Why You Can’t Rely on Motivation for Working Out

If you follow me on social media you know that I have been faithfully in the gym working hard!! 🙂 The journey of consistency with healthy living is not easy, but I think I’ve found my key (or keys) to remaining on top of things. One of my biggest reasons in the past for not being consistent I would often say was motivation. I always found myself getting it in when I was motivated and falling off when I wasn’t. I couldn’t keep myself motivated and I didn’t know why. Well, let’s talk about motivation. Motivation is the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way; the general desire or willingness of someone to do something. Motivation is driven by a feeling. It’s that feeling you get when the New Year is about to set in and you think about your goals and desires and you’re hype, but then that feeling goes away and that’s the reason people fall back into old habits and don’t accomplish those New Year goals. What I’ve come to learn is that motivation is fleeting. It can be here today and gone tomorrow. So, to rely on motivation to be successful in anything, especially working out, is setting yourself up for disappointment. I mean who always feels motivated to do anything? Not I, said the duck! I got to a point where I was tired of going in the same cycle of getting excited about healthy eating and working out, going hard for several weeks at a time, then falling off. I had certain goals that I was motivated to reach, like losing weight for a vacation, but then when that vacation was over so were my goals and the motivation. I needed to figure out how I could stick with it, not focus on losing weight for a short-term goal, but really make this a lifestyle for myself.

It takes discipline

I decided to change my focus from losing x amount of weight by a certain date to just being consistent overall without a specific deadline. Consistency requires discipline. I decided to make exercise a part of my daily life, just like eating. Self-discipline breeds consistency which breeds success. It takes discipline to keep you going when you aren’t motivated. Let’s face it, I’m not always motivated to wake up early in the morning to go to the gym. There are days when I want to sleep in, but that discipline is what gets me in that gym. If I can’t/don’t make it in the morning, I will go in the evening. Another thing I do is plan my workouts for the week, just like with other tasks. I do what’s realistic for me for that week and make sure I fit it in. My weekly goal is to get it in 5x a week, beginning my week on Sunday. I know that if I get in a Sunday workout, I’m more likely to reach my 5x a week goal. For some reason Sunday just gets me hype and it sets the tone for my week. If I miss a Sunday, which I have once and then my whole week was wrecked, then it’s harder for some reason for me to go on Monday and the rest of the week. You just have to find what works best for you and stick to it. Start off focusing on discipline, not on trying to lose a certain amount by a certain time. I’ve found that with that type of goal whether you reach it or not by that time frame, you almost always fall off afterwards and go back to old habits – I’ve been there. So, the first key is discipline.

Accountability is everything

Accountability gives you that extra push because it says, “I’m responsible for this/them”. Get yourself some accountability – whether it’s a partner, a social media page where you post daily, join a fitness group, whatever! Accountability is that little voice in the back of your head that tells you you gotta get it done because someone is counting on you to get it done or looking to you for that extra push. What’s helped me over the last two months is having an accountability partner (she’s the one who records the videos I post lol). We set out our fitness schedule for the week, we wake each other up in the morning or we carve out time in the evening, we even set weekly health and fitness goals with another friend of ours. Accountability for me is also recording and posting my workouts every week. I’ve been dedicated to posting on my social media when I’m done with a workout. I don’t know how many times I’ve told myself I had to go to the gym just so that I can keep up my day 1-5 posts I do each day. It helps a lot, especially when people have messaged me to tell me I’ve inspired them, ask me for tips, etc. If you’re wanting to be consistent with your workouts, get some accountability.

Make a plan

As I mentioned earlier, my accountability partner and I plan out our week of workouts. Making a plan ensures you get it done more often than just winging it or going when you feel like it. Also, when you know what you’re planning to do on what days (like arms, legs, cardio) it kind of gives you something to look forward to and gives you a sense of accomplishment when you get it done. You can even include your meals for the week in your plan, whatever you feel like you need to do to stay on it. Your plan can change week to week, and that’s okay, just as long as you make a plan and stick to it as best you can, you’re winning!

So, these are the keys to me living my best fitness life right now. I’ve become addicted to the feeling after a great workout and the muscle soreness that comes after killing it 🙂 Motivation is great, but it’s not something I can rely on as it doesn’t keep me going. What keeps me going is discipline, accountability and a plan. What keeps you going?

Until next time…