Need some motivation when it comes to working out? We've got you covered with the 5 simple and effective workout motivation tips!
Over the years, I’ve struggled to be consistent with exercise. In college, I’d go to the gym consistently for like a month and then stop. Or I’d commit to a yoga practice and again, stop.
I think it’s something a lot of us deal with. And this was one of the biggest struggles I discovered my annual survey last year.
And I totally get it. Exercise isn’t typically that fun, especially if we haven’t don it for a while. It’s hard, it takes work and our body will almost always take the easy way out. Our body wants to conserve energy, not burn it all off, but the beautiful thing about exercise is the more you do it, the better you feel.
I’m sure you know the health benefits of exercising, so today we’re not going to walk through why you should be moving your body. Instead, I’m going to share some tips that will hopefully give you some ways to stay more motivated when it comes to exercise.
1. Identify Your Why.
I’ve talked about this concept before in terms of changing your diet, but understanding and identifying your why plays a huge role in exercise. Your “why” is your driver. It’s that thing that makes you want to exercise. It’s really the main thing that makes you motivated.
But the thing about your why is that it needs to be deep. It can’t just be something like, “I want to get skinny.” Sure, that’s a great goal, but that isn’t necessarily going to keep you going to the gym. So try and think of the true reason that you’re wanting to go to the gym. Something that touches your core. I know that sounds silly, but when you’ve got that, that is going to keep you going back over and over again.
2. Set Mini Goals.
We all feel good when we hit a goal. It makes use feel excited, proud, and more motivated to keep going. But so many of us set these huge goals that are difficult to reach. Like losing 20 pounds. That's HARD WORK. And it's going to take a while to get there.
So rather than only relying on your BIG goal, set some mini goals for yourself that will keep you going in the short term. I like to set goals for every single week. And really they can look like whatever you want!
Here are some ideas if you're feeling stuck:
- Go to a workout class/the gym 4 times this week
- Lose one pound this week
- Increase the weight I'm lifting to by 2 pounds
- Run .5 extra miles
- Hold plank for 30 seconds longer
- Run for 30 minutes without stopping
You get the idea. These are small, attainable goals that should feel like “quick wins”. The more you check off on your virtual goal list, the more progress you're going to feel like you're making. Which in turn will keep you motivated to keep going AND will be getting you closer and closer to that big goal.
3. Find something you love ♡
I can't stress how important this point is for motivation. You NEED to find something that you truly enjoy or it's most likely never ever going to be a long-term solution for you.
If you hate running, don't run and try spinning instead. If you hate going to the gym, workout out in your living room or try group fitness. Just because a certain type of movement says it's the best way to lose weight or get fit, that doesn't mean you have to do it.
Finding something you love is going to actually make movement fun. And when something is fun, you're more likely to stick with it.
For me, it's a blend of all types of things. I love walking outside, I love spin classes at Soul Cycle, I love yoga and I love strength training at home. The variety is what keeps me going, but it's also the fact that I truly enjoy each type of exercise individually.
It's my belief that exercise shouldn't feel like torture. It should be challenging sometimes, but it should also be enjoyable. It should never be punishment. So find something you love and meet your body where it's at (even if that means starting by walking instead of jogging), and remain consistent. The more consistent you are, the more progress you'll make!
4. Stay accountable
This can be one of the most challenging parts of consistently working out. If you don't have something that is keeping you accountable, you're much less likely to follow through.
How do you find accountability?
The best thing I've come up with is finding a friend or partner to share my goals with. You might need to physically ask them to help you stay on track – a good friend (or partner) will be there for you to lend that helping hand. If that's not an option, think about joining a Facebook group or club. Or even see if there are people in your community looking to do the same thing you are. It doesn't have to be your best friend, nor does it have to be someone that you actually go to the gym with. Just having someone to tell your goals to, share your struggles and wins with, will help you follow through.
5. Celebrate the non-scale victories
Sure it can feel awesome to see that number on the scale go down, but it's SUPER important to remember that that number on the scale isn't the whole picture.
Rather than focusing, and relying entirely on that number, celebrate the non-scale wins. Like waking up with more energy. Seeing your skin glow. Feeling more confident in that swimsuit (or tank top/shorts/dress/whatever). Having your jeans fit better.
These victories are actually showing you the REAL progress you're making. It's showing you that your body is changing and you're feeling GOOD. So focus on those victories and celebrate the heck out of them!
Your turn…
How do you stay motivated to move your body and exercise? Got any tips that we didn't include? Feel free to share them with all of us in the comments below!
xo A
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