fitness instructor, Tanya Carinci

We already know why we should be working out: getting healthy, looking good, burning fat – all that good stuff. You can have the best of intentions, but if it’s not

fueled by motivation, then you’ll be sitting on the couch stuffing nachos in your mouth! All the while, you will be thinking about working out and

berating yourself for not DOING IT! Motivation is crucial as a starting point.

Motivation is the missing piece for a lot of people. So, a good idea is to think in terms of building new healthy habits. If you think about any of the habits you already have, they’re not hard to do, in fact they probably require little to no motivation at all. Below are some advice, tips and techniques to help you get motivated to work out and form those healthy new habits. This will lead you to getting fit and keep you on track with your fitness goals. So if you’re ready and motivated, read on!

Find your ‘Why’

The secret to motivation is finding a compelling enough ‘why’. It doesn’t matter what your reasons are, what’s critical is that they’re important enough to you. Without a good enough reason, you’re not going to be motivated long-term. Write down why you want to achieve your fitness goals – they can be anything, from improving your health to looking great in your new skinny jeans – write them down and read them every single day. If they don’t motivate you, you need to dig deeper and find the reasons that do.

One goal at a time

Everyone knows that achieving anything worth its’ salt takes effort. The fastest way to sabotage your success is to spread yourself too thin by trying to do too much at the same time. In my experience, trying to multitask your goals just doesn’t work – in fact, it requires a lot more effort. It’s the same with your fitness goals. Write down the goals you want to achieve, prioritize them and then do one at a time. Trying to lose weight, gain muscle and change your diet all at the same time is going to be very tough and you’re much more likely to throw in the towel when things get tricky. If you’re doing that already and you find that your motivation is waning, cut down your goals to boost your motivation. That doesn’t mean you forget about the other goals though, remember you want to establish new habits, so once you’ve got to the point where,for example, working out 5 days a week is a habit then you can move onto a different goal like changing your diet.

Exercise in the morning

When you exercise first thing in the morning you don’t have time to be unmotivated. The trick is to wake up and immediately put your workout gear on. Working out in the morning sets you up for the whole day, you’re already feeling good for having done it, you’re more likely to eat clean because you’ve just done a workout, which means you’ll see faster results and be more motivated. Win, win, win. Just keep that snooze button far away so that you

have to get up.

Buddy up

One of the most powerful ways to
ensure you stick to your workouts is
to buddy up because you will
motivate each other. Not only that,
but you increase your own
commitment and accountability.
Buddying up really shines if you
have a low-motivation day. Your
buddy will usually be able to get you
motivated to work out anyway. Just
make sure you buddy up with
someone who is as committed to your
fitness goals as you are … choose your buddy well!

Create a great playlist

Music makes a huge difference to your motivation, get a workout mix you love, pop those headphones on and make the music motivate you!

Use technology

Technology can be a huge benefit to help you see your
progress in a way that the mirror won’t show you. Polar
has a Bluetooth Heart Rate Strap (H7) that syncs
directly to your smart phone. By downloading the Polar
Beat app (it’s free), you can track all your workouts. It
shows you the intensity of your workout, calories burned, etc. It’s an amazing tool to keep you on track and motivated. My Fitness Pal is also another great app that counts your calories, diet and exercise.

Keep your workouts fresh

Variety is the spice of life. It’s no different with your workouts. If you’re feeling less than inspired by your workout, spend some time switching it up – make it fresh and exciting and your motivation levels will soar. Always work out in the gym? Try some outdoor workouts. Only do cardio? Lift some weights! Work out alone? Invite a friend.

Surround yourself with motivated people

Maybe you’ve heard the saying: “Who you surround yourself, you become”. It doesn’t matter if it’s business, fitness or any other endeavour –

the people you surround yourself with is one of the biggest predictors of success. You need to surround yourself with people who are going to support your fitness goals, not hinder them – this may mean making new friends, and dropping old ones. Having trouble finding people? Use YouTube! Find videos that get you motivated!

Bust your excuses before they happen

Write down a list of all the excuses you’ve used to miss a workout, then write
down why it’s an excuse and not a reason to skip this workout. Next to that, write down how you’re going to get over it.

Put it somewhere visible, so the next time you make an excuse, it’s right there on the paper.

Put It Into Action!

There are so many more tips and techniques out there to motivate the most unmotivated state of mind, but it’s up to you to put them into ACTION. If you persist and push past the times when you lack motivation, soon working out will become a healthy habit. Start seeing yourself as your own fitness hero and make working out part of your life. Be an inspiration to those around you. Start right now!!!