How I Stay Motivated To Workout

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With January comes the whole “New Year, New Me” vibes. Honestly, I don’t mind it! If you’ve read through my past blogs you know how I stand with goals. I absolutely love them. BUT they have to be for the right reasons, with the right intention. Before we dive into how to stick to your workout routine it would be so helpful if you took a minute to think about what your intentions are in the first place. If it is to lose weight, great! But why? If its to get your health back on track so that you can have more energy, more motivation for every day life, or the like then that is fantastic. If your intention is purely to look a certain way, I’d encourage you to dig a little deeper. Why do you want to look that way? Feel free to click here if you’re having a hard time going deeper and see what your true motivation is!

Okay, back to the point of this blog! As I sit here writing this it is a rest day for me. You know what? I absolutely hate rest days usually! But that’s becuase I’ve created a fitness lifestyle that I truly adore and one that makes me feel my absolute best every day! I want that for you too.

The whole idea that motivation doesn’t last and it’s not a good thing to rely on is completely valid in my opinion. Motivation helps get you started, habit truly helps you keep going. So I want to dive into a few things that have helped me turn fitness into a habit so that motivation is easier to find!

Do what you love

This one is obvious and probably talked about more times than you can count. However, I want to say it again so that it gets imprinted into your mind!! There are SO many sources out there telling us to only workout this way, never workout that way if you want X result, workout for this amount of time, blah blah blah. From someone who has followed ALL of that advice, (which you’ve read about if you’ve read my book To Kale And Back!!) I am here to tell you it really doesn’t matter. What do you LOVE to do? Think outside the box too. Yes, having a form of cardio, strength training, and flexibility/recovery is what your body would love, but that can be SO many different things. Maybe try a boxing class online, a pilates workout, traditional weight lifting, running, or spinning! And then find around 5 days per week from 15 minutes to as long as your heart desires to do these activities. Click here to read more about that.

My current favorites:

Traditional strength training (we know this)
Plyometrics and HIIT (high intensity interval training)
Walking
Pilates - a new favorite for me!

Mix it up

In the beginning of a fitness journey, part of the discipline process is following a program from a trustworthy source. It’s a great way to push yourself, see results, and know that you’re being guided by someone who knows what their talking about. I would encourage you to try out multiple different types of programs. Some of my favorites are a traditional weight lifting program either from Lauren Gleisberg or my own program I created for my e-course Thrive here. For plyometics/bodyweight and HIIT I love this program by Sarah’s Day. For pilates I look for workouts on Tamara Soule’s Instagram page or Sarah’s Day’s Youtube. These are a few of the programs I’ve gone back to when I just want someone else to come up with my workout for me!

Schedule it and make it routine

Schedule it in your day planner! Write it down, make an alarm in your google calendar, whatever day planning system you use write it down! Whether it’s a class you’ve signed up for or not, scheduling it into your day will keep you from making the “I don’t have time” excuse. On that note, I highly suggest trying a morning workout. Trust me, I get it, waking up to workout before work can be the absolute worst at first. Back when I lived the corporate life I would wake up at 5am to workout before work. But I was ALWAYS glad that I did. There are actually studies that have shown that most people perform best in the morning as opposed to late at night. Give it a shot and see if it’s something you think might work for you! At the end of the day, done is better than nothing at all, so whenever you can make it fit, schedule it in!

On the topic of scheduling it in, try making it a routine. I’ve found that my body responds best when I workout at or around the same time every day. Over time, your body will say “hey, its about an hour after waking, I think it’s time to get some exercise in!” I promise you. That feeling may feel SO far off and totally not you, but I promise you it exists, and with a little consistency and routine one day you’ll have that incredible feeling too!

Think about the after feeling

On the topic of feelings, on the days when I’m in a bad mood or just having “a day” I always try and think about that “after” feeling. Some of my best workouts come from moody days because it helps feel like a stress reliever. I know that I’ll feel much better if I at least go for a long walk instead of binge watch Youtube or Netflix. Endorphins are a real thing! Some of my favorite doctors and naturopaths say that exercise is the most underutilized anti-depressant and I can’t help but fell that way too.

On the other hand, not every workout is great, and that’s OKAY. Sometimes our body just needs a rest day, or maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed with something in your personal life. My greatest advice I’ve received for days like this is to recognize that it was just one day. Tomorrow doens’t have to feel like that, and we get the chance to start over.

Eat well

You maybe didn’t expect this one did you? But it’s true, when you eat really well and fuel your body properly (with plenty of good for you foods, from the earth) your body will thank you in the form of energy and great sleep. You may run faster, lift heavier, or just FEEL so much better during your workout when you eat well.

Have a great playlist

This is the workout playlist that I’ve been using for the last few years and it still hasn’t gotten old! Music is juge for me when it comes to working out, and getting in the right mindset to workout. I love listening to my workout playlist in the car on the way to the gym, or while I’m putting workout clothes on if I’m doing an at-home workout to get me excited to workout! The more upbeat and fun, the more energized I feel and the more fun I have!

Have a trigger routine

Another huge mone for me is having a trigger routine. A trigger routine is something that you do repeatedly before you workout that helps your mind shift from whatever you’re currently thinking about to getting into the mindset of working out. It can be as long or as short as you feel like you need. A few things that are “triggers” for me are drinking pre-workout or a cold caffeinated drink like the Alani Nu energy drinks, putting my workout clothes on, listening to my workout playlist, and going over my workout for the day! I’d love to hear what some of yours are!

Another workout motivator that I talk about all too often is actually workout clothes and gear! So I wanted to put together a little collage of some of my favorite workout pieces and equipment for you! All sizing and details are linked in the caption when you click the photo!

Click the image above to shop and see al sizing details!

And that’s it friends! I’d love to hear what you do that helps you stay consistent with working out, or what felt most helpful for you from this post! Go ahead and drop a comment below, or comment on my most recent Instagram post!!