Caught the lazies? Here’s what you can do about it!

Motivation will NOT get you to the gym. But people still believe that it will, which is why they say they will start the gym on a Monday. You believe that you will be feeling so motivated on a Monday after a weekend of partying and fried foods that you will be able to finally drag yourself to the gym.

Great! You made it to the gym on Monday. But what about when Thursday afternoon rolls around? Which will you feel more motivated for – the gym, or knock off drinks?

If you have a weight, health or fitness goal, you cannot rely on motivation to catapult you to where you want to be. You have to put a plan in place. You need to plan against your brain, so that it stops tricking you into thinking you are not motivated.

Here are some really simple action steps you can take that even we as coaches use (because even we do not spring out of bed every day, filled with motivation to do 150 burpees!)

1.       Put your alarm outside of your room

It is so easy to roll over and skip class when you wake up in the morning. You probably planned a morning class because you cannot make the evening class, but when you wake up in your warm bed, you suddenly decide you were CRAZY to book into a morning class and you switch your alarm off.

Another day of not going to the gym.

Set your alarm the night before and put it just outside your bedroom door or out of reach. It will still wake you, but to turn it off you will have to get out of bed.

Now you are out of bed, you may as well just go to the gym.

2.       Book into your classes

Set your exercise plan at the start of each week when you are feeling motivated.

Make the commitment to the classes you are going to attend by booking into those classes, and entering that booking into your personal calendar.

If someone then asks you to go for knock off drinks on a Thursday at 5pm, too bad! You have a prior commitment that is already in your diary, as if it is a work meeting that is a non-negotiable. You would not skip a work meeting for drinks, so do not skip the gym!

3.       Find a gym you actually like

Gym does not have to be a chore. Some people enjoy coming to the gym because they love hard work, sweat and being completely smashed at the end of the session.

The majority of people do not enjoy that aspect. They enjoy the endorphins (happiness) they feel after a hard workout, they enjoy the physical results, they enjoy the mental health relief, seeing their friends, having a distraction from work and personal life, and many other reasons.

If you cannot find your gym enjoyable, find a type of fitness that lights your fire. Join a social touch football team instead. Find a personal trainer that you enjoy the company of. Change the training style to something more exciting (like CrossFit, of course).

4.       Make the commitment to one other person

Research shows that for you to continue to engage in a fitness routine, you must have at least two personal connections. That usually includes one with the coach/trainer, but it means that to ensure you continue training after motivation fades, you need to make a connection with at least one other person.

When you make that connection, make a commitment to them. Let them know that you are going to be attending sessions X-Y-Z this week and ask them for their sessions.

You will find training much more enjoyable if you are surrounded by a community with people whose company you actually join.

5.       Write down your why, and look at it every day

Why are you even starting training? Some common answers are: to lose weight, to gain weight, to tone, to meet new people, for my mental health, for fun, to keep up with my kids or grandkids, to improve my health, to support my friend/partner or to cross train for my sport.

Write down in one sentence the reason why you are training.

Stick it on your fridge. Look at it every single day.

Motivation is a great tool to kickstart your health and fitness, but it will not be the tool that makes you continue all the way through to reaching your goals. You need to set plans in place and if you feel like you need help, let us help you!