We know that exercise is good for us, and we can admit that we feel better- in body and mind- when we exercise regularly. But sometimes, it’s just tough to stay motivated. Today I’m going to share 4 ways to help you keep motivated to workout.  But first, there’s a few mindset shifts to consider.

1. You’re not always going to be inspired and motivated to workout. That’s life. And the sooner you accept that, and adopt the ‘do it anyway’ approach instead of wasting precious thought energy on wishing it were easier, or debating whether or not you’re going to skip your workout or not, the sooner your workout will be done, and the sooner you can feel proud of yourself.
2. You don’t have to love it to get results. Sure, in a perfect world you’d love exercise. But maybe you don’t- and you can still reap the benefits. One client compared it to housework: she didn’t love doing laundry, but she loved having clean clothes. And for her, this mindset shift took off the pressure of needing to love it. In turn, she started to enjoy her workouts. Heck, she even started running on her own. Even if you don’t always have joy in the process, you can focus on the joy of the results- whether it’s weight loss, more energy, or a better mood.
3. If you want to enjoy your workouts more, stop staying “I have to work out” or “I should go work out” or “I need to go work out”, although a need sometimes is there if you need to reduce stress or that sort of thing. When we say those words “I have to work out” it takes away the power of your choice and it feels like someone is forcing you to go do it.You can change your language from “have to” to “I get to” or even “I want to”. And when you think about that “I get to work out” it really creates this attitude of being grateful that we have the ability, we have the resources to go move our bodies for the sake of keeping ourselves fit.

 

Let’s get into my 4 tips to keeping you motivated to workout and to make fitness a little more fun!

1. Make it social. Whenever possible, schedule your workouts with someone else. Not only is it much more fun as you’re combining socializing with a sweat session, but you’ll also be more accountable knowing that someone else is counting on you.

Take action:

• Schedule a regular walk or workout with a friend!
• Call a friend or family member on your headset while walking
• Join a local or online coaching program for the support of a community (and a coach)
• Create a fitness challenge with a friend, family member or co-worker
• Find an accountability partner and message each other every day with an update on your workouts. Sometimes just knowing someone else is doing it with you, even if they’re in a different city or country is enough to keep it more fun!

 

2. Create an inspiring playlist. Good tunes can make all the difference during your workouts! High energy, motivating, inspiring tunes to really get yourself excited. If you’re finding that your current playlist is getting a little bit boring or you don’t really feel excited to listen to it anymore, go find some new songs! If you’d like to view my current workout playlist, go to www.tanjashaw.com/111.

Take action:

• Use the app Shazam to add a tune to your playlist when you hear it on the radio
• Ask your friends if they have song recommendations or a playlist they can share
• Search a paid or free music subscription for playlists
• It can also be fun to listen to other audio-podcasts or audiobooks, while out for a walk or easy run.

 

3. Have a plan. Going to the gym without a plan, and wandering around aimlessly, is not only not fun, but you don’t feel like you’re really getting anything out of the workout. Part of our enjoyment of fitness is getting results and having purpose. Even if you didn’t love the workout because it was really hard, you can feel accomplished for pushing yourself through it. And THAT keeps motivation high.

Take action:

• Train for a race (and follow a training plan)
• Simply write out your workouts ahead of time, or follow a plan made by your fitness coach

 

4. Keep it fresh. Variety and novelty in your workouts will keep you motivated and engaged. In fact if you do the same workout for more than a few weeks, your fitness will plateau. To keep things exciting, and to keep improving, challenge yourself in new ways and change up your workout on a regular basis.

Take action:

• Simply change the strength exercises you do at the gym
• Add intervals or hills to your cardio training
• Cycle between different types of exercise- even cycling through outdoor exercises seasonally can help. For example, you might ski or snowshoe in the winter, hike or kayak in the summer.

 

There you have it! 4 ways to keep motivated with your workouts. My goal, though, is not to just give you more information, but to encourage you to take ACTION. What will you do? Comment below!