6 Powerful Motivation Tips to Help You Stick to a Workout Routine

Let’s face it. It’s hard to stick to a workout routine, even if you’re super-duper devoted. 

Weekly regimens of spending hours on a boring cardio machine you actually hate and eating foods that are good for you but taste bland get old fast. No wonder we’d rather opt for Netflix and takeout! 

So when you get into a workout lull, how do you get back on track? These 6 foolproof tips are exactly what you need to stick to a workout routine and actually enjoy it! 

#1 Show up

Oftentimes, the hardest part about sticking to a fitness routine is showing up—getting to the place where the workout is actually happening—not the workout itself. 

Instead of worrying about how hard the workout might be or how tired you think you are, simply focus on getting there. Once you’re there, you’ll feel so much better that you put in the effort to get it done. 

And if you simply can’t be bothered with going to the gym, you don’t have to. Fitness apps like Gymondo offer a huge variety of workout programs you can do from the comfort of your own home. Not only will it save you time, but it will also limit your list of excuses for fitting in a workout. 

#2 Be Patient

If you’re like most of us, you started the new year in a fitness frenzy. You set goals, bought a fitness membership, shopped on the outer aisles of the supermarket and glorified your wardrobe with new sportswear. 

Amidst this fitness craze, it’s easy to expect immediate results. And when you don’t see results quickly enough, it’s even easier to stop altogether.

Whatever your goal—losing weight, gaining strength, getting toned or improving your flexibility—it takes time. Even more, it takes hard, consistent work. So, don’t let this disconnect between expectations and reality demotivate you. 

A better approach? Acknowledge that Rome wasn’t built in a day—changes don’t come overnight. Be patient and look forward to significant results in the long run. After all, good things come to those who wait, especially when it comes to your health and fitness.

#3 Rid Yourself of the All-or-Nothing Approach to Fitness

Are you the type that believes you have to do a workout exactly how you imagined it? Let’s say you scheduled a 55-minute HIIT class at 6:00 but your alarm didn’t go off. Will this derail your fitness plans for the entire day? Don’t throw in the towel so easily! 

Related: Create SMART Fitness Goals to Stay Motivated

While an all-or-nothing approach to working out is common, it shouldn’t dictate your workout schedule. Rigid standards are hard to live by and don’t allow you any wiggle room when life gets in the way. And trust me, life will get in the way! 

Oftentimes, when our standards aren’t met, we are left feeling discouraged. This leads to disappointment, frustration and sometimes giving up. Why let it? 

Of course, it’s great to have structure to your workout plan, but when things don’t go as planned, do as much as you can in another way—even a 15-minute micro workout is better than nothing. 

Think of it this way—15 minutes is better than 10 and 10 is better than 5. With this mindset, it’s not about failure—it’s about consistency. Building up consistency leads to weeks, months and years of hard work to reach your goals. After all, consistency is key to your success.

#4 Break up Your Workouts Into Micro Sessions

After a long day at the office, it’s hard to get motivated for an hour-long sweat sesh. Instead of focusing on the total time of your workout, break it up into smaller sessions throughout the day. This is especially effective on days where there’s little time to squeeze in a full workout in one go. 

Related: 3 Micro Workout Benefits That May Surprise You

Here’s a way to get in a 60-minute workout throughout the day:

1. Complete a 10-minute HIIT workout in the morning.
2. Go for a 15-minute jog during your lunch break.
3. Do a 10-minute bodyweight strength circuit in the afternoon. 
4. Go for a 20-minute walk once you get home from work. 
5. Meditate for 5 minutes before bed. 

Repeat this motto to yourself on these days: “I’ll get stronger 10 minutes at a time.” Replace the “10 minutes” with whatever timeframe you’ve allowed yourself, even if it’s as little as 5 minutes. 

P.S. If you’ve used this trick before—10-minute training sessions—you’ve probably realized once you start going, it’s much easier to keep going! But even if you don’t, 10 minutes is better than nothing! 

#5 Acknowledge the Fact That You Won’t Always Feel Like Working Out

Umm…not wanting to work out is totally normal. Even fitness fanatics have bad days when they’d rather be couch potatoes than gym rats. 

It’s important to avoid judging yourself on these days, especially since it’s completely normal. Instead, embrace these feelings, knowing they’re temporary. 

On these days, listen to your body. It might be telling you to slow down or that it needs some rest. 

A trick that may help on days when you’re struggling to find the motivation to work out is to complete an easy workout. Do a longer warm-up and slowly build up, go for a long walk or complete an active recovery workout which is much lighter than a typical training session. Any exercise is better than nothing at all. 

Related: The Top 5 Exercises to Do on Your Rest Days

#6 Reward Yourself

There’s no way any of us can stay super motivated day after day. On the days when your motivation is at an all-time low, it’s important to incentivize yourself!

Think up ways to reward yourself for getting a workout in, especially when you didn’t feel like it. It could be treating yourself to a manicure, getting a massage or binge-watching your favorite Netflix series. These small rewards are just what you need to get you off the couch and into workout mode. 

Takeaway

Figuring out how to stick to a workout routine is challenging. You may have started off super strong but somewhere along the way, you lost your motivation.

It’s time to turn the tables. From now on, anytime you find yourself in need of a little extra push, use these 6 motivational tips to keep you going strong.