At first, your motivation may be at an all-time high; however, like the battery in a car, this enthusiasm will eventually dissipate.
There are scientifically-backed strategies available to you that can help keep you motivated on your fitness journey, such as setting realistic goals, tracking progress, finding an accountability partner, changing up routines and rewarding yourself! Here are a few: Set realistic goals, track them, find an accountability partner and reward yourself!
Set Realistic Goals
At the start of your fitness journey, your motivation may seem boundless; nothing seems able to stop you from reaching your goals. Unfortunately, as time progresses and momentum wanes, this may no longer be true and realistic goals need to be set for yourself in order to remain on course with fitness goals.
Realistic goals are ones that are achievable within a set time period and are easily measureable so you can track their progress. Realistic goals will make you feel more confident during the journey and can keep your motivation high; unrealistic ones, however, can leave you feeling discouraged and powerless, which are certainly not what’s required in order to stay on track.
Start with an ambitious but realistic goal and break it into smaller goals and milestones, allowing you to celebrate each success along the way while relieving some pressure from you. Instead of setting an unachievable marathon goal as your starting point, set out a 5k training goal – once achieved you can set another milestone and so forth.
Reward yourself after each milestone and achievement – it could be something as simple as treating yourself to a new workout outfit, or as extravagant as treating yourself to a spa day – to keep the motivation high and feel proud of your hard work. Treating yourself will keep your fitness journey on track!
No matter what fitness regimen or program you pursue, the key to successful health and fitness journeys is making them a priority and sticking with them. Skipping workouts or deviating from nutrition guidelines won’t produce results you desire; rather, they will reduce motivation levels considerably.
Track Your Progress
As one of the primary barriers to fitness routine, lack of progress can often be enough to cause people to give up. After several weeks, it can become discouraging when results don’t show as promised or your body remains sore and exhausted from workouts.
Keep your motivation up during this challenging period by tracking your progress. Take pictures from every angle of yourself (front view, two sides and back view) so you can visually compare how much has changed or record any accomplishments like being able to complete more reps than when starting out; seeing tangible evidence that you’ve made real, measurable progress will keep you inspired and on the journey!
Celebrate every milestone achieved along the way! While this may be obvious, sometimes we forget how important small victories can be! From losing five percent of bodyweight or nailing that plank for 30 seconds – these achievements deserve recognition and sharing them with friends or family members can serve as great motivators!
Keep your initial motivation for starting fitness in mind to stay on the right path and remain focused. Perhaps that includes living a healthier lifestyle, looking better in clothes, or feeling more confident when looking in the mirror; keeping these goals front of mind will remind you why you started and help keep you on the path toward achieving them.
No matter the amount of tools or strategies at your disposal, it can still be easy to lose motivation from time to time. But by setting realistic goals, tracking progress, finding an accountability partner, and rewarding yourself after every achievement, even temporary setbacks won’t derail you from reaching the finish line.
Find an Accountability Partner
At first, you may feel like Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art – your motivation is sky high and nothing can stop you. Over time however, motivation may decline, which is why an accountability partner is essential – someone to keep you honest and help hold you accountable to achieve your fitness goals.
Finding an accountability partner should be easy: make sure they share similar goals, lifestyles and philosophies; offer encouragement and support; as well as being brutally honest when needed – they should tell you when excuses or sidetracking arises.
As part of your search for an accountability partner, begin by reaching out to some close friends. Trustworthy and reliable acquaintances tend to welcome the challenge of holding you accountable and offer their support. Alternatively, reach out to your NWPC mentor for recommendations; most mentors work with multiple clients and may have a list of possible candidates that they could offer you as options.
Once you have found a suitable candidate, contact them and inquire as to their interest in becoming your accountability partner. Arrange a meeting date/time that works for both of you – this could include in person meetings, phone conferences or video conferencing – before setting a regular calendar event for these meetings. Finally, be prepared for long-term commitment – otherwise any accountability partnership could quickly disintegrate.
Mix Up Your Routine
Routine can become monotonous over time and cause you to lose motivation for exercise, so try mixing up your daily fitness regimen by trying something new each day; take a yoga class, experiment with new training techniques or go hiking – anything to keep the experience challenging and interesting for your body!
Altering the frequency, intensity and length of workout sessions is another effective way to change up your fitness regimen and boost results. Instead of sticking to 30 minutes of cardio each time, increase it up to 45 or even 60 minutes for better results; increase weight or reps as a challenge; and don’t forget to alter how long under tension bodyweight exercises such as squats remain under tension – these tactics should help maximize effectiveness!
Maintain your fitness motivation by always focusing on the positive changes you are making instead of getting caught up in negative self-talk or self-criticism that could thwart your success. Take pride in small victories like performing a push-up for the first time or losing 5% of bodyweight; these accomplishments should make you proud to celebrate all of the progress made towards your fitness journey.
Remind yourself why you started exercising in the first place: health and strength are not goals to meet but rather lifelong assets to be preserved and developed. Recall why you started to help keep motivation high – consider working out with friends or joining fitness communities/groups like Alphamonks; reward yourself regularly with something motivating such as new workout clothes or music that gets your feet moving!
Reward Yourself
Once you’ve accomplished a new fitness goal or milestone, don’t forget to celebrate! Rewards come in all sizes; whether they be something as small as new running shoes or as extravagant as an overseas getaway, choose something that will motivate you towards meeting the next fitness target.
Rewards should motivate us to get up and get moving every morning, from exercising with friends for social time or an outdoor workout, or rewarding ourselves with an interesting group exercise class at our gyms.
Establishing clear goals is also essential to remaining motivated; setting them will keep you on the right path and prevent deviance from your plan. You can do this by compiling a fitness goals checklist or writing out what you hope to accomplish soon and when.
Be sure to set smaller goals along the way for yourself, such as losing 5% of bodyweight or performing your first push-ups successfully. When setting these mini goals, tell someone — such as an instructor, friend or family member — so they can congratulate and celebrate you!
Avoid associating yourself with individuals who do not support your fitness journey. If they consistently make negative remarks about exercise and/or make statements which bring down motivation levels. An alternative strategy would be using your imagination to visualize yourself as your desired healthier and fit self – this may sound silly but doing this can serve as a great motivation tool!
