At a glance

Building new routines and habits are what lead to results for athletes. When athletes are committed to their wellness routines, they reach their goals faster and are present in the gym more frequently. When their routine starts to slip, so do their workouts. 

We’ve broken down how to create a new wellness routine into effective five steps to help you help your members in creating new health and fitness routines that will last. We will also go over our favorite tips and tricks for setting them up for success including supplements, nutrition education, and more!

Step 1 - Choose your Most Important Goal and Make a Plan

Are members looking to commit to more workouts on a weekly basis? Do they want to focus on their nutrition? Maybe they want to work on getting the most out of their workout to reach a new goal?

Encouraging them to determine what’s most important first is essential for prioritizing this and building a routine around it that makes sense.

For instance, if a member wants to fit into their old favorite pair of jeans, determine what’s a priority to get there. Maybe this means adding one extra workout on a weekly basis, or lowering their processed carbohydrate and sugar intake to promote fat loss, or maybe it’s shifting the focus on workouts to be less strength-focused and more cardiovascular-focused to boost metabolism levels. It can be a combination of all these options, but the important factor is that the specific action steps are aligned with reaching this particular goal. 

Step 2 - Set Small Milestone Goals

Oftentimes we set big goals without walking through the steps it will take to get there. Encourage athletes to work backwards from their goal and ask, “what happens before this?” 

For example, if the goal is to get their first pull up, it means they will need to build their strength and technique, and practice regularly. Remember to think of all goals as progressions and meet your athletes where they are currently at. This will help them create a realistic roadmap for achieving their goals without feeling like they have failed on day one. 

If we go back to your member that wants to fit into their old favorite pair of jeans, the milestones might look something like this:  Learn about processed sugars and where to find them, as well as how to read nutrition labels  Create a grocery list that can easily be modified weekly to include healthy produce options that follow their guidelines for added sugar intake  Schedule time every Sunday to go shopping and do food prep  Do this every Sunday for one month, then weigh, measure and re-try on jeans to assess progress.

Step 3 - Equip Your Members with the Right Tools and Resources

Adding supplements into new routines can make athletes’ lives easier, as they can become a built-in part of their routine to help them reach their goals more efficiently. Be sure to offer your members high quality, clean supplements they can trust for not just their performance, but their overall wellness too.

For our example of fitting into the jeans, there might be some learning (and unlearning) around quality food sources that takes place to help reach this goal. It will also mean being prepared to make decisions that align with their goals even while eating out, ordering takeout, and treating themselves along the way.

Step 4 - Track Progress Over Time

The same concept can be applied for someone looking to get into their old jeans. Using a calendar to track days without added sugar or daily weight/circumference measurements can help with seeing gradual progress over time.

Step 5 - Create a Reward System

Set time durations to work on these new routines and create a reward for sticking with it. The reward should align with the overall goal to keep moving in the right direction. For instance if the routine is to go to the gym three days a week for a month, the reward might be a new pair of shoes to wear to the gym.

When it comes to hitting goals for fitting into those favorite jeans, maybe it means a special treat meal or buying another clothing item based on where they are at with their weight currently to help them feel good in their clothes. It might also mean trying a fancy restaurant that has locally sourced ingredients that still aligns with helping them reach their goals after a month of working towards them.

Starting a New Wellness Routine

And there you have it! Keep these 5 steps in mind when working with your members on their new routines. And if you need help with coaching, education, or simply running your fitness business, feel free to contact us today to see how we can help!