Less than 5 percent of adults get 30 minutes of physical activity per day, and only one-third of adults get the recommended amount of physical activity each week.

Did you set a new year’s resolution to stick to a workout program? Are you having a hard time finding one that works with your schedule and is easy for you to adhere to? If so, keep reading.

Listed below are some tips that will help you create a workout routine that works for you and helps you achieve your fitness goals.

Review Your Goals

Before you start putting together a workout plan for yourself, take a step back and think about what you want to accomplish by exercising regularly.

Are you interested in losing weight? Do you need help gaining muscle? Do you have health-related goals like lowering blood pressure or improving insulin sensitivity?

Knowing what you want to accomplish will help you decide what kinds of workouts you should be doing. For example, lifting weights will be important if you’re trying to gain muscle. However, cardiovascular exercise will be beneficial to those trying to improve their endurance.

Assess Your Schedule

Next, take a look at your schedule. How many times per week, realistically, can you exercise?

It’s okay if you can’t fit in a workout every single day. Even 2 or 3 workouts per week are better than no workouts at all.

Identify the days that are easiest for you to squeeze in exercise. Then, block some time off (30-60 minutes is great) to dedicate to working out. Be sure to also leave room in your scheduling for showering, eating a post-workout snack, etc.

Consider Your Preferences

It’s a lot easier to exercise consistently if you are doing activities that you enjoy.

If you hate running, don’t force yourself to run 5 times per week. Go for walks or bike rides instead.

If you hate yoga, don’t do it. Try pilates or kickboxing instead.

At the end of the day, any type of movement is better than no movement at all. This is especially true when you’re just getting started with exercising or are returning after a long break.

Get Some Equipment

If you’re not a member of a gym, you may want to invest in a few pieces of exercise equipment. You don’t need to splurge on a full home gym, but buying some adjustable dumbbells or resistance bands can help you to add more variety to your workouts and get more out of them over time.

Choose Your Exercises

Now that you have time blocked off and have a better idea of what kinds of exercise you want to do, your next job is to plan your workouts.

This might mean making a list of the exercises (plus the number of reps and sets) you want to do during each training session. You may also want to search online for exercise videos that you want to follow along with. Copy the links and put them in an easy-to-find place so you can just click and go when the time comes to work out.

Start Small

When you’re putting together your workout schedule and planning your workout routines, remember to start small. It’s better to start with just a couple of short workouts per week, rather than trying to bite off too much, too soon.

When you take this approach, you’re less likely to get burned out and will have an easier time sticking with your workouts long-term. This will help you to reach your health and fitness goals and see better, more sustainable results.

Set a Reminder

It’s great that you’ve taken the time to put together an effective workout routine, but if you get so wrapped up in work or other projects that you miss your scheduled exercise time, it’s not going to do much good, is it?

Set alarms or reminders on your phone or computer to help you remember to exercise.

Eventually, working out will become such a significant part of your routine that you won’t need any reminders. Until then, though, use the alarms as an extra precaution.

Find an Accountability Partner

If you need some additional help staying consistent with your workouts, consider finding an accountability partner. Look for a friend or family member who also needs some extra motivation to work out and invite them to join you in your fitness plan. You two can check in with each other and give each other the push you need to fit in workouts, even when you’re busy or feeling stressed.

Reward Yourself

It’s much easier to stick to a workout schedule if you reward yourself for the small milestones you hit along the way to your big health and fitness goals. For example, perhaps you can buy yourself some new workout clothes or treat yourself to a manicure when you lose a certain amount of weight or hit a specific number of workouts in a row.

Don’t Let Setbacks Get You Down

No matter how careful you are about planning your workouts, there will be times when you miss a day or don’t see the results you’re hoping to see. Don’t let these setbacks get you down.

As you learn more about health and fitness, you’ll realize that the key to making progress is to be consistent. You can miss workouts every once in a while without hindering your results. As long as you’re on track the majority of the time, though, you’re moving in the right direction.

Time to Create a Workout Routine That Works!

If you have a hard time trying to schedule a workout or fit in your home workouts regularly, it might be time to change the way you’ve been approaching exercise. Follow the steps outlined above so you can create a workout routine that works for you and helps you see the results you’re looking for.

Do you need more exercise advice? Check out some of the other fitness-related articles on our site today.