10 Ways to Keep Your Fitness Motivation Alive

Do you have fitness motivation? One of the top questions I’m asked is how people who have a desire to get fit can stay motivated. They feel like they know what they need to do, but the driving force behind that desire is missing. If this sounds like you, try giving these 10 fitness motivation tips a shot.

Don’t Weigh Yourself

If you want to stay motivated towards reaching your fitness goals, you need to stay off the scale. Sound counter-intuitive? How are you supposed to see how much weight you’ve lost if you don’t weigh yourself? The scale is probably the #1 enemy of any fitness program. Too many times people are making progress, only to see the scale not budge. Thinking all their hard work is in vain – they throw in the towel. The measurement of the force of gravity on your body (weight) is meaningless. Don’t weigh yourself. Instead of the scale, you should be using these progress measuring methods.

Read Motivational Fitness Quotes

Words have a way to inspire and motivate people. It’s amazing how a few letters arranged in a particular order can influence our lives. Marketing companies use them all the time. For proof, just look at Nike. A fitness model with a motivational slogan can influence you to make a purchase. If you’re feeling unmotivated, try reading some inspirational words – it might be the difference between you working out today, or feeling sorry for yourself.

Why Get Fit?

Remember why you wanted to get fit in the first place. What was the spark that ignited your desire to get in shape? It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when feelings are down. Once you start beating yourself up for your lack of progress, it can be hard to think about anything else. Remember that weight loss happens the moment you don’t give up. Take a minute and think about why you’re putting in all this hard work. Why get fit? Is it to be healthy? Is it to look good? Are you doing it for your family? Reliving that moment can help get your mind out of the doldrums and keep your fitness motivation alive.

Cook in Advance

Do you hate cooking? I do. Nothing kills my fitness motivation quicker than the thought of having to cook 5 meals today. Not just today, but every day. Make your life easier and cook in advance. I take just a few hours once a week and cook nearly all my food for the week. Some of it I freeze, and the rest I put in containers in the fridge. When the time comes to eat, I just heat it up. Say goodbye to that motivational killer.

Track Progress

If you want fitness motivation, you need to give yourself a reason to keep up with the healthy eating and frequent exercise. Having physical proof that your hard work is doing a body good is just what you need to keep the fire burning. Don’t use the scale though. Track progress by picking up some body fat calipers, a tape measure, or take some progress pictures. All of these will give you better progress measurements than a scale.

Surround Yourself with Other Fitness People

People are highly influenced by the people closest to them. Fitness motivation is contagious. The lifestyles of friends almost seem to merge. This can be good, or it could be bad depending on who you’re hanging around. Fitness people that hang out together motivate each other to make better choices. You make better decisions on where to eat, or what activities to do, and you push each other to be the best you you can be.

Fitness Motivation by Way of a Cheat Day

Being fit doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself. The thought that you have to give up every delicious food you’ve ever had is enough to scare away even the most dedicated of dieters. Fitness motivation comes from balancing the good and bad. Have a cheat day once a week. Plan it out in advance so that it fits into your social schedule. It might surprise you that a cheat day can actually help jump start your fat loss. Here’s some cheat day guidelines for you to follow.

Learn How to Set Goals

Goal setting is one of those things we all know we should do, but rarely do. Here’s the thing though – how do you achieve fitness motivation if you have no idea what you’re trying to motivate yourself towards? Saying you want to look good is not good enough. Learn how to set goals. Set yourself a goal. Next, break that goal down into several smaller achievable goals. As you knock each one out, it gives you the confidence and motivation to go for the next one.

Start a Fitness Journal and Make it Public

Do you keep track of what you eat or your activities on a daily basis? Many people say they don’t want to count calories – they just want to eat healthy. That’s great and all, but until you understand what eating healthy really is, and how your body reacts to certain stimuli, you should be tracking everything. I talked about why I like dieting and why I think it’s important here. Start a free blog and begin a diet and exercise journal that catalogs what you eat, your workout routine, and your progress. Then tell everyone you know about it. If they are real friends, they will be a source of motivation for you. You might even inspire them to start a fitness journal themselves. Once that happens, you can feed off each other’s fitness motivation.

Make Sure You Get Some Rest

Some people have so much fitness motivation, that they overexert themselves early on. They jump from a couch potato lifestyle to cutting their calories in half, and working out every single day (or more than once per day). It’s great that you’re excited, but you need to give your body a chance to adapt to the new stresses you’re putting on it. Lack of recovery is one of the biggest mental and physical energy drainers. You grow when you rest, not when you train. Get some rest!

If you’re having trouble staying motivated, why not give one or all of these tips a try. We’ve all lacked fitness motivation at some point in our lives. Take the necessary steps to keep your lack of motivation from spinning you out of control. What are some of the things you do to keep motivated?

This article is part of the 10 Ways to a Better Body blog series. Be sure to check out the rest of the series!