Now that January is over we can no longer be in denial that it’s a new year. Remember those new years resolutions ladies? If it was fitness related, don’t lose motivation after the initial trial period. Ben Lucas, Owner and Director of Flow Athletic reveals how to maintain motivation all year long and get the body you’ve always dreamed of.
image via pinterest
Have Something to Train For
Having a specific goal in mind is a great way to maintain motivation to keep active.
I would suggest signing up to an event or setting a performance related goal, such as achieving 5 pull ups, as that is way more motivating than choosing a goal based on something that you feel bad about, such as your weight.
A good place to start is to sign up to is a running or obstacle event because there are plenty on in Australia and lots of people participate so it’s a great conversation starter and you certainly won’t be alone.
Try a New Workout
If you were to do the same circuit or pump class every time you went to the gym, of course you are going to get bored. You will probably also stop seeing results too.
Provided you are not training for a specific purpose, I suggest mixing up your training and trying some new things.
Why not try a barre class, a dance class, Karaoke Spin, A silent yoga disco?
There are so many ways to move and keep active. If you are not enjoying something, mix it up!
Try a different counting system next time you do a circuit
If you enjoy training yourself in opposed to being part of a class environment and if you’re getting bored of your workout, turn it into a game and try a new counting system.
A Countdown workout means that each time you do a round of the circuit you drop reps. For example, you may start by doing 12 reps of each exercise, followed by 10, 8, 6, 4, 2.
Try this workout tomorrow starting at 12 reps:
– Burpees
– Jump Squats
– Mountain Climbers
– Alternate Lunges
– Push Ups
– Squats
– Reverse Crunch
– *add 200 m sprint after each set if you are feeling up to it
You can also try a ladder circuit, which is where you start with low reps and add 2 reps to each set as you go along.
Change your Playlist
Sadly, not everyone gets as excited about a workout as I do and therefore sometimes we need something extra to get us motivated.
Changing up your playlist can be a fun way to get you into the gym. In fact, sometimes my Spotify playlist is so entertaining that I don’t want to stop training because I want to find out what the next song will be.
When I am in the gym I often listen to a playlist, but when I am doing a distance run I will often switch to a podcast.
I struggle to sit for long periods of time to listen to podcasts, but I find that I get a lot out of them so I have decided to slot them into my running time. Win, Win!