Motivation

The big word. The one everyone talks about but nobody knows how to keep.

To be honest with you, I struggle with motivation. I’ll be motivated for a few days and then life gets in the way and I find it difficult to keep going. Who wants to work out after a long day at work, a terrible commute and when the pack of crisps is staring at you with tempting eyes?

And I’m not alone. When asked, almost half of people said that they struggle with motivation. If we add not having a clue of what we’re doing, it’s no wonder people give up.

Most people say that they feel a bit intimidated when going to the gym, which makes total sense if you don’t feel like you know what you’re doing (and even more if you have confidence issues because of how you look). You can look on the Internet for workouts and to figure out how to use a machine, but chances are you’re going to encounter a lot of misinformation and programmes that are cookie-cut.

You need a plan designed for you, to get you to achieve your goals.

There are two ways to get there.

You read every single article, blog and book out there, watch every video and then analyse what you like and what you don’t. You make all the calculations to find out how many calories you should eat, how many you’re burning, whether carbs are good or bad, or fat is the enemy and how much protein you should consume. You then create a plan based on your goals and keep it varied to avoid getting bored, overtraining, and allow for progressive adaptation, changing the program every few weeks.

Or you get a personal trainer that will do all of that for you.

When I started exercising, I went to the gym on my own, or with a friend, and I never lasted long (although I always kept paying for a few more months after I stopped going!). It was only when I joined a bootcamp that I started enjoying to work out. Then, when I started running, I managed to overcome my frustration thanks to a running coach that was always there for me, motivated me and pushed me when I needed a push.

Thanks to those people, I realised working out is actually great when you enjoy what you’re doing. I went from being breathless after running to catch my train, to running a half marathon (and loving it!). Now I know motivation is something that I have to create myself, whenever I feel the motivation running low, I change my routine to make it more interesting. It can be changing my workout, or exercising with someone else to keep me accountable. There are many ways that keep me going, and I would have never figured them out if I had given up long time ago.

Whether you’re a beginner or have been exercising for a long time, we all bump into obstacles from time to time.

What do you struggle with? What are your goals?