Summary: Many people set goals to become more physically fit, but sticking with those goals is easier said than done. Here’s how you can stick to your goals.
I’m sure many of you set some New Year’s resolutions for yourselves around health and fitness. A lot of people do. Now that we’re entering February and the excitement of the new year is behind us, you might be losing a little bit of steam, or motivation, to keep up with your exercising goals. Here are a few tips to help keep you motivated:
- Know your WHY.
This is probably the most important of all the tips I’ll share today. When things start getting hard, both in fitness and in other areas of your life, it can be easy to quit if you don’t have an important reason to keep up with it. I want to look better, or I want to drop a pant size, isn’t a good enough why. You need to really look deep into yourself and think about how you want to feel, what you really want out of your life, and that’s where your motivation comes from.
- Use small building blocks.
When you think about a goal that might take months or years, it can get really overwhelming. Think about the small steps you can take to make the bigger dream happen. Focus on eating more vegetables, on drinking more water, and then mark your progress with smaller intervals – get excited for each inch or pound lost and don’t think about losing 50lbs – celebrate the little goals!
- Make it FUN!
If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you’re not going to keep it up. I always say try something for three weeks and if you still hate it, move on and find something else you love doing. If you’re dreading the gym in the morning, you’re going to eventually quit. If you’re looking forward to your dance or bootcamp class that evening, then you’re much more likely to go, enjoy it and KEEP going!
- Think about how you’ll feel after.
Sometimes you just really don’t want to work out. It’s not that your body needs the rest day – but your brain just says your bed is so COZY! When you’re having trouble getting yourself out the door, remember that starting is the hardest part. Imagine how great you’ll feel after your workout and how proud of yourself you’ll be that you didn’t give in to temptation.
