6 Strategies for Staying Motivated
Any time you add new fitness activity, whether you’re an Olympian or brand new to fitness, your body will feel it. You may even experience a little dip in your level of fitness. This is normal. There’s a fancy name for it—the gain threshold. As your body acclimates, you will begin to come out of this temporary dip or gain threshold. But while you’re in the dip, it can be very frustrating. This where many will quit. They figure, I’m getting worse. Why continue? But you just have to keep consistent with your workouts, and you’ll see the dip disappear. Below are some tips to help you through the dip.
1. Find a supportive crew
Have you ever heard the saying “You’re the average of your five closest friends.”? This expression is often very true. Science has shown that your friends have a huge impact on your actions—negative and positive. Friends can often have more of an impact on your behavior than family members. This doesn’t mean that you need to get rid of your “unmotivated” friends; however, you may need to search for friends with similar goals. Joining a running club is a great way to meet other like-minded people. Instead of meeting a friend for coffee, try meeting a friend for a walk, run, or workout. It’s much easier to make a positive change when everyone around you is doing the same thing. Surround yourself with people who will pump you up, not break you down.
2. Think positive
Have you ever tried to swear off “bad food” and quickly realized that chocolate, candy, chips, and soda suddenly consumed your entire thought process? Or maybe, you threatened yourself with some type of punishment as a way to motivate yourself to work out (“If I don’t go for a run, I’m going to pay my friend $5…”) As it turns out, this doesn’t motivate people at all. In fact, it’s demotivating.
Miss a workout? Binge on chocolate cake? Skip an entire week of dieting and heading to the gym? Don’t worry about it. The worst thing you can do is fret over the mistakes you’ve already made. Instead, focus on the chance to make today better than yesterday. Think about how much fun you’ll have with your new running group. Think about how good you’ll feel after taking that workout class—or about how yummy those roasted vegetables are going to taste! Focusing on the positive results of your goals is always more motivating that worrying about avoiding the negative consequences.
3. Set Attainable Goals
If you’re struggling with motivation, it may be because you haven’t seen much progress toward your goals. That could be a sign that your goal is either too big, too vague, or too complicated. Our brain wants to avoid pain and uncertainty, so a vague goal is often scary and overwhelming to our survival instincts.
Instead of focusing on the end distance for which you’re training—5K or 10K or whatever distance for which you’re training—break it down. Take one day at a time. One week at a time. You are already one step ahead by following the RunnerDude walking/beginning running plan. Don’t worry about the end goal. Instead, focus on accomplishing each small step along the way.
4. Track It
Take those goals in your head and write them down. Seeing them in print makes them real. Writing down goals is a great way to boost motivation. After writing down your goals, continue to record your progress. You can keep a written running, walking, and/or fitness journal. There are also many running, walking, and fitness apps where you can electronically record and track your progress. Many of these apps also give you little rewards and incentives along the way for reaching certain goals.
If you wrote out your goals last month, that’s great! You’re a step ahead. Now, it’s up to you to track your progress. You can do it daily, or even weekly, but you need to keep checking back to see how you did. Otherwise, you’re left with a vague and uncertain task, which we’ve already said is actually demotivating.
5. Share It
If you’re like most, you don’t want to tell anyone about your goals. You are worried they may judge you or think that you can’t do it. But, if you’re selective about who you share your goal with, it can be a great way to have some outside support. Knowing that someone else knows about your goal can also help keep you accountable and motivated to keep going.
6. Celebrate it
Starting a new fitness program takes a lot of courage. Every gain you make, no matter how small, is worth celebrating. So no matter how small, pat yourself on the back when you reach a new level. Acknowledging your achievements along the way, can be a great way to keep yourself motivated on your journey. Those small stepping stones add up helping you reach that big ultimate goal.