5 Tips to Motivate Yourself to Workout

Happy Fitness Wednesday!

We are halfway through the week and I am only one day away from vacation, I will be telling you all where I am going in my blog post tomorrow. This week has been crazy busy since I am trying to fit in everything I need to get done before I leave. Today I will be sharing tips on how to motivate yourself to workout, which is something I really struggle with. I never have a problem once I get to the gym, talking myself into actually going is the hard part. I’m pretty sure we all struggle with this so I thought this would be a great post as one of my first fitness Wednesday posts. Also, I hope you all enjoyed my first fitness post last week. It was a personal post, which is something I have never really done before, but I thought it would be helpful to give you all a little background on my fitness journey. As I said last week, I fell off the fitness and healthy lifestyle track for awhile, but I’m back and more motivated than ever so I help I can motivate you too!

1. Set a non-negotiable time to go to the gym everyday:

We all live busy lives and have full schedules, which is why it is so important to plan. Planning a set time to go to the gym everyday helps with procrastination and eliminates stress from deciding when the perfect time to go is. Going to the gym at a set time everyday also trains your body and mind to know when it is time to workout, which will help you stay motivated. I am not a morning person and I have more free time at night so I have set a designated time to go to the gym after work and always go at that time. I also think it is helpful to sign up for a workout class because you are more likely to go if you know you have to be there at a specific time. I highly recommend Pure Barre, Yoga, Orangetheory, etc., all of these are great classes and will help you stay motivated.

2. Set goals, both big and small:

This is a huge tip and so important for everything we do in life. Whether you have gained weight or are training to run that marathon you’ve always wanted to run, goals are huge. I always set one big goal and also set 5-10 mini goals in order to stay on track. I don’t think it is helpful to set one big goal and just hope for the best. It is so easy to lose sight of what we are training for or what we hope to achieve, which is why setting mini goals along the way is always a good idea. I don’t think it’s practical to say “I’m going to lose 15 pounds and get a six pack by the end of this year.” I do think it is realistic to say “I’m going to lose 2 pounds this month, stick to a meal plan with no cheat meals, and do an ab workout everyday for 10 minutes.” Those are realistic mini goals and if they are accomplished, you might just lose 15 pounds and have visible abs in a year.

3. Make a killer workout playlist:

Music always motivates me and having  killer workout playlist always makes me work harder at the gym. I love walking into the gym to my favorite pump up music and getting right to business. Having the perfect workout playlist motivates you and keeps you going while you are there. Sometimes I tell myself to finish running until the song I am listening to is over or I make a playlist for a certain amount of time and tell myself I can’t stop working out until the playlist is over. I currently have Spotify and I love using it while I workout. Spotify has the best premade playlists specifically for working out. I use a pump up workout list and it keeps me pumped up the whole time I’m at the gym. Whether you make your own playlist or use Spotify, find the perfect playlist for you and get to work!

4. Buy a new workout outfit:

I’m not telling you to go spend $200 on a fancy, high dollar workout outfit. I’m telling you to go buy a workout outfit that you love to wear and makes you feel confident. TJ Maxx and Marshalls have great name brand workout clothes and I love all of their gym clothes! They have the cutest leggings, sports bras, tanks, and shoes. You definitely don’t need to break your bank account to buy a cute workout outfit. Like anything, we always feel more confident when we love what we are wearing and love how we look while wearing it. I know when I am not in the mood to workout, i throw on a bright pink sports bra, my favorite running leggings or shorts and automatically get more excited about working out.

5. Start a workout plan:

I think this is the most important tip, even though I saved it for last. I know I am much more likely to workout when I am sticking to a plan because everything I need to do at the gym is already mapped out for me before I even get there. It not only saves me time from deciding what weights I should lift and what muscles I should target, it also allows me to be better prepared for my workout. I recommend doing Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guides, Beachbody’s 21 Day Fix, or making your own workout plan filled with HIIT and body weight exercises. I love being able to follow a plan and know I am staying on track with my workouts and I think planning workouts allows all of us to hold ourselves accountable.