How can you motivate yourself to workout and be healthy while stuck at home?
This is the most common struggle we hear from our members and prospective members. It is completely understandable. This past year has provided a lot of stress on everyone. Stress will usually lead to poor habits and low motivation.
In this post, I will attempt to show you how it’s possible to get motivated, and what to do when you don’t feel motivated at all.
Everyone, even the highest level athletes sometimes just don’t feel like working out, They want a slice of pie or a box of Turtles instead.
But how do high level athletes, or the fit people at your gym do the workout and stick to their meal plan, even when they don’t feel like it, and what can you do it to?
Here’s how to do it—and the great news is that you can use the SAME strategy they do.
Find a Coach – You need someone other than yourself, your spouse or friends to be accountable to.
A coach will:
– Create a plan and remove any guesswork on what you’re doing on a daily basis
– Keep you accountable. With appointments, and check-ins, it becomes very hard to ignore someone.
-Expedite results. (You’ll find out why in the next step)
Investment – You have to pay for coaching. Monetary investments provide motivation because it attaches a penalty for failure.
Expedite Results – You want results and you want them now. We are wired for instant gratification. If we don’t see results quickly, we lose motivation.
Little pats on the back along the way are important to keep you moving forward. It is the reason why apps like Strava, Garmin, and the Nike run app are so popular. They give you little rewards along the way as you accomplish different things. In our 416 Online program, rewards and encouragements are provided through your accountability coach and the online group of like-minded people.
Short Term Challenge – Creating small challenges for yourself can be a very effective way to stay motived and feel some gratification for completion. But..make sure you have a plan for after
Challenges work in the short term. There is no question. It’s easy to follow (no matter how extreme) because you see an end point, and results are fast. So utilizing them can be effective as long as you have a plan for after that is not going to allow you from falling back into bad habits. Again..a coach can help build this plan. In 416 Online we’re currently running a Bingo challenge to provide extra motivation an incentive during December.
Building Habits – One of the main reasons working out at home is tough for people (especially those who are used to going to the gym) is because it’s not ingrained as a habit. Before waking up and going to your 6am class was part of your routine and became a habit. Habits usually take around 90 days to develop.
Record Everything
Keep track of your workouts – weight used, scored times, movements done
Note any personal records
Journal your food..or use My Fitness Pal
Track your sleep
Rate how you feel each day..including stress and mood
Relationship interactions – how do they make you feel?
Co-worker interactions – Who is good to talk to, or brings you down?
This type of data drives insight into you feeling and looking your best, while acting as extra motivation to get your workouts in.
Check your Progress – You’re not going to have an amazing workout everyday. You’re not going to feel like doing push-ups and sit-ups every day. Your key to stay on track and keep motivation high is consistency. Even if you give 50% effort a few days week, you will get better results than someone who only does a workout once or twice a week.
The days when you’re lacking motivation will prove to be the days where you will get the best results.
Find a coach and celebrate small wins. Pick a daily challenge to start building daily habits. Record everything about your health and fitness and find consistency in your effort.
If you follow these steps motivation will follow.
Lacking motivation to workout? Book a Free Intro with our Client Success Manager, Karolina today!
