Top 8 Tips To Motivate Yourself To Workout!

Let’s be honest, some days we just can’t be bothered!  Maybe we are really genuinely tired, maybe it's dark and cold and we want to lie on the sofa or stay in bed, maybe life just got more hectic and training went way down the priority list.  

Here are 8 top tips to get you going!

1. Move.  Not necessarily to workout, but just get off the sofa or out of bed, and stretch.  Roll your neck around, lift your knees to your chest, swing your arms.  Just getting your body moving even a tiny bit is enough to make us want to carry on and do more.
2. Write down your goals.  Are you exercising for physical health, mental health, to look better?  Maybe you want to compete one day, wear a bikini in summer or have more energy to do the million and one things women have to do in a day.  Writing your goals down makes them much clearer.  Look at them often - feel the pleasure you will feel when you get there, visualise yourself, make it as real as possible.  We have to make the delayed rewards greater than the short term pain to make it worthwhile.
3. Look at yourself naked!  Don’t be hard on yourself, look at the bits you like, notice how far you have come.  Think about your realistic, ideal body.  Then take one step towards achieving it and put on the spots bra and some leggings and pick up a dumbbell!!
4. Put on some loud music.  Dance around, sing, air guitar, whatever feels good.  Getting your energy up for the short term makes you more likely to continue to grab a kettlebell and do a few swings.  And if you don’t, dancing is a real feel good activity in itself.
5. Do what you want to do, not what you are supposed to do.  Some days we really don’t feel like doing legs on leg day so just can’t be bothered doing anything.  If you can’t face legs but could do a HIIT, do it.  Really don’t want to do arms today but could go for a run, do that.  Doing something is better than doing nothing.
6. Do ONE exercise.  Not a whole workout, but tell yourself you will do one kettlebell swing, one shoulder press, one weighted squat or deadlift. Go lighter than usual on the weights.  9 times out of 10, you will do another one,  then one more.  Even if you don’t do a whole workout, something is better than nothing and your brain learns that you are in charge - not the niggly voice telling us to do it tomorrow.
7. Make your workout a treat, not a chore.  How often do you get to the end of the day and realise you haven’t had a second of time to yourself?  You’ve been working, looking after kids, cooking, putting the washing on, it’s non-stop.  And then you have to fit the workout in somewhere.  Make yourself a priority and use your workout as a time for yourself.  Look forward to even 30 mins of time to focus on you, put your favourite music on and leave the house a mess if you have to - you are worth it!
8. Rest.  Sometimes we are genuinely tired, our bodies are sore and we do need some time to rest, regenerate and re-energise.  Give yourself the day off, enjoy it and do not feel guilty.  You will come back the next day renewed and ready to smash it again.

So what are you waiting for?  You can do this!