FitnessIsNotEW

Staying motivated when working out is an ordeal that everyone faces. Trying to squeeze in the time and energy, not to mention the mental capacity to bring yourself to exercise after a long day is not an easy thing to do.

With that being said, it is not impossible, and there a few ways to ease that process as well as to make the workout more enjoyable, keeping you motivated to do it again.

1. Setting a S.M.A.R.T. Goal

I’m sure that you’ve heard of SMART goals somewhere before, more so in a business context. However, we can apply that same principle here to take charge of your fitness lifestyle. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, and here’s the breakdown and how it can be applied to you.

Specific

Know what you want to achieve, be it losing weight, gaining muscle or to improve cardiovascular endurance.

Measurable

How are you going to measure the results? Simply put it is the results of your journey into fitness. Losing 5kg in 3 months, improving your 5km run timing by 30 seconds or gaining muscle 2kg of muscle in 3 months.

Achievable

The goal that is set has to be achievable and realistic, unlike something akin to losing 10kg in 1 month. You would know your body best, and what are the steps that can be taken with accordance to your lifestyle and time constraints that are unique to you.

Relevant

Relevance would refer to the activities that are needed to be done to achieve your goal. It can be a diet, hitting the gym more often or going for more runs.

Time-bound

What are the time constraints that will affect your results? This can come in the form of measuring of results by a deadline, such as losing 5kg in 3 months. Or it can be an indicator of frequency, being going to the gym 3 times a week to improve strength.

2. Finding an enjoyable activity

By doing something that you like, it would increase the chances of you wanting to repeat that and keep exercising. The easiest way to find that enjoyable exercise would be to keep trying different exercises and programs until you find one that you like. By doing so it also helps to keep workouts more interesting and engaging as you would be facing something new much more often.

3. Buddies (Tried and tested)

Simply put, finding someone else to workout with you. Having another person or group to workout with can help to alleviate the pressure that is being put on you, as well as being able to motivate each other through the workout. Having a workout buddy helps to keep each other motivated and accountable, not to mention all the banter that occurs making the session much more fun and tolerable.

4. Changing up your workouts

Sticking to one program for too long can be boring. Knowing that when you start sweating, you would be repeating the same routine over and over can be a killjoy. Switching it up once in a while can keep things interesting. Additionally, it is also beneficial to change up programs as you would be working a different set of muscles each time, which can help to balance out your whole body as it improves.

5. Progress, progress, progress

Tracking your progress helps to keep you motivated. Knowing that what you are doing is making an impact and that you are improving helps tremendously. Sometimes the progress is not visible at first because you look at yourself everyday. But progress does not only come visually. You may see more muscle definition slowly over time, or come to realize that the weight that was a struggle two weeks ago suddenly feels much lighter. Of course the weighing scale is one ultimatum but being able to recognize the small changes help you stay on track.

6. Rewarding yourself

Of course, the biggest reward would be achieving your goal, but there has to be times in-between that you regard yourself with smaller items to keep you going. This can come in the form of a cheat meal (not too many), a massage or maybe even a well earned trip to the beach. Perhaps the best would even be a rest day to fully recuperate.

Conclusion

Staying motivated is not an easy thing to do when the results are not immediate. But that is the sad truth when it comes to body transformations. The body and mind takes time to adapt, but by following the tips above it would help to make the process much easier. But if there is one thing I can leave with you, it would be “the results will bring you more gratification than you know”.

You are not alone on your journey, stay motivated and consistent and you will achieve your goals before you know it.