6 Tips When You’re Struggling to Stay Motivated

We’ve reached the time of year when it’s hard to stay in the game. Our schedules are full with holiday preparations and sometimes one of the first things to get cut out of the schedule is our fitness. If only we knew how much we’re shooting ourselves in the foot by pushing the pause button on our own self care. That means we’re going to have to start again, and starting is much harder than continuing. 

Here are a few ways to stay motivated and push through, even when you really don’t feel like it. 

Change It Up

Sometimes we just need to freshen things up a little. If you have been doing the same thing for far too long, maybe it’s time to try something new. Or even just change your routine up to make it exciting again. Not only will it become fun again, it’s a plus for your body to hit things a little differently. Your body does a good job of adapting, and switching it up will keep it from getting stale and will engage different muscles making it feel new again.

Team Up With Friends

There’s something about teaming up with a friend that keeps you from canceling. It’s so much easier to cancel on ourselves, but most of us will not cancel on a friend. Find a friend who either has similar goals as you or who is more in shape than you and go for it. Push each other past what you think your limits are and you’ll find yourself looking forward to the next workout. 

Reward Yourself

Sometimes we need more of a reward than the 6 pack abs or quad sweep that we’ve set as our end goal. Maybe you’ve been eyeing a new halter tank, or a sweet pair of shoes. Instead of waiting months upon months for your end goal, set a small goal of consistently working out for a certain amount of time and then reward yourself for sticking with it. 

Join A Class

If you’ve been used to going it alone, it might be a good time to try a class. There is a class out there for everything right now so finding one that fits your needs and preferences shouldn’t be too difficult. There’s something about paying for a class ahead of time and having a specific start time that makes people show up. And when you’ve got other people in the class with you, you’re more likely to push yourself harder. 

Hire A Trainer

If you’re really serious about staying committed and reaching your goals, hiring a trainer is a great way to do that. A personal trainer is going to push you harder than you’ll push yourself,  they’ll see where your form is lacking and where your weaknesses are and help you overcome them. They want you to win, and they’ll help keep you motivated and learning new things. The money is well worth it if you’re serious about your training and your goals. 

Start A Fitness Journal 

Writing things down and having a record you can look back on is a great way to keep you motivated. There’s a plethora of things you can track, from diet and hydration to reps and sets. Sometimes it’s hard to keep all your numbers in your head and seeing the weight you push move up in your journal can be incredibly motivating. Write your goals down with some of them easily attainable and others that look impossible. Marking the small ones off will give you the boost to keep going, and before you know it you’ll look back and realize those impossible goals are now your attainable goals. 

Sometimes staying motivated is just not possible, and when that happens you have to fall back on discipline. Discipline will carry you through the days when motivation stays in bed and refuses to move. Making it a part of your daily routine and doing it whether you feel like it or not is necessary at times until the motivation decides to show its face again. 

Whatever you do, just don’t quit. Quitting means you have to start again, and that’s going to require much more motivation than it does to just keep going. Starting over is always harder, so find the thing that keeps you in the game and do it every day until it doesn’t work and then find something new to keep you moving forward.