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Find Your Fire: 5 Ways to Get Motivated

Feeling unmotivated? You can conquer that feeling.

The truth is, there are times that you just aren’t very motivated to work out. Your desire to hit the couch and binge watch Big Little Lies takes over. But we all know that once we’re at the gym, after we’ve that run, HIIT or cycling class—well, we feel just amazing and a have a vibe of total accomplishment.

Dr. Jenni Bruning Brown, sport psychologist and owner of Fly | A Fitness Revolution, says that while we all struggle with getting motivated, realizing that whatever it is that is stopping us is all mental. It’s “the space between our ears” she says. “We convince ourselves that we can do it another time, or that we aren’t feeling well or a number of other excuses.”  We make up these excuses so we’ll feel better about not going to the gym. The next time you find your motivation dragging, use Jenni’s top 5 ways to stay motivated and keep those excuses at bay.

  1. Schedule it. Jenni says that people do much better when they have a reason to go and schedule their workouts at the beginning of the week. “Scheduling your workouts limits your ability to excuse yourself from the workout and to let other ‘more important’ things come up,” she says. She suggests scheduling on either Sunday night or Monday morning and laying out your week to make workouts a priority. For some people, she says that having classes or a trainer can also be a really good way to keep them motivated.
  2. Make your workouts fun. If you dread your sweat sessions, your motivation to get there will almost certainly be lower.
  3. Have a goal. Jenni suggests that you view your workouts as a chance to improve and grow. She says that if you view your workouts as opportunities rather than as expectations and see each individual workout as a new chance to do one thing better, you’ll focus better and enjoy each workout more. Rather than thinking about how hard or difficult your workout is going to be (and talking yourself out of going), she suggests thinking about it like chopping away at a tree and that it takes a lot of hits over time. You just have to keep going and realize that it’s the small hits that make a difference and you just have to keep at it.
  4. Enlist a workout friend or buddy. “If you have someone waiting on you for a class or a run, you are less likely to skip out,” says Jenni.
  5. Stay away from comparisons. Remember that you don’t always need to be perfect. You don’t always need to be on your A game. Jenni points out that there is so much fear of failure and competitiveness that people often worry that they are being evaluated or that they aren’t doing things “right” or “perfect.” “Clients often tell me that they fear coming to classes because they have to get in shape first or that they are afraid they can’t do it and are daunted by the fear looking silly in class,” Jenni says. “The key is to try to relax and to recognize that everyone feels that way at times. Instead of making excuses or losing motivation, Jenni suggests trying to be constructive with yourself and set goals.  “Setting goals on form or technique or focusing on just going to a class you’ve never been to before is a great approachable motivator.” Another idea might be working on limiting any negative self talk in class, and not getting distracted by negative talk about whether you can do it.

In Jenni’s career and personal experience, any goals you can set can help you stay focused and keep you in, rather than out of the exercise game. Let’s do this together. Book a group fitness class at Fly today. 

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Redefining fitness–to empower you to reach your strongest self. Redefining fitness–to empower you to reach your strongest self.
Redefining fitness–to empower you to reach your strongest self. Redefining fitness–to empower you to reach your strongest self.