Many women over 40 face unique challenges when maintaining a fitness routine. These challenges range from motivation and accountability to time constraints.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much advice on facing these unique challenges, so in this blog, we’ll address these obstacles and help you understand how to overcome them.
My goal is to empower women to take charge of their health and fitness journey, but you may struggle to do so if you don’t understand how to overcome these challenges.
So let’s get started!...
Here are 4 huge obstacles that woman over 40 have to overcome to achieve their fitness goals!
Motivation: Finding Your Why
Staying motivated can be one of the biggest hurdles in maintaining a fitness routine. Without a strong sense of purpose and understanding “WHY” you want to get fitter and boost your overall well-being, it’s easy to lose interest or prioritize other aspects of life over fitness.
Staying motivated can be difficult, especially when you’re juggling familiar, career, and personal time. Here are some actionable steps…
Set Clear Goals: Your goals should have personal significance to keep you driven, having a clear meaningful reason will help you sustain your motivation.
SMART Goals: Your goals MUST be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, this strategic approach can ensure you stay focused and motivated
Track Your Progress: Keep a record of any positive changes in your fitness journey and review your progress regularly, celebrate your progress along the way as this will give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated.
Consistency: Making Fitness a Habit
The second common challenge that woman over 40 face with their fitness journey is struggling with their consistency, this is the cornerstone of any successful fitness program. Without regular exercise, it’s challenging to make progress or maintain it.
However, with a busy schedule, it can be difficult to maintain consistency. Here is some actionable advice to improve your consistency…
Schedule Workouts: By prioritizing your workouts, and scheduling them as a non-negotiable part of your day, you’ll be more likely to do them
Accountability: Find somebody who you can workout with so it’s more enjoyable, plus they can keep you accountable. I would be happy to keep you accountable myself, DM me on Instagram and we can discuss your current fitness level!
Morning Workouts: Consider working out in the morning so you avoid the risk of procrastination later in the day, in case your busy schedule gets in the way later on.
Time Constraints: Efficient Workouts
While having a busy lifestyle, finding the time for exercise and fitness can be very difficult. However, effective workouts don't always require long hours in the gym. You can achieve similar results by shorter effective workouts wherever you please, rather than committing yourself to long workouts in the gym, plus the commute!
Here’s what I recommend you implement into your fitness journey to overcome your obstacle of time constraints:
Micro Workouts: High-intensity workouts throughout your day are a game changer… Implement short, high-intensity training into your fitness journey to find time for your fitness, while getting quick results!
Combine Activities: Combine normal activities with fitness, for example squatting while watching TV, or walking during phone calls. This way you can stay active and improve your fitness while making the most of your time
Quality Over Quantity: Tailor your workouts to your specific goals, and recognize that some exercise is better than none! Focus on the quality of your workouts rather than the length. Short, intense workouts can be VERY effective!
Mental Health: Maintaining a Positive Mindset
Lastly, a huge obstacle that women over 40 have to overcome is maintaining a positive mindset throughout their fitness journey. Mental and Physical Health are crucial for our overall well-being, they should NEVER be neglected!
Mental health struggles can affect motivation and consistency, so here’s what I recommend you do to overcome this.
Support Systems: Having connections with like-minded individuals who have similar goals as you can offer advice, encouragement, and support. They can motivate you and keep you accountable too.
I would love to connect with you if you need any extra support, my inbox on Instagram is always open so DM me!
Mindfulness and Meditation: I recommend incorporating Mindfulness or Meditation practices to reduce stress. Techniques such as deep breathing can be beneficial.
Conclusion
Successfully overcoming these obstacles will allow you to achieve and maintain a sustainable fitness journey that you feel motivated for and enjoy. Overcoming these obstacles will also have profound effects on your overall well-being and quality of life.
Once you overcome these obstacles you can expect improvements in your mental health, confidence, physical health, your motivation, and accountability.
You should now have alot more clarity with your fitness journey, and have much more confidence, knowing you can come back to this blog for its actionable advice if you face any of these obstacles.
However, if you need any other extra support I’m always here for you.
Your Next Steps
Here’s what I recommend your next steps should be:
If you’re beginning your fitness journey (click here) for our free 12-day fitness challenge where I offer support, encouragement, and advice along the way.
If you need extra support, guidance, or encouragement, or have any questions, (click here) to connect with me and book your free fitness consultation!
If you’re a little further in your fitness journey (click here) and sign up for my membership
A Little About Me
My name is Deb, I’ve been passionate about fitness and self-care for over 35 years now and I believe I’ve lived a much better life because I’ve prioritized it.
From my love for running which evolved into conquering half and full marathons and weight training I’ve prioritized self-care for the majority part of my life, and I’ve felt constantly amazing because of it. Now I want the same for you too!
My goal is to empower busy women over 40 to take charge of their health and fitness, boost their self-confidence, and feel constantly amazing.
So if this resonates with you connect with me on Instagram @IDG.Fitness and we can ignite your fitness journey together. We have options for every level of physical ability and fitness, I promise you we can find the best fit for you.
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