Most people who work out regularly would agree that motivation is a key element to both achieving and maintaining a sustained workout effort. Motivation isn’t just a word that should be easily tossed about, because it often requires a lot of effort and forethought. In fact, true motivation starts deep within one’s core being. It is the inner drive that facilitates goal-seeking behavior that makes it easier to overcome challenges and do what you want with genuine enthusiasm.

For many people motivation determines the quality of their work and the extent to which they succeed in meeting their goals.

It can be very challenging to stay motivated when you first start working out at the gym. How motivation turns a task from a chore into an enjoyment makes a combination of the two worth the effort.  

As with anything else, creating motivation calls for an active approach. When you find yourself in a slump, don’t wait for it to come on its own. Make a conscious choice to reinstate your inner drive, approaching your daily endeavours with energy and liveliness. keep a daily focus on your long term goals – which make powering through troubling times worthwhile.

Here are my tips to help you stay motivated, while also enjoying your workout sessions.

Know clearly “why you want it”

Knowing why you want to get stronger, build your body, perform better, live healthier, or change your lifestyle plays an important role during times when you are looking for a reason to skip your workouts.

Is your life at risk from being overweight and out of shape?
Do you dislike the way you look in your cloths?
Do you want to compete better at a sport?
Does your job depend on you staying in top shape?
Are you tired of being weak and want to get much stronger?

Whatever your reason, remind yourself of it constantly so that you never forget why your workouts are important. Usually, having an internal desire to get better for yourself is much stronger than the desire to impress someone else.

Change Your Perspective
Most of you are probably reading this blog because you enjoy working out at the gym.  However, there are times when you miss a lift, get frustrated with your lack of progress, or just simply having a bad day and don’t have your normal energy to go hard.

When this happens, it’s important to shift your perspective and look at it in more of a positive light by taking a step back, make an adjustment, and remind yourself that progress takes time, even years.

Rome wasn’t built overnight and neither will you be able to conquer the workouts quickly, but enduring when you really do not feel great is what builds character. Over time you will look forward to the gym more and more.

Create workout rituals
Prior to going to the gym, my personal ritual involve taking a walk and visualize in my mind what I would like to get accomplished during my workout. Your ritual could be as simple as taking a quick walk, listening to music to get in your happy zone, watching workout videos on YouTube, or something else.

Regardless of what it is, figure out what works the best for you and make it a daily ritual to help you get your mind and body ready for the workout.

Change up your Workouts
Working out sometimes require that you become creative or it can get monotonous. If you find yourself bored from what you are doing in the gym, switch things up! I believe that it is important to trick your body from time to time with what you are doing and the amount of weights you normally use. During your day to day workout, your body gets accustomed to the amount of resistance applied and repetition sequences.

Changing up your workout will make it nearly impossible for your body to get used to it. As a result, you’ll be much more likely to see sustainable results because your body will constantly have to change and adapt.

Some examples of changes you can make include varying the exercises you do, increasing the weight, slowing down your reps, decreasing rest times, and incorporating methods like drop-sets or rest-pause sets into your routine.

All of these will help keep your body growing and also help you avoid getting bored at the gym.

Get a workout partner
There is a lot to be said for working out with someone else who will push you. For most people, it’s far easier to let themselves down than it is to let others down.

If you have someone else that you regularly workout with, it’ll be that much easier to get to the gym because you won’t want to let that person down and leave them in the cold waiting for you.

Working out with a partner can also help you push harder on certain lifts while having him/her spot you. Having a partner during lifts is a big psychological advantage, because you are less worried about achieving total muscle failure during your lifts when along. Having that partner can lead to more results. The more results you get, the more motivation you’ll have to keep going back to the gym.

As helpful as a workout partner can be, you do want to make sure you both push each other. If he/she isn’t motivated, they are not the right person to be your partner because eventually you’ll be dragged down with them. Always look for someone on your level or better who will challenge you to push your limits.

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar

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