How to spruce up your training and fall back in love with the gym.
It's very common to go through peaks and troughs of motivation. I've seen even the most committed bodybuilders take weeks, even months off training because their mind just didn't want to show up anymore. It's normal, in everything we do eventually we feel less motivated. Something that once excited us now seems like a chore and our mind rejects it. But for something as important as fitness and health, we have to figure out ways around this.
This recently happened to me and has happened multiple times since I started training, so this is what I did to get over it and stay active.
Tip #1 - Relaxing is a skill you NEED to learn.
Relaxing is something a lot of active people struggle with. Even when their body is begging for some rest, they feel like they need to be busy, maybe even a little guilty for not doing something productive. This is not healthy! When you're feeling fatigued physically or mentally and struggling to find the motivation to train, you actually delay your recovery by trying to act busy or do a mess of a session with half effort. Rest, Re-energise and then find something to bring back the excitement for you.
Tip #2 - Shiny New Program!
This always motivates me and brings back the excitement. A brand new training program! But there are a few things to consider...
Firstly, the timescale. Don't get a new program every 2 weeks when you get bored of it, consistency in training is very important, progressing on the same movements each week will allow you to progress in a more measurable way and elicit faster results. I usually aim for 8 weeks minimum for a training program before I move on.
Secondly, make sure it's written for your specific goals and current mindset. When you take some time to rest, your thoughts and goals will become clearer. Do you want abs? big muscles? to run a marathon? to compete in CrossFit? All of these goals would require different training programs and so don't jump in too soon until you know what will make you mentally driven.
The next tip links to this...
" You're not paying for the time taken to do the work. You're paying for the years of learning the information"
Tip #3 - Hire a professional
The best part of fitness is learning, there are so many areas and so much to learn and so hiring a professional is a great way to boost your knowledge in one area. Whether you want a one-off plan with no support or you want full 1-1 coaching with daily check-ins, there is a professional out there who will do this for you. But even as specific as hiring an Olympic lifting coach to help with your squat or a football coach to help your skills on the pitch. Workouts come in all shapes and sizes and having a professional by your side will make you perform better than ever before.
Tip #4 - Enjoyment can also be a training goal.
As said above, workouts come in all shapes and sizes. And you don't always need a strict goal such as '5kg weight loss' or to 'compete in a competition.' Sometimes all you need is to turn up and have a good time. I've had it before, where I've written out the perfect program that if I was to follow daily, I'd have gotten incredible results. But it was boring... I didn't want to turn up daily because I'd written a plan too diverse and challenging that it included very little of what I liked. This makes you lose motivation quickly. And so it's better to show up 5 times a week to do a load of exercises that you enjoy doing however random the workouts may be. Training for enjoyment and happiness will elicit good results on your physique because you'll be consistent without thinking about it.
Tip #5 - Change your environment.
I've been a member of multiple gyms in the last 5 years some I've loved unconditionally and some I've left after a month. As goals change, your environment should too. Sometimes I wanted to be surrounded by driven individuals who motivate me, other times I wanted a giant space that I can use to train multiple movements in, and every now and then I'd get the urge to join a gym with a swimming pool for relaxing and enjoying being at the gym when not training. It's a great motivator changing environment. It brings excitement, new energy, and new people to meet. Do some day sessions at different gym's in your area and see if any excite you!
It's just a bad day, not a bad life!
Change is coming. Follow these steps, take a deep breath and set your mind to aim towards getting back on track when the time is right. If you do want a professional to work alongside, book a call with us today!
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