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Regaining Workout Motivation
Workout Motivation - Have You Lost It?
Having Trouble With Your Workout Motivation? If So, Read This Post
We are a little ways removed from the new year when people set goals to get in shape. By now your workout motivation will have been tested I believe. Being consistent and showing up day in and day out to exercise does take a lot of will power. Your workout motivation is also something that can be easily dismantled depending on your lifestyle. I have been there more than once. A few years ago I stopped working out completely for 6 months. The reasons behind it differ, but I had zero workout motivation for that time frame. So the question is, if you lost your workout motivation how do you get it back? How do you create a strong enough foundation to never reach total workout motivation burn out? I will address these questions and others in this post. You are not alone if you have lost all workout motivation.
Your Workout Motivation Is Dependent On Your Foundation
Working out on a regular basis for years on end comes down to the foundation you built in the first place when you started to workout. Over the years our lives change, we get new jobs, meet new people, and so on. But if you solidified a solid foundation in the very onset of working out on a regular basis, it would guide you through the changes in life. But most don’t, I didn’t and I had to work to establish a foundation for my workout motivation that would be unwavering during the changes of life. Establishing your fitness foundation is another post in itself, I just wanted to state that it is critical for your fitness success and momentum. This post is more geared to using techniques when you are in total workout motivation despair, as I was a few years back. So read below for 5 key techniques to use when you are workout motivation burnout.
5 Key Techniques To Use To Rekindle Your Workout Motivation
Key #1 – Focus on Specific Behaviors
Many times when people are in workout motivation burnout they focus on the big picture rather than focusing on specific behaviors. If you adjust your mindset to focus on specific behaviors, such as eating better foods for more energy, it is a lot less taxing on you.
Key #2 – Focus On The Bright Spots
When you have zero motivation to workout, focusing on that zero motivation will with out a doubt keep you unmotivated. Focus on the bright spots rather than the dark spots. Focus on when you were working out, how it made you feel, the experience of it.
[I have watched this video many times, Will Smith has many pearls of wisdom in it. I highly recommend you take the time to watch this, it will motivate you.]
Key #3- The 5 Minute Rule
Set a timer for 5 minutes. Workout for those 5 minutes and when the timer is up, stop. I have done this many times and every time, I never stop at the 5 minute mark because once I get moving, it feels good.
Key #4 – Change Your Environment
Make changes to your environment that set you up for success to workout. Eliminate excuses, set your workout clothes out for each day, pack your gym bag and put it at your front door are some examples.
Key #5 – Build New Habits
Set “action triggers” to build new habits. For example, decide then when you get to a certain traffic light, or right off of work or school that you are heading either heading home or to the gym to workout.
Another important element to rekindling your workout motivation is to do something you like. That was my downfall. I knew I had to workout, but I grew tried of doing the same thing. It is when I found periodization training that I found out what I really liked to do for my fitness regimen. Trying to force yourself to workout and hating every moment of it never works, take it from my experience.
In the end, regaining your workout motivation takes effort, drive, and a will to change. For some it could be a bad trip to your check up with your doctor, or how your clothes are fitting. There are moments that spark frustration or even disgust with ourselves in how we look and feel. Instead of that winning over your emotions, focus on the bright spots instead. Your workout motivation starts with a willingness to change.
