Create Your “School Is Back” Exercise Routine

The kids are back in school. This means parents like you are establishing a new routine. And you are doing your best to include exercise in that routine. If you’re like most parents, you aren’t aiming for transformation; you want consistency. In our experience guiding thousands of members (mostly families), we have discovered these three important steps to building a consistent exercise routine.

Tent-Pole Days

If you exercise on Monday, you are FAR more likely to show up to the gym on other days of the week. This functions as a tent-pole day: it is the day the rest of the week rests on.

• Find a window of time you can exercise every Monday (or another day early in the week) and mark it in your calendar.
• Choose a group exercise class, training session, or activity (like Pickleball or basketball) to attend within that window. It is much easier to show up when others will be there to welcome you.

You do not have to start building your routine by planning out everyday of the week. Just start with one day.

Tell Someone

You don’t have to commit to climbing Mount Hood or rowing across the Pacific to share your goals with others. Even relatively small goals are worth sharing. By tell someone about your plans to build an exercise routine, you make your intentions real. You also invite someone you care about to encourage you, to check on your progress, to keep you accountable.

It can be as simple as a text:

Hey! Just wanted to you to know: I’m going to start exercising more often. Right now, I’m committing to 4-5x a week. Feel free to check on how I’m doing.

Ask for Help

Sticking to an exercise routine is hard. At Courthouse, we do our best to make it simple and fun. We also provide free guidance from a Coach to all of our members. Coaches can recommend classes, offer lifestyle guidance, and are consistently in the Clubs to provide encouragement and accountability.

Even if you have met with a Coach before, take the transitional back-to-school season to establish a new routine, try a new class, and set new goals.