Fitness motivation is easy to find…at first.
When you’re first starting your health journey finding fitness motivation is easy. You’re eager to go to the gym, you’re purchasing cute gear, and you’re feeling pumped! But, flash forward a couple of months down the road and those feelings aren’t nearly as strong. And that’s normal! But to be successful on your journey you need to be able to dig deep on those hard days. One of the easiest ways to maintain fitness motivation is to be prepared for the hard days ahead of time.
First, you have to acknowledge that there will be hard times. Shake off the idea that you’re not allowed to struggle in your journey. Acknowledge that you will doubt and question yourself. But those hard times are not a reflection of your commitment to your health journey. They just are what they are, tough days.
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Don’t mistake hard times for failure.
When times get tough, a lot of people tend to give up. They ‘try their best’ but then call it quits. I can understand that line of thinking, I’ve done it myself many times before. But then I started to question why my health was the only area of my life where I allowed myself to give up. When parenting is a challenge, I don’t drop my children. Or when marriage is difficult, I don’t bail on my husband. If blogging is a struggle, I don’t say ‘ah well’ and press delete. In those areas, plus more, I have a ‘no matter what‘ attitude.
It took a long time and a lot of soul-searching to finally move myself into the ‘no matter what’ category. I talk a little bit about finding your why in this blog post.
So how do you find motivation on even the toughest of days?
8 Ways to Find Fitness Motivation:
- Start a health and fitness journal. A journal is great on so many levels! You can refer back to why you started your journey in the first place in a very tangible way. Plus, you can journal about your current struggles and let go of some of your negative emotions. Previously, I used my day calendar to track my health and fitness but that didn’t really work for me long term. So recently I’ve started a bullet-style health and fitness journal using the Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Bullet Journal in Emerald. It’s gorgeous and I love it. Tracking your progress and having something to refer back to during challenging periods is so beneficial and will keep you on track.
- Someone you can confide in. Find someone in your life (either IRL or online) who you can talk to about your struggles when you’re lacking fitness motivation. For me, this is my husband. He is the first to remind me that I’m always in a better headspace after a workout or yoga practice. And he reminds me of the hard work that I’ve already put into my journey. Find someone in your life who you can turn to during hard fitness times and who will tell you to push through.
- Put on your workout clothes. The first thing I do when I don’t really feel like going for a run is put on my running clothes. I’ve been known to occasionally wear my running gear for up to 2 hours before actually going for a run. But what you’re wearing is a big part of being in the right headspace. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get started so long as you eventually get started.
- Make a playlist. Choosing music for your workout will help bring you to the right mind-space. After picking a bunch of songs to keep you motivated, you’ll be ready to get your workout started!
- Browse one of your fav fitness blogs. Whenever I’m in need of some serious motivation I turn to some of my favorite health and fitness blogs for inspiration. Here are some of my current favorites:
- Try something new. Is your regular workout feeling a little blah? Mix it up! Sometimes just doing something new for one workout can make things fun again and give you something to look forward too. If you normally run, switch it up and jump on a bike. Try a class at a gym or jump in the pool. Fitness inspiration can happen anywhere!
It doesn’t matter how long it takes so long as it gets done.
If you need to spend the entire day building yourself up for a workout, so be it! Let it take the whole day! Just make sure before your head hits your pillow that the workout you had planned is done. Building consistent fitness motivation is about creating habits, not excuses.
Remember, at the end of the day, you’re doing this for you.
Looking for more health and fitness inspiration? Check out some of my favorite Instagram accounts.
And of course, me! @ShannonElizabethFitness
Are you struggling with your health journey? What are your biggest challenges?
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