the “workout fail” - finding exercise motivation
Some people eat, sleep and breathe exercise. Then there’s the rest of us.
For many, exercise is not seen as an enjoyable past-time, but rather a barely tolerated necessity. I’ve been a personal trainer, fitness and wellness coach for more than a decade now, and a lack of motivation is one of the biggest barriers preventing people from finding the fun in exercise.
Here I compile some of the most common sabotage techniques when it comes to how to get motivated to exercise. I then look at how to combat them. If you identify with any of these excuses for lack of motivation to exercise, then I hope you find some of my ideas helpful!
Stick with it - your whole being will be grateful… Eventually!
Nobody becomes an instant winner overnight
1. Expecting Quick wins is a quick way to lose the motivation to exercise
Very few rewards in life can be gained overnight. They involve effort. You know the saying - “Much effort, much prosperity”. Your goal might be to lose weight, overcome an injury or illness, prevent an injury or illness, improve your immune system, improve your mental health… These are all impressive and potentially life-changing goals, but they don’t come without effort and persistence, and they definitely don’t come overnight.
Solution:
Don’t give yourself a long-term goal only. Apply incremental goals that are going to make you feel like you’ve achieved something and that will inspire you to keep going. Don’t simply say, “I must be able to run five miles without stopping by June.” Instead, work with your personal trainer to aim for more achievable goals in a shorter time frame. For instance, aim to run for five minutes, then walk for five minutes. Increase in increments and give yourself stepping stone goals. At that rate, you will probably be running more than five miles without stopping!
Losing weight by number-crunching can be a slippery slope
2. Number crunching leads to a lack of motivation to exercise
If your goal is to lose weight then your head may well have some numbers in mind. Don’t go there. Working by numbers can turn the best of us into obsessives. Moreover, remember that weight loss does not necessarily mean fat loss. It could mean fluid and/or muscle loss also, which is not ideal.
Solution:
Rather than aiming for numbers, aim for visuals. For example, instead of losing 20 pounds, aim to fit into a particular size of jeans.
Working out with mates is a great way to maintain exercise momentum
3. There’s little to no motivation to exercise if you’re working out alone
More hands make lighter work, right? The same goes with working out, especially in the early days and especially if the weather is not on your side. How easy is it to be woken by the shrill of an alarm in the depths of winter, only to put it on snooze and cancel that gym session?
Solution:
It is not so easy to cancel a workout when someone else is involved. Finding a gym buddy or a workout friend means you’re not just letting yourself down, you’re letting down a mate.
Forget the same old boring drills - they get tired for everyone!
4. Repetition. Repetition… Repetition.
Repetition is the mother of all boredom, especially when it comes to a lack of motivation to exercise! The same drills, the same gym sessions, the same goals. Apparently, even paradise gets dull if you never leave (I’m writing this from the Shapedays villa in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. I’ll let you know!).
Solution:
Find exercise in pleasurable pursuits. It’s one of the reasons people love our Fitness Retreats because we’re not a boot camp. We bring pleasurable movement into workouts by way of snorkelling, bike riding, surfing, sunrise yoga. They’re all a stack of fun, but they burn so much energy and create so much positive energy as well! Look at how incidental or fun exercise can replace regimented workouts.
Don’t go from zero to hero, it will just burn you out and you will lose all motivation
5. Going too hard, too fast, too soon. The dreaded burn-out
Ironically, too much exercise can lead to no motivation to exercise. It’s like so many things in life that are new or novel or haven’t been experienced for some time. Many of us just want to go from zero to hero. It’s no surprise that we burn out (even possibly injure ourselves) and literally do it to its death. Then we’re back where we started.
Solution:
Consider a personal trainer who can set you up with a progressive, dynamic, fun and balanced health and well-being plan. The right qualified professional will know just when to push and when to back off. They will have also factored in rest. This is critical not only for your body’s recovery but for your mental well-being and desire to remain engaged.
Nothing motivates you to exercise more than Mother Nature!
6. A dull backdrop makes for an uninspiring workout
Exercise releases endorphins and makes you feel good. But in those early days, it can be a challenge to get the body to accept what you’re asking it to do. If your place of workout is lacklustre, or the weather is appalling, then you’re off to a difficult start to begin with.
Solution:
Turn to Mother Nature - there is no greater inspirer! Increasingly, industries such as business, building design and health are recognising the benefits of biophilia, a concept that essentially means amplifying our human connection with nature. We’re designed to be out there in the wild, it’s where and how we instinctively do some of our best work and most certainly where health benefits - both mental and physical - can be achieved.
Again, it’s another reason our Shapedays wellness retreats are so popular. We take the action outside. We draw our energy from the raw nature of Fuerteventura.
We don’t use spin bikes, we use real bikes on great off-road adventures.
We don’t use running machines. We walk up hills and we take in the incredible views from the top.
We don’t do weights. We get into the healing force of the Atlantic Ocean, and we build strength from its resistance.
We don’t do yoga in a studio, we take it out to the beach and soak up the sunrise.
At every possible instance, we incorporate Mother Nature in our workouts and we finish energised and on a high.
Maintain exercise motivation - check out of your head and into a podcast
7. enjoyable distractions
When you get to that stage of enjoying exercise, it can be a powerful mindfulness activity. Until then, however, it can be a challenge to curb that inner voice telling you things are too hard or you’re making little progress.
Solution:
Drown out the voice! Make it hard to hear by plugging in your earphones and hearing someone else’s voice instead. Some of my clients’ favourite distractions-come-motivators include:
Tedtalks - a workout for the body and the brain
Spotify - let the base lead the way!
Learn a new language
The latest podcast. We’ve really enjoyed the real-life Norweigian mystery of The Death in Ice Valley, looking at life Sideways, Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, the incredible stories of real-life everyday people on Conversations and the intrigue and etymology of English in Something Rhymes with Purple
We really hope these ideas on how to get motivated to exercise help you. There is no question that when you find your groove, it gets addictive. Keep the habit healthy and you will be rewarded. Why not come away on a Shapedays Wellness Retreat? There’s no better way to kickstart a healthy lifestyle and learning, and we’d love to have you!
Working out, Shapedays style, in Fuerteventura. Sunrise beach yoga - yes, please!