Moves with Abbie PT – Female Personal Trainer Gloucestershire

Building a healthy lifestyle is less about huge leaps and more about small, intentional steps repeated consistently. It’s the quiet discipline of showing up—day after day, week after week—that truly transforms your fitness journey and leads to feeling so much better in yourself, physically, mentally and emotionally!

However, when you are wanting to make a change in your life, whether that is to try and be consciously that bit healthier, stronger, fitter, calmer, etc., it can feel overwhelming. You’re not too sure where to start, and you think you have to change everything all at once for it to start making the impact you feel it should be. Sound relatable?

Initially, you may find this can work. However, believe me, it is not sustainable. This approach can lead into the ‘all or nothing’ territory, whereby you may have one ‘bad’ day where you haven’t be able to stick to all the changes you are trying to make, and it gets too much and you give up.

The challenge then, comes from changing your mindset. You don’t need to be 100% on it all the time to make progress – doesn’t sound right though does it? But how is being 100% on it all the time sustainable? Well it isn’t!

This is where the power of focusing on one or two small steps, consistently, can become such a powerful tool!

Consistency, by definition, is about repeating actions until they become second nature. Absolutely, it can feel repetitive at times, sometimes even boring. But that’s the beauty of it. What begins as effort eventually becomes habit, and those habits form the foundation of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Without consistency, even the best intentions stall, and progress feels out of reach.

Small steps could be as simple as committing to a single daily change:

• Getting out for a walk after work
• Squeezing in a quick 20-30 minute workout a couple of times a week
• Having at least one piece of fruit or vegetable to your meals
• Having some form of protein with every meal
• Aiming to do 5 minutes of breathwork during the day
• Journaling at bedtime to reflect and reset

Any of these small actions or anything else that is more applicable to you, might seem insignificant in the moment, but when repeated day after day, allows consistency to really build up over time. This helps to create that momentum that leads to them becoming unconscious decisions that will then truly have such a huge positive effect on your whole overall health and wellbeing!

As you can see, the power of small steps is more powerful then you can imagine! It is easy to think that little efforts are not enough, but the truth is, doing a little is actually doing a lot. Forward progress, no matter the pace, builds over time. There may be set backs, as life can get in the way at times, but that’s normal. Sometimes it can feel like two steps forward, and one back. But you know what, that is still moving forward!

However, the real test of your strength, determination and dedication to yourself comes, when life throws curveballs or slight set backs. For example, maybe you haven’t been able to get that last workout in that week, or emotions have got the better of you and you’ve reached for some chocolate. But, you know what, that’s okay. Like I’ve mentioned above, we can’t be on it 100% on it every single day. Don’t beat yourself up about it, as in actual fact you may have still been 90% on it! The strength comes from not giving up, knowing that tomorrow is a fresh day, you have that compassion for yourself and you are able to pick up and continue the routine you are creating for yourself.

And that is the essence of consistency—it’s not about perfection or speed, it is the persistence of showing up, each day, giving it your best and trusting the process. Because every step, no matter how small, is leading somewhere meaningful. Celebrate those small wins and victories, because they will help keep that motivation high and keep you moving forward!

Tips for helping to stay consistent:

• Set realistic goals: Start with those small little changes that are manageable and sustainable. Only once they feel habitual and repeated unconsciously, do you then start to focus on changing and improving another small aspect.
• Plan & track: Use your diary to schedule in workouts to help keep you accountable. Plan and prepare your meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) so you are not only buying just what you need, it also helps you stop choosing the quick ‘grab and go’ options. Track your workouts to help see progress and use journals to monitor habits.
• Pictures: Take progress photos of yourself, photograph meals you are proud of, as they are constant reminders of those small wins and allow you to reflect at different points as to where you were, to how far you’ve come to be where you are now!
• Support: Get the support of your family, friends behind you, or get them also involved, to help improve their health and wellbeing. This can be so helpful when motivation may dip. Look to invest in a Personal Trainer, who will fully support you to create and sustain your goals, which can really help with accountability. Join social groups as being around like-minded individuals can help it feel like a group effort and you’re not feeling alone in your journey.
• Forgive yourself: Consistency is about persistence, not perfection. So if there are days you may feel you’re not on it, or you feel you’ve slipped-up, don’t be harsh on yourself, forgive yourself and start a fresh the next day.
• Enjoy: Find pleasure and joy in the little things, such as choosing activities and foods you genuinely enjoy (obviously within reason!), and celebrating all those little milestones along the way!

Summary:

Ultimately, consistency bridges the gap between short-term effort and lifelong health. It transforms small, daily actions into meaningful, sustainable change. As I’ve mentioned above, it’s not about perfection or speed but about consistently showing up and trusting the process. Because every step, no matter how small, is leading somewhere meaningful. So, celebrate those small wins and victories, because they will help you continue moving forward!

If you feel you need some guidance, support, motivation, accountability, or just don’t know where to start, fill in the form below and I will get back to you to book in a FREE consultation call!