I will lift 20 pounds in 6 weeks."

By breaking down large objectives into smaller, manageable chunks, you can make steady progress and stay motivated. A tip I would give you is start by making a long term goal. This is usually a goal you want to achieve in a year. This could be something like running a marathon in a year's time or lose 15-20kg and maintain that weight over the year. Once you have this goal in mind make 3 smaller short term goals that over time will get you achieving this broader long term goal. For example if your long term goal is to run a marathon in a year your short term goals could include: 1. Complete 3 runs a week for the next 3 weeks, 2. Be able to run 5km without stopping in 4 weeks time, 3. Ensure I am doing 2 recovery and stretch sessions lasting 20minutes a week for the next 3 weeks. This helps to ensure you stay motivated as it makes each week count and it’s not just something you have heaps of time to get ready for so you can afford to put it off everyday.

2. Start Small and Build Gradually
If you’re new to exercise or even if you have just taken a large break, it’s tempting to dive into an intense routine right away to try and meet your long term goals as soon as possible, but this can lead to burnout or even injury. Instead, start with manageable activities and gradually increase intensity as your body adapts.
For example:

Begin with walking or light jogging if you're starting a cardio routine.

Start with bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups before progressing to weights or resistance bands.

Focus on consistency over intensity. A few short sessions a week is a great way to build momentum without overwhelming yourself.

It's better to come out of a workout happy and with plenty of energy in the tank rather than waking up the next morning to sore to follow your next workout

3. Create a Flexible Routine
Consistency is key, but life tends to get in the way. Having a flexible exercise routine makes it easier to adjust and keep going, even when things get busy.
Here’s how to make your plan adaptable:

Set a weekly schedule: Aim for at least 2-4 sessions per week. Choose times that work best for you, whether that’s early in the morning or after work.

Mix things up: Keep your routine varied by alternating between cardio, strength training, flexibility, and rest days. This prevents monotony and helps target different muscle groups.

Be flexible: If you miss a session, don’t stress—just get back on track the next day. It's more important to stay consistent over the long term than to aim for perfection.

4. Find Activities You Enjoy
One of the biggest hurdles to sticking with an exercise plan is the feeling of dread before each workout. If you’re doing something you truly enjoy, it won’t feel like a chore, and you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
Take some time to explore different types of exercises and find what excites you the most. Whether it’s dancing, cycling, swimming, yoga, weightlifting, or hiking, try to make your workouts something you look forward to instead of something you have to force yourself to do.
If you enjoy a particular activity, you’re far less likely to skip it or give it up. Plus, you can always mix it up to keep things fresh. If you feel like your current routine has become a bit monotonous, try switching it up with something new to reignite your motivation.

5. Track Your Progress
Seeing improvement, no matter how small, can be incredibly motivating. Tracking your progress not only helps you celebrate your wins but also shows you how far you’ve come, even on the days when you feel like you're not making much headway.
There are a few ways you can track progress:

Fitness apps: Apps like MyFitnessPal or Strava can help you track your workouts, nutrition, and overall progress.
Journaling: go old school and keep a simple fitness journal to write down what exercises you’ve done, how long you’ve spent, and any notes about how you felt.
Progress photos: Sometimes, the changes in your body aren’t always visible from one day to the next, but after a few weeks or months, you’ll notice the transformation.

As you track your progress, remember that progress isn’t always linear. Some days will be better than others, and that's okay. Celebrate the small victories—whether it’s an extra minute of cardio, a heavier weight lifted, or the ability to do an exercise you couldn't do before.

6. Focus on the Benefits, Not Just the End Result
While your end goal might be to lose weight, build muscle, or run a marathon, it’s important to focus on the many benefits you’ll experience along the way, such as improved mood, better sleep, increased energy, and reduced stress. When you shift your mindset to appreciate these immediate benefits, the process becomes more rewarding.
By focusing on how great you feel after a workout rather than fixating on the long-term outcome, you'll be more likely to enjoy the journey and stick to your plan.

Sticking to an exercise plan doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does take intention, planning, and the right mindset. By setting clear goals, starting small, staying flexible, and focusing on the process rather than perfection, you can make exercise a consistent and enjoyable part of your life. Remember that progress is personal, and the key is to keep moving forward, no matter how small the steps may seem to be.

Ready to level up your fitness goals? Book a session with Ethan, our expert sports myotherapist and exercise scientist!

10 Reasons To Get A Massage This Week

3/10/2019

Looking for an excuse to get a massage? We hear you! Massage can have a variety of benefits, especially when you are treated by a qualified remedial massage therapist. Here are our top 10 reasons you might want to get a massage this week.

You’re stressed out
Let’s face it – most of us live pretty hectic lives. Between family, work, social life, hobbies and more, there isn’t much time for stress-relieving activities.

Putting aside an hour for massage isn’t just about feeling good. Research has found that massage therapy can reduce the level of your stress hormone cortisol, as well as boosting up your feel-good brain chemicals. So it relieves stress physically as well as mentally.

You’ve been hitting the gym lately
Whether you’re doing a 12 week challenge at your gym or getting outside for a bootcamp, increasing your exercise can mean a lot of aches and pains.

Massage is a great option for after a workout to aid with recovery. But you can also book yourself in regularly to address any tightness or discomfort in the muscles that can limit your gym efforts.

You want to be more flexible
Our bodies are designed to be flexible. But our modern world has had a big impact on how flexible the average person is. Between office jobs, Netflix and cars, we spend a lot of time sitting on our muscles instead of stretching them out.

When a massage relieves tension in a ‘tight’ area, it can help your muscles, ligaments and tendons to be more flexible.

You have a new fitness goal or event in mind
Set a goal to run a marathon in 12 weeks? Signed up for Tough Mudder or a Spartan race? Want to be the next Ninja Warrior? Maybe you just want to get back to doing a proper push-up.

Whatever your fitness goal or event, a massage will relieve tension. A remedial massage therapist can also let you know if you have any significant areas of tension or muscle imbalances that may increase your risk of injury.

You’re sore or aching
There are many reasons for feeling sore. But one of the simplest solutions is to get a massage. Massage can soothe away the aches and pains.

If your pain is more chronic, massage can still help to relieve symptoms. In fact, research suggests that multiple massages may be more beneficial for relieving symptoms of pain for issues such as chronic neck pain. Sounds like a good reason to book in a few appointments!

You’ve got a headache
A nasty headache can really screw up your plans and leave you grumpy. So why not get a treatment that can relieve those symptoms?

Research has shown that massage can reduce the duration of a headache, as well as reducing frequency for those who experience chronic tension headaches.

Think it’s more of a migraine? Massage can still help. One study found massage can reduce migraine pain by up to 68%. Just make sure you’re safe to drive, or ask a friend to drive you to your appointment.

You haven’t been sleeping well
If you’re not sleeping soundly, your body and mind can suffer some nasty consequences. Poor sleep can have many factors involved – caffeine, food choices, technology use, lack of sun exposure, stress, family, work, the list goes on.

The good news is that massage can help address many of these factors as well as priming your body for sleep. There is plenty of research showing that massage can help with sleep. It can even help with sleep concerns for specific groups such as people with chronic pain or pain conditions, heart failure or post-menopausal insomnia.

Your mental health has been a little low lately
Whether you’re feeling blue or are getting anxious over little things, mental health is something to take seriously. When you’re not feeling ok, it can be hard to take steps to help yourself feel better. But one simple and enjoyable step is a massage!

A review of 37 massage therapy studies found that the greatest impact of massage is its ability to reduce anxious and depressive symptoms. In fact, they suggested that a course of several massage treatments showed similar benefits to psychotherapy!

It’s been a while since you’ve taken care of you
Most of us are great at taking care of others. But we’re not so good at taking care of ourselves – physically, mentally or emotionally.

Massage is a one-stop shop treatment for all of these aspects of self-care. Your body feels good, your stress levels drop and you are looking after your mental wellbeing.

Because you can
We think this is the best reason of all! If you’re looking for an excuse to get a massage, that in itself is a good enough reason for a massage.

To book a massage with our remedial massage therapist Helvi, head to our booking page and select ‘Helvi Topia’ as your practitioner.

How do I start and stick to my exercise plan?

10 Reasons To Get A Massage This Week

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