How to stay motivated to work out

It’s getting colder; days are closing in, and our motivation fades. Time for a new fitness post in which I want to talk about how to stay motivated to work out. Working out is important for your mental health as well as for your body. When you work out, you’ll feel better in any way. And even if it’s hard to start or to stick to a plan, it’s worth it!

How to stay motivated to work out

It doesn’t matter which time of the year it is, staying motivated is always hard! In summer we want to be outside, in winter we do not want to go outside at all. There’s always a reason we talk ourselves out of exercising. No matter what season it is, the main reasons are “I’m tired”, “I’m too busy” or “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Well, if getting active were easy, everybody would do it. It’s hard to motivate yourself to work out, but there are a few things you can do:

Find a compelling reason

Before you start to work out regularly, you have to find a compelling reason. If you do not have a reason to do it, you will probably not stick to your workout and find a lot of reasons not to work out. While finding a reason you want to do it, it is important to remember, that you’re doing it for yourself! And that’s why the reason shouldn’t be someone else.

Set personal goals and make a workout-plan

As soon as you found a compelling reason, it’s time to set personal goals. Having goals will help you to stay motivated and focused. You can set another goal for every workout, but don’t forget to have one goal you want to reach over a longer period. It’s important that every single goal is realistic and reachable. Otherwise, you won’t reach them and get frustrated. Take baby steps because when you try to do too much too soon you’ll not only end up frustrated but also sore and injured. Start easy and try to challenge yourself from time to time.

To be able to reach your goals you have to make a workout plan next. Make sure this plan fits your daily routine and gives you a lot of varieties to avoid getting bored. 😉 Create a plan you’re able to stick to, a plan you can work out with on a regular basis. And most important: it should be fun!

Find a training partner

I’m not the person, who can’t work out alone, I used to do it a lot. But sometimes it can be very helpful to have a training partner. It will not only be fun but also increase your motivation as well as help you not to get tempted and cheat on yourself – that’s what I did from time to time when working out alone. x) So find yourself a training partner to challenge each other to stay consistent and motivated. It’s easier to cancel workout plans when you’re alone than when you have to call someone to cancel a workout date.

Don’t be too hard on yourself

Always remember to think positive and not to be too hard on yourself. You probably won’t reach all your goals as fast as you want to because it takes time. You have to be patient! Instead of looking at the goals you didn’t reach, you should look at the things you already achieved and be proud. Oh and don’t forget to banish your weaker self, it just will keep you from reaching your goals and making progress.

Music and Apps

Everything is so much more fun with music and during a workout it is not only fun but also a MUST! It’ll be so much easier to work out with the right music. Workout music should be powerful and with a fast rhythm, so it’ll help you to overcome your limits and your weaker self. In addition to music, you can try to work out with fitness apps. There are countless fitness apps out there, helping you to plan your workout and/or track your progress.

Buy yourself nice workout clothes

When you work out you want to feel comfortable, so buy yourself nice workout clothes! For me it is so much more fun working out with nice sportswear, that’s why I buy myself new stuff from time to time. It gives me new motivation to stick to my workout plan. 🙂 But it’s not only important to have workout clothes you like and feel comfortable in, but also to have the right shoes and, of course, a sports bra that fits. To find the right shoes you can go to a sports shop, they’ll help you to find the best pair for your feet. It should fit perfectly and stabilizes your feet to make sure your knees don’t get hurt.

Celebrate your progress

You should celebrate and reward yourself from time to time. This reward can be anything you like: new clothes, a cheat day, whatever you like. This will remind you that you reached your goal and made progress.