As dull and repetitive as routines may sound to some people, they offer tremendous benefits. Although the brain makes up only about two percent of our body weight, it consumes nearly 20 percent of our total energy expenditure. A real energy drain.
Fortunately, nature has a solution: routines. They help us focus on what truly matters and streamline our thinking. When we engage in repeated behaviors, our brain releases reward chemicals in response. When certain actions become automatic, the brain is free to direct its attention to new challenges. In this way, we save time—and, more importantly, energy. That’s especially valuable because it helps protect us from stress.
Routines are also essential when it comes to integrating physical activity and exercise into everyday life.
How to Build a Training Routine
When physical activity becomes part of your daily routine, it benefits your body, mind, and overall well-being. Even low-intensity activity has positive effects on health—and the more consistently you engage in it, the better.
To develop a routine and integrate it sustainably into your life, new neural pathways must form in the brain. That requires three things: patience, time, and persistence. Here’s how to get started.
Convince Yourself First
The first step is becoming aware of the benefits of a movement routine. Psychologists know that routines and habits play an especially important role during stressful times—they help protect us from unhealthy behaviors.
Healthy habits—such as making exercise a fixed part of your schedule—must be learned. The foundation of your routine begins with personal conviction. Why are you doing this? Why does it matter to you? When you understand the deeper reason behind your actions, motivation follows—and motivation drives change.
Set Clear Goals
Motivation alone isn’t enough if you don’t know where to direct it. That’s why setting a specific goal is crucial. Do you want to lose weight, build muscle, maintain fitness, or simply move more in daily life? The more precise your goal, the better. Vague or undefined goals increase the likelihood of giving up.
Schedule Movement Like an Appointment
That may sound intimidating—but don’t worry, this isn’t about Outlook invites or Zoom meetings. The key is deciding how often you want to train each week, based on your goal.
To build a sustainable routine, you should schedule fixed “appointments” for your workouts—and treat them as non-negotiable.
If you plan to exercise three times per week, consider how those sessions fit into your daily schedule. When do you work? Does morning or evening training suit you better? You may need to decide whether getting up earlier is realistic. If mornings leave you feeling exhausted and unmotivated, an evening workout may be the better choice.
Ultimately, personal feasibility matters more than any scientific debate about whether morning or evening exercise is more effective. One thing is certain: the longer you maintain a routine, the more firmly it becomes embedded in your daily life. Set clear priorities and visualize your goal. Remind yourself regularly of the benefits. Starting is often the hardest part—but once you experience your first successes, your internal drive grows. Over time, you may find that you no longer want to miss your regular workouts.
Take Breaks
When planning your routine, don’t forget the essential phase of recovery. One important truth: it’s not the workout itself that makes you stronger. During physical exertion, the opposite initially occurs.
Your muscles are stressed and, during more intense sessions, even slightly damaged. Performance temporarily decreases. The real progress happens during recovery. The key lies in balancing effort and rest.
Small Steps, Big Impact
A sustainable routine doesn’t develop overnight. It grows through conscious decisions and consistent repetition. It’s not about perfection—it’s about staying committed and gradually integrating movement into your everyday life.
Be patient with yourself and find a rhythm that fits your lifestyle—including proper recovery. Over time, deliberate effort turns into an automatic habit—one that strengthens you physically and mentally and supports you in the long term.
Further information on this topic can be found here:
Singh, B., Murphy, A., Maher, C., & Smith, A. E. (2024). time to form a habit: A systematic review and meta-analysis of health behaviour habit formation and its determinants. Healthcare, 12(23), 2488. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12232488
Hawlader, M.D.H., Mozid, NE., Sharmin, S. et al. (2023) The art of forming habits: applying habit theory in changing physical activity behaviour. Journal of Public Health 31, 2045–2057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-022-01766-4
Feil, K., Allion, S., Weyland, S., & Jekauc, D. (2021). A systematic review examining the relationship between habit and physical activity behavior in longitudinal studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 626750. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.626750