Are you lacking in motivation to wake up an hour earlier to get yourself to the gym before work? If so, you are not alone with thousands suffering from the disappearance of their workout mojo, skipping their usual exercise regime in favour of lying in bed or slouching on the sofa.
So, how can you re-find your mojo and get yourself back into the state of mind where you look forward to pushing your body to its limits, working up a sweat and achieving your goals?
All it takes is a little self-discipline, a lot of determination and a slice of cutting some slack if you do miss a workout.
Find an Exercise Buddy
If you have a friend that you can call upon to be your exercise buddy, you are more likely to stay motivated and stick to your regime.
When you are feeling as though you would rather skip that run, your buddy will be on hand to snap you out of it and get you in the right frame of mind.
Exercising can be boring on your own without someone else to share the experience with you. If you turn your sessions into a social event, you might find that you begin to look forward to working up a sweat a whole lot more.
Competition
Who doesn’t love the thought of winning? For those of us that are competitive and strive to be the best in whatever it is that we do, the added edge of competition can be all of the motivation that we need.
Whether sports such as football, tennis or anything else is what floats your boat, or you work better training for an event such as a marathon, having a target such as this often maximises the effects of your workout.
Competition doesn’t necessarily have to be serious as many are happy simply taking part. When you have fun playing a sport, you barely even realise that you are exercising.
Time flies and, before you know it, your kit is dripping with sweat, you have burned off hundreds of calories…and you need not feel guilty about that ice cream to cool yourself down!
Make Your Workouts Fun
If you simply aren’t enjoying your workouts then you need to switch them up. It may be the case that you simply don’t enjoy long and drawn-out cardio sessions or lifting weights – if so, signing up for a class or two may just reinvigorate your routine.
Fun group activities, where you can either sign up on your own and meet new people or bring along a friend or two, make for great sessions that break up usual, potentially monotonous, gym sessions.
With the right instructor leading the class, you will learn, have fun and, if done right, feel very sore the next morning.
Don’t Expect Too Much of Yourself
The biggest mistake that anyone committing to a new exercise regime can do is to overdo it, expecting to train day after day. Not only is this not good for the body, but it is also an unrealistic expectation as life simply gets in the way.
While it would be great to be able to say that you will definitely exercise for an hour a day every single day, for most people that simply is not possible.
Allow yourself rest days and, if you do miss a workout for whatever reason, then so what? Just go again the next day – it’s not the end of the world. Where many fail is that when they miss one session, they then miss the next one and the next one and so on.
Your sessions should never feel as though they are a chore and, if they are, that is when a change is needed. Being active should be fun and when they are, you soon re-find your mojo.
