A personal trainer on the real reason people stick with fitness
I didn’t become a personal trainer just because I loved fitness. A lot of people love fitness. What pushed me to get certified was when I started to feel like I understood what fitness really is. I grew up in gyms and played sports, but when it came to working out for general fitness and wellbeing, I didn’t know what actually worked, what didn’t, what was a fad, or what was worth paying attention to. Now, I was never totally out of shape, but I did see a pretty significant change in my body composition when I started following a routine consistently (key word!) that consisted mostly of strength training and hitting a protein goal. I was feeling happy about my time in the gym, the habits I formed, and was motivated to help others. So, I started studying for my NASM certification in Personal Training, and that's when something clicked. I realized the part of fitness that interested me most wasn’t the programming or the anatomy. It was the psychology. The adherence to a program, the motivation to show up and keep going, the question of what makes someone stick to something long enough to see real change.
Consistency is the Whole Game
There are endless ways to get in shape. You can follow a strength program, run, do Pilates, CrossFit, yoga, whatever. But the only thing that actually matters for any of them is consistency. And consistency is the one thing most people struggle with, not because they’re incapable, but because they’ve been taught the wrong mindset.
Most clients I’ve worked with fall into an all or nothing mentality. They start strong, take on way too much right away, and expect immediate gratification. When progress doesn’t show up fast enough, motivation drops. They feel discouraged, question why they’re doing it, and eventually fall off track. Then Monday becomes the reset button.
Stop Chasing Deadlines, Start Building Identity
If consistency is the golden ticket, then the real question becomes: how do we help people get there? What I’ve found is that we need to zoom way out. We need to stop thinking in 8 week programs or summer deadlines. We need to stop chasing short term intensity and start building long term identity. Consistency doesn’t come from forcing yourself through a temporary routine so you can look a certain way. It comes from creating a lifestyle that feels true to you, one you enjoy, one that supports the person you want to be.
Comparison is the Thief of Joy
This mindset shift also helps detach us from the markers that tend to derail confidence: the scale, PRs, comparison. One of my favorite quotes is “comparison is the thief of joy,” and it’s true in every corner of fitness. The moment you start measuring your progress against someone else, you lose sight of your own. You stop noticing the small wins, the ones that actually build confidence. When you’re tapping through insta stories and pass those gym selfies of 6 pack abs and your heart sinks because you feel like you’ll never get there, I challenge you to come back to that quote. Focus on your own journey and your own goals.
Habit Stacking: Small Wins Become Identity
One of the most helpful tools I’ve used personally is habit stacking, something I learned from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. When you attach a new habit to an existing one, it becomes easier to maintain. A simple example of this is when I was starting to take creatine. Creatine, much like everything else in fitness, is only beneficial with consistency. So I used habit stacking to remember to take it everyday. A routine I already had was brushing my teeth in the morning, so I put my creatine powder in the bathroom next to a glass. Then, every morning when I went to brush my teeth, I would see the creatine and take that with water before brushing. A small win for a forgetful person, but over time, those small habits start to feel like second nature. Now if we take this a step further, maybe this looks like bringing your gym clothes to work so that you can hit the gym on the way home. Maybe it's going for a 30min walk right when you wake up before starting your day to start getting more steps in. Maybe it's packing your protein powder in your gym bag to help you hit your protein goal. These are the little actions that start to become part of your identity. You’re no longer trying to get fit. You’re someone who trains.
Quiet Consistency: Showing Up Imperfectly
And training doesn’t always look perfect. In fact, most of the time it doesn’t. Quiet consistency and showing up imperfectly is what actually pays off. A few months ago, my husband and I drove seven hours home after visiting his family. These long drives usually mean gas station lunches, too much caffeine, and barely any movement. But I knew I needed to get myself to the gym, even just to do something. I had running sneakers in the car but no workout clothes. I was wearing cotton shorts, a regular bra, and a baggy t shirt. I didn’t look my best or feel my best, but I showed up anyway. I lifted for 30 minutes, broke a sweat, and left. That is quiet consistency. That is what showing up imperfectly looks like.
Do What You Can, Where You Are, With What You Have
Another quote I love, and one I repeat to myself often, is: “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” It’s the antidote to excuses. One time we were staying at my in-laws' cabin in the middle of winter. It’s cozy, peaceful, and the kind of place that makes you want to curl up with coffee and do nothing all day. And trust me, I love chilling. But there’s a difference between rest and a sedentary lifestyle, and after a few days of low activity, I knew I needed to move. The easy thing would’ve been to say that the gym was too far or the weather wasn’t great. But that quote found me. So I decided I’d complete 500 squats and 500 pushups throughout the day. Bedroom, living room, between rounds of pool, during commercial breaks. And the best part was that people joined me. It became fun! And it reinforced the lifestyle I want to be known for: someone who prioritizes physical health with balance and grace.
The Other 99%: What You Do With 168 Hours
Once you understand how important consistency is, it helps to zoom out even further. We have 168 hours in a week. If one of my clients is on a three day strength program, that’s 3 hours out of 168, about 1%. And I usually only see them in person for 1 of those 3 hours. The other 99% is where the real change happens. Exercise, nutrition, and rest are the three pillars every trainer tries to help people master, but the deeper question is how you practice them in a way that fits your actual life. How you make choices in the other 165 hours that support the person you want to be. That is the part that actually pays off.
I’m a firm believer that you make time for what matters to you. If you want meaningful change, you have to decide that fitness matters. Once you make that decision, you start seeing yourself as that person, and you make choices that support that identity.
Fall in Love With the Process
This is also where putting your blinders on becomes essential. Comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s also the thief of consistency. To make meaningful change, you have to detach from the outcome and fall in love with the process, the lifestyle, the daily habits, the community. If you give it enough time, six months, a year, that’s where meaningful change happens. That’s when you start noticing progress you can feel AND see. Lifting something that used to feel heavy. Definition in new places. Hitting a new run threshold. Showing up on a day you normally wouldn’t.
It’s funny talking about getting away from short term programs when, as a trainer, that’s a lot of what I do. Programs are helpful! They give structure, build strength, but they’re only 3-5 hours a week. Real change happens in the other 160ish hours. That’s why the psychology piece matters so much to me. My job isn’t just to build a program. It’s to help someone fall in love with a lifestyle that supports who they want to be.
That is what actually pays off.
Author Bio:
Sammy Varney is a NASM‑certified fitness coach, former two‑sport college athlete, and movement enthusiast based in Boston. After years of finding joy through team sports, she now helps people reconnect with movement in ways that feel powerful and sustainable. Sammy blends her athletic background with a coaching style rooted in confidence, consistency, and emotional well‑being - reminding people that movement isn’t just about performance, it’s about feeling good in your body and your life. When she’s not coaching, Sammy can be found lifting, cycling, training for some sort of event, surfing, hiking, rollerblading, or picking up a new hobby. She loves traveling, working with her hands, sharing good meals with friends, going to the movie theater, and most importantly, a sweet treat.
