Momentum has a way of making or breaking your Fitness habits.  Whether your goal is to eat healthier or exercise more, sticking to your plan gets easier with time.   The knowledge that you’ve “kept at it” for 10 days, 30 days or 90 days has a way of motivating you to keep at it for another day.

In the same way though, breaking your Streak can be devastating to your motivation.  Men’s Health reports that if a man skips a workout, there is a 62% chance that he’ll miss a session the following week.  Missing a workout or slipping up in your diet can feel defeating.  You might think “I can’t keep it up, why bother?”  This can lead to further missed workouts, which can then lead to lost fitness (or even a return to a sedentary lifestyle).

One method Runners have for sticking to their workout Schedule is maintaining “run streaks”.  These measure the consecutive days you run at least one mile.  A normal run streak really isn’t advisable to beginning runners, or even for some more experienced runners (Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall takes a day of complete rest once a week).  But the concept of keeping to your schedule, whether that is two workouts a week or seven, can help you build momentum as you seek out a lifestyle of better fitness.

That being said, everyone misses workouts sometimes.  Injury, illness, busy schedules and just plain burnout might force you to take an extra day off now and then.  Just remember that one workout will not make or break your ultimate goal – but missing several can.  There’s no hard-and-fast rule to what number of missed workouts translate into lost fitness, but I can assure that that number is not one!  If you miss a workout or slip up on your diet the best thing you can do is start it again the next day.  The longer you sit idle, the harder it will be to get moving again!

Once you’ve decided to get fit, make sure you have a plan.  And once you have plan, stick to it!  There’s nothing like a “streak” to keep you motivated for your next workout!