Experts say that it takes approximately 21 days to form a habit. With this thinking, if you can keep up your routine of going to the gym for just three weeks, it will be much easier to continue going in the future. Here are some tips to help you get started building your routine:

1. Try to Make it a Morning Routine

Getting up early can be hard, but a morning workout is a great way to get the day started. People who work out in the morning regularly report a higher level of energy throughout the day. By getting up earlier, you’re also making the time for a workout rather than trying to carve out a time later in the day that you would usually spend relaxing. At 6 a.m., the only thing your workout routine has to compete with is sleep which is a hard contender but at least it’s just one thing. In the evenings you have friends, family, hobbies, and errands to run, all jostling to get done in the limited time you have between coming home from work and going to sleep. If morning’s don’t work, that’s fine but for beginners, it can be a good place to start building a routine.

2. Have Your Bag Packed

When you’re laying in bed in the morning, searching for any excuse not to get up and go to the gym, the annoyance of having to gather together everything you need for the gym is a very easy way out. Don’t let yourself do that! Pack your bag the night before. If you can, take the time to organize your things for work or school the night before even if you don’t plan on going to the gym. This habit of organization is a good one and will strengthen the gym routine you’re trying to build.

3. Start With a 2-2-2

Plan your week or workouts by the rule of thumb: two days of cardio, two days of strength and two days of rest. You notice that plan is short of a full week by one day. This last day is flexible depending on your fitness goals. Use that day for cardio if you’re aiming to lose weight and strength if you want to build muscle. On weeks when you’re feeling unmotivated, use it as a day to do a workout that you find fun, even if it’s not something you need to improve. Do an hour of yoga, play some racquetball, or sit in the gym sauna for a while, to name a few.

4. Don’t Let One Bad Week Stop You

Sometimes life will get in the way. Sickness, family emergencies, stressful times at work, broken down vehicles and a hundred other things can get in the way of your perfectly constructed gym plan. The most important thing is that you keep going. Even if you’ve missed three weeks in a row or three months in a row. Even if you think you won’t be able to keep it up, every workout makes a difference not only to your health but to your self-esteem. Don’t let one (or two, or three, or fifteen) slip-ups keep you down.