We have all been there. We want to change things or get started with something new that finally will make us reach the goal that we have been aiming for so long. We decide that this time we will do it.
We start with buying the things we need for the journey. No one can start to run without a nice pair of running shoes, or start a healthy diet without a juicer? On our way home from the shop, with our new gadgets, we plan the first step in our new journey and we feel great!
For a lot of people, the journey stops here. Others actually get started.They work hard. Stick to the plan and even put in more efforts than planned.
After some days or weeks, it starts to get tough. The old habits get in their way. No results are seen yet, despite all their efforts and hard work. So what’s the point with all this? Finally, they skip the journey and forget their goal. End of story until next time.
Does this scenario sound familiar? If the answer is “yes” I can tell you that it is for a lot of people. According to statistics, 73% of all people who put fitness as a new year resolution gives up before 3 months have passed. 50% of all people with a gym membership, never shows up in the gym and I can tell you that the gyms love this 🙂
But what can we then do in order for you not to become part of these sad statistics? How can you keep your workout motivation?
It’s very simple. The ones who reaches their goals are the ones that continue to fight day after day and never quits no matter what gets in their way – it’s not more difficult than that.
Maybe this wasn’t what you wanted me to tell you but its the simple truth. It’s not about how much you plan or get done in one week or three months but for how long you can continue to stick to the path, day after day, month after month and year after year.
Ok, I won’t leave you here. Let’s try to look at some habits that seems to help people to achieve any goal and keep their workout motivation in place.
Understand and feel the reasons why you want to achieve your goal:
We do it all the time. Conscious or unconscious. We take actions either to get a reward or avoid punishment. Think about it. Why do you go to work? I’m sure you can come up with more and stronger arguments why you do it than why you shouldn’t, right? Not that you like the arguments but they are there and they are strong.
It’s important for us to understand why we want to achieve a specific goal, else the motivation will easily disappear when the first challenges appear. We need to know, “what’s in it for me“. No motivation and little consequences for skipping the path will easily result in quitting. Therefore:
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Think about why you want to become fit and preferably write it down. -
Is it aesthetics? Do you want people to admire your body? If so fine, write it down. Is it to get more energy and being able to do other things like playing with your children, dancing all night long or beating your boss in the yearly charity race? To avoid diseases and avoid age-related infirmities? If so write it down.
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Everything that makes sense for you is right, don’t care about what other thinks. Take your time to think about it and get it down on paper.
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Be specific with your goals. Don’t just write that you want to become fit but define it in something that can be measured. Loose 20 kg, loose 10 cm around your waist, be able to wear a size 36, run 10 km, visible six-pack etc.
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When you know why and what you want to achieve it’s time to get the feelings around it. Imagine that you have achieved your goal and gotten the body you always dreamed of. How does it feel? What does other tell you when they see you? How does your daily day look like now? What do you do differently now?
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If the feelings generated above doesn’t touch you, your reasons are not correct or strong enough and you need to start again.
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If the positive angle doesn’t work, try the negative. What will happen if you don’t achieve your goal? Put yourself in that situation and feel how you react to it.
If you take your time to do above properly, both understanding with your head and your heart why you want to achieve this goal you have won a big battle. This is what will take you through the days when things get tuff. If you don’t do this properly it will not get personal and it won’t matter much if you quit – the workout motivation can easily disappear.
Plan and set aside time to reach your goals:
Yes, you need to spend the time to become fitter or reach any kind of goal. If you have chosen a workout program from FitsMe you are so lucky that you can do it anywhere and anytime, which will give your excuses little chance to get in the way. Furthermore, the workouts don’t take more than 30-60 minutes, 3-4 times a week. No wasted time on transport nor waiting time in the gym.
So for the planning of time:
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Explain your close ones that you want to do this and also why and how much time it will take. Make a deal with them as you then also put some pressure on yourself.
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Plan! Preferably write down in your calendar when you want to do your workouts. Do it on a weekly basis and not from time to time.
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If this doesn’t work, go back to the first activity and review your reasons. Those reasons should make so much sense for you that you easily can invest 2-4 hours a week to make it happen. If not, think again.
Select right level for you activities:
This is a classic problem. We want something and start out very strong with a lot of efforts, even more than planned. Slowly the air leaves the balloon. The efforts go down and motivation disappears.
We were working so hard in the beginning but now there is no more energy left.
When it comes to fitness, above is, even more, truth. If your efforts are too high for your current level you will get fatigued and left with no energy – worst case you will potentially hurt yourself. However, if your efforts are too little the results will not show and the workout motivation will disappear.
At FitsMe we say the workout should fit your level and for that reason, we provide personal workout plans, handpicked and based on your test results – this way the workout motivation have better chances to stay intact.
So what to remember:
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Don’t start too hard! It’s not important what you achieve in a week or in a month. What matters are the results (big or small) you continue to get month after month and year after year. Don’t overdo it and don’t underdo it.
Set milestones and celebrate when you reach them:
Everybody wants to become a millionaire maybe except for the billionaires 🙂 But what we often forget, is to get to one million we need to start with 10 – 100 – 1000 – 10 000 etc The path to becoming a millionaire can be difficult to grasp and therefore easy to give up upon. However, most people can plan their way to get hold of 100 dollars
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To get fit you should apply same principles. Do set goals like being able to run a marathon, get six-packs, get your fat percent down to 15%, loose 20 kg, do 50 push ups etc but split it up in milestones
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Where do you want to be in 1 month, 3 months, 1 year? Be realistic and write it down.
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Remember that all milestones don’t have to be steady increasing. Let’s say you want to loose 15 kg. When you start to workout you will gain more muscles which are good as it will boost your metabolism. However, more muscle means more weight. So in order to loose weight you could start to gain weight and then after that loose weight.
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Be proud when you reach your milestones. Celebrate them and tell your surroundings – yes, go crazy on FaceBook. Getting acknowledged by others is a great way to keep your workout motivation.
At FitsMe we analyze your current situation and estimate what you can change and how long it will take. We build you up slowly and measure your improvements. Even if you don’t get the exact results you want you will see that you improve all the time.
Enjoy the journey and accept failures
I won’t lie to you. It’s going to get tough. There will be days where you will hate it and there will be days where you will fail but one day out of many doesn’t matter as long as you don’t give up.
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Accept from the beginning that the road will be bumpy. Nothing in life goes without obstacles. Don’t get angry or sad. The past you can’t change but the future is all yours.