8 Motivation Hacks For Fitness

• October 25th, 2023 Fitness

Motivation is a strong force in helping you in your fitness journey. However, sometimes, we just don’t feel like slipping on our running shoes or heading to the gym, which can make us feel guilty for not taking positive steps. Whether you workout at home, in the gym, or outdoors, it is easy to lose momentum and positive changes. So, we thought we’d put together some motivation hacks for fitness.

Our Top Motivation Hacks For Fitness

1. Make A Plan

Making a plan is a great way to get into a routine. A good workout plan can make exercise into a positive habit that will provide incremental improvements to your fitness. When fitness becomes a habit, the need to find motivation is less critical, as you’ll want to workout, especially if you do it at the same time every day.

There are many online resources to help you build a plan. However, a fitness professional can create a plan based on your timeframe, goals, and what you like to do.

2 Be Realistic With Your Time

You may have big plans to reach a particular goal, but it’s essential to be realistic with the time you have during the week. For example, if you know you can squeeze in two 30-minute sessions per week, aim for this.

It is much better to start gradually and increase your workout frequency when you can than overbooking yourself. You’ll feel overstretched and skip sessions if you try to fit too much into your week. Skipping the odd workout isn’t the end of the world, but it can cause a domino effect that will eventually cause you to stop exercising, undoing all your hard work.

3. Sign Up For Classes

Exercise classes are a great way to keep you on track for several reasons. Firstly, they are fun and having someone to guide you through a workout makes it easier to complete an entire session well. 

Secondly, signing up for a class means you have something booked in. Therefore, you can plan it into your week, and you’ll be less likely to miss it.

Another bonus of attending an exercise class is that you’re not alone. Mixing with like-minded people is a great motivator. You can encourage each other and even add an element of competition to make the session more fun.

4. Set Goals

Setting goals is an essential element of motivation, which you can do in several ways. For example, you can enter an event requiring you to train. Entering an event is good for motivation; you know you’ll suffer if you don’t prepare for it.

Events are not for everyone, so you can set personal goals instead. Some people may want to lose weight or be able to swim or run further than before. Remember, this is your fitness journey, and everyone starts from a different place. You’re winning as long as you’re making positive steps towards your goal, whatever it is.

You may not have an event or target to hit (this may come later), but making fitness a habit is a goal in itself. According to JamesClear.com, it takes about 66 days to build a habit that becomes an automatic behaviour.

When trying to develop a fitness habit, you’ll have days where you really don’t want to do anything. But you can make exercise more appealing by making it easier:

• Set out your workout clothes and shoes, ready to put on when you get home from work or get up in the morning.
• Try to workout no matter how unmotivated you are, even if it’s just for a few minutes. You may find the energy to complete a full workout once you get started. If not, at least you’ve shown up and helped with habit development. 
• Commit to exercising at the same time every day. It is great for time management and cementing it into your routine.

It is important to know that missing the odd opportunity to perform a habit doesn’t prevent it from becoming automatic. Making fitness a habit isn’t an all-or-nothing process, but it does require discipline to keep pushing on. 

5. Pick Something You Enjoy

Choosing something you enjoy is an excellent way of ensuring you’ll exercise. When it’s fun, it doesn’t feel like a chore. Therefore, think about what you find fun or exciting regarding exercise. Do you prefer to head out on your bike, run off-road trails, hit the pool, attend classes, or workout in the gym?

When you treat exercise as a hobby, you won’t need to find motivation, as it will already be there. If you’re just starting out and unsure what you’ll enjoy, just try a few things and see which ones suit you best.

The time of year may also affect what you enjoy doing. For example, outdoor activities during the summer are often more appealing than going to the gym. However, heading indoors is much more pleasant when it’s raining or snowing.

6. Mix It Up

Doing the same thing over and over makes exercise monotonous. It can also lead to injury, as you’re constantly exercising the same body parts. So, to keep things exciting, why not try other activities?

Fitness classes are great for trying new things. All the equipment is provided, and the instructor will give you all the information and guidance you need.

7. Test Your Fitness To Stay On Track

Sometimes, motivation wanes when you don’t see progress, even when you keep exercising. But, you may be surprised at how far you’ve come without realising it. One of the best ways to keep tabs on your progress is to take a fitness test.

The results of a fitness test indicate your progress and motivate you to keep going. If you don’t get the result you wanted, use them as a new starting point and a motivational tool. This is a great time to set goals and commit to incremental improvements. Then, take another fitness test a few months later to see that your hard work has paid off and you have been doing the right things.

8. Use Fitness Apps

Fitness apps are great for motivation, as you can easily keep tabs on your activities. Linking them to a smartwatch or heart rate monitor gives you a good picture of how hard you’ve worked, how far you’ve gone, and if you’re on track.

Apps like Strava have training logs, making analysing your workouts super easy. Strava even gives you a summary at the end of the month highlighting all your activities.

Final Thoughts On Motivation Hacks For Fitness

We all struggle with exercise motivation from time to time. However, the best thing to do is alleviate the need for motivation as much as possible. Try these motivation hacks for fitness to make exercise an automatic process by making it easier to get started and fun.