How to Stay on Track When You Don’t Feel Like It

There goes that 5am alarm! But it’s cold outside and bed is so warm! What do you do — hit the snooze button or force yourself up to make that workout class you booked in for?

With a few strategies in place, you will find it much easier to make the right decision on the days you have scheduled to work out.

Look for a Workout Partner

Having a gym buddy can be one of the best ways to stay motivated. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, even paying people to go to the gym doesn’t make much of a difference when it comes to keeping them on track. Instead, most people who work out regularly are better off relying on the support of others.

Here are the reasons why having a workout buddy (or team of buddies) can benefit you:

• You know they will be there waiting for you so you can’t hit the snooze button
• You’ll always have company to distract you while you work out
• You can come up with fun ways to work out together
• You can support and encourage each other to hit new milestones

That’s why, even with most gyms building 24 hour programs to maximise their profits (even at the expense of getting their clients results) we prefer to keep our focus on running kickass group classes. Because, it’s proven… People get better results when they train with other people.

At Canberra Martial Arts our members experience an amazing community that do life together and help motivate each other to reach their goals. It’s a lot better than the awkward water fountain conversations you might experience at your local 24 hour gym.

Set Realistic Goals and Consistently Track Them

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that there is a rush of new gym members every January. People binge over Christmas then decide this is the year they will make a change. They hit the gym hard for a few weeks then drop off because life kicks back into gear and they are finding it hard to keep up with everything.

To avoid the disappointment of not meeting your resolution to get fit and stay that way, set yourself some long-term and short-term goals. The long-term goals state what you want to achieve by the end of a specified period, let’s say a year. The short-term goals are your stepping stones into reaching your long-term goals. You can try to reach these goals every three months or so.

To motivate yourself to reach your goals, consider writing your own personal commitment contract. A commitment contract usually includes the following:

• Short and long-term goals
• Regular gym schedule
• Consequences of not reaching the goals (e.g. no weight loss, clothes which are too tight)
• Reasons why you want to reach your goals / key motivators
• Target dates for each goal

If you think a personal commitment contract will help you, build on it by keeping track of your goals in an app or diary. It is ok to make small adjustments to these goals and give yourself some flexibility, so long as you have forward progress.

Create a Reward System

Hard work deserves reward, right? Just perhaps not the entire chocolate cake!

Your reward system does not have to be extravagant. It can be as simple as buying a new shirt or getting a massage after you have worked out for five days straight. With a reward system, you’ll look forward to crossing things off your task list.

We all have our ‘down’ days, where we just don’t feel like hitting the gym. However, often the hardest thing is simply getting out of bed. Remind yourself that the sooner you get going, the sooner you’ll be feeling that post-workout ‘high’. And it really is worth it to feel better about yourself and stay on top of your health.

See you at the club!