The request for workout motivation tips is a common one around these parts!! The question “How do you stay motivated to work out?” is a question as old as time, and one we are going to tackle today!
It’s easy to see people who consistently work out at the gym or are regularly posting their workouts on social media and think they must just ALWAYS be motivated to workout. Like it’s a character trait: you’re either 1) motivated to work out or 2) not motivated. Ever felt that?
When it comes to motivation, we’re all going to be motivated by different things — whether internally or externally — but I wanted to share my personal workout motivation tips in hopes to help you find YOURS!
My Motivation to Workout
For ME, my motivation to maintain a regular workout routine stems from knowing how good I feel both during and after a workout — mentally + physically. I love being able to feel my muscles shaking, sweat dripping off my face, and being able to say I accomplished something challenging. It builds resiliency and confidence in myself, which translates over to other avenues of life. My motivation also stems from the immense benefits in strength, overall functionality and longevity that come from having a consistent work out routine. And yeah, I am motivated, to some degree, by body composition changes — how cool is it to be able to see muscle grow and shape, and then know that it is helping me to grow into a stronger version of myself? And while I don’t *love* waking up at 5 am in the morning to workout, I look at it as a “get to” and as a gift, not a “have to” or a burden.
What Didn’t Work for Me
You might notice I didn’t mention being motivated by weight loss, the number of calories burned, reaching a better version of my body, or punishing myself for what I ate. However, that hasn’t always been the case!!! I used to use exercise as a way to attempt to achieve all four of those. And you know what? THOSE were always the times when I felt the most unmotivated to workout. It felt like an unenjoyable chore that I “had” to put myself through.
So yes, have I ever been unmotivated when it comes to working out? Absolutely. I’ve been down the path of
- using exercise as punishment
- doing workouts I hated because I felt like I “should”
- only looking at it as a way to burn calories
- using exercise as a way to change my body because I hated how it looked
News flash: these approaches to fitness aren’t fruitful or enjoyable, tend to do more harm than good, and will put you on the fast track to zero motivation.
And yes, even now with a much healthier mindset and approach to fitness, I still don’t *always* feel like waking up early or pushing through a hard set of pushups, and there are certainly days I say “nope, not today”!! But most of the time, I can remind myself of why I DO love to move (and what a gift it is!!) and it changes my perspective. It also helps that I have literally structured it into my daily routine — this instantly removes the reliance on motivation alone and instead allows you to fall back on HABITS. Because we can’t always rely on motivation, but we can rely on habits!
If I could whittle it all down to one needle mover though, it would be this: the secret to my workout motivation is that my motives changed. When I changed my mindset from using working out to punish myself or to sculpt a body that would gain approval from others to INSTEAD focusing on how I could build myself up and steward my body for the glory of God to be able to fully live out my greater purpose, the motivation came easier.
The Hard Truth
It really isn’t sexy or flashy. Most things in life, that truly move the needle closer towards your goals, aren’t. They’re the “boring”, simple actions that we choose to take day in and day out, regardless of how we “feel”, because we know the long term payout will be worth it, and because we know these actions align with our ultimate goal and values — not just a short term feeling.
Workout Motivation Tips Summary
So, if you struggle with motivation, can I encourage you to check your motives? If you view working out as punishment or just as a way to burn off calories you’ve eaten, then it will always feel miserable, making it easy to dread and be unmotivated. Same goes for forcing yourself to do a workout you absolutely hate. The best workout is the one that you can stick to, and pushes you towards YOUR goals in a life giving way. Schedule it in, remind yourself of why it’s important to you, and remember to have fun with it, too! Movement is a gift we get to enjoy — remember that 🙂
So tell me, HOW DO YOU STAY MOTIVATED TO WORKOUT? Do you have any workout motivation tips to share?
