Staying Motivated and Consistent
Sticking to your movement habits is not easy when there’s so many things that can get in the way. Here are 3 practical tips for making movement habits stick:
Make it yours: find your WHY
Why do you want to move more? What’s important to you?
Everyone can have a different why, for example:
- Manage fatigue and other symptoms
- Get back to your favorite activities with family and friends: garden, walk, play with kids
- Get outside in nature
- Stay independent in daily life
Once you have your personal WHY, write it down and set a few simple goals.
Don’t forget to look back regularly and celebrate progress!
Make it social: build your movement TEAM
Take advantage of the support you have around you. Your team can help you stay accountable, give you personalized tips, and make physical activity way more fun!
You could:
- Tell a friend about how you’re planning to move more this week
- Plan active get togethers with family and friends
- Try out a group activity in your community
- Make a personalized plan with advice from an exercise specialist (keep an eye out for the following “top notch” qualifications: kinesiologist, clinical exercise physiologist, physiotherapist)
Make it FUN
If you can find ways to enjoy your movement, you are 100 times more likely to keep doing it!
Stick to your favorite activities or try something new to keep things interesting. Your favorites might be the ones where you don’t think about “physical activity” at all: play your favorite sport or walk and talk with friends.
That’s it – now it’s your turn! Think about your WHY, build your movement TEAM, and have FUN!
Ready to make movement part of your weekly routine?
Benefits of Physical Activity
Resources
- App ·
Loop Habit Tracker App
Free, open-source app for setting and tracking healthy habits with streaks and progress insights.
- In-person Program ·
- Online program ·
Alberta Healthy Living Program (AHLP) (*Alberta Only)
Offers free health education, exercise classes, and support for chronic conditions, including arthritis, across Alberta.
- App ·
Habitify App
Habitify is a gamified habit-tracking app that helps users build and maintain healthy routines by turning tasks into quests and rewards. It can support people with arthritis in staying consistent with movement, medication, or self-care goals in a fun and engaging way.
- App ·
Habitica App
Habitica is a free app that turns daily habits and goals into a role-playing game, where users earn rewards for completing real-life tasks. It can provide fun, motivational support for building consistent self-care, movement, and wellness routines.
- In-person Program ·
- Online program ·
GLA:D® Canada Program
An evidence-based education and exercise program for people with hip and knee osteoarthritis. Led by trained physiotherapists across Canada.
- App ·
Apple Fitness App
Apple Fitness+ is a subscription-based fitness service that offers guided workout videos across a range of activities like strength, yoga, and walking, designed to integrate with the Apple Watch. It can support people to stay active at their own pace, with options to modify movements and track progress in real time.
- App ·
Optimity App: Movement tracking and daily habits
Tracks steps, activity, and wellness habits with rewards and daily health tips. Canadian-based.
- App ·
Strava App: GPS Exercise Tracker
Popular app for tracking walking, cycling, and movement with social sharing and progress tracking.
- Online program ·
Let’s Move with Leon – Versus Arthritis (UK)
Free 12-week online movement series combining strength, flexibility, and motivation for people with arthritis.
- Website ·
Versus Arthritis Society – Physical Activity with RA
Versus Arthritis offers a wide range of support, information, and resources for individuals living with arthritis, including a helpline, online community, and local support groups. They also provide detailed information on various types of arthritis and practical guidance on staying active with RA, including pacing strategies and joint-friendly exercises.
- App ·
Garmin Connect App
Garmin Connect is a free app that syncs with Garmin wearables to track physical activity, heart rate, sleep, and more. It helps people monitor their movement patterns, set activity goals, and stay motivated with personalized insights and progress charts.
- App ·
Arthritis Tracker (Versus Arthritis) App
The Versus Arthritis Tracker is a free app designed to help young people with arthritis monitor their symptoms, mood, sleep, and medication over time. It empowers users to better understand their condition, identify patterns, and share information with healthcare professionals during appointments.
- App ·
Wokamon Walking Games App
The Wokamon app turns walking and movement into a fun game. You take care of a virtual pet that grows and thrives the more you move—earning food, outfits, and energy as you stay active. The app also tracks your distance and calories burned to help you stay motivated.
- App ·
Fitbit App
Fitbit Dashboard is a companion platform for Fitbit devices that tracks daily activity, exercise, sleep, and heart rate. It helps people monitor their health trends, set realistic movement goals, and stay engaged in their self-care routine with easy-to-read insights and progress tracking.
