HOW TO GET YOUR EXERCISE MOJO BACK...AND KEEP IT!

“Having a plan of action is going to get you through those times of struggle, versus waiting on that influx of bursting motivation that generally never arrives.”

“Why am I so unmotivated? “

“Why can’t I just stick to a routine?”

“I’m on and off constantly, I can’t find consistency.”

These are common challenges and concerns that MANY people face, and perhaps you can even relate to one of them! The truth is, this is something we all experience and go through probably more than once in our lives, especially when it comes to our health, lifestyle change, exercising and/or diets. Feeling low on motivation for a period of time is normal, so don’t you worry, there’s nothing wrong with you (pheeeew!), but today I thought I’d just share a few personal tips of mine on how to pick up that healthy habit again and to gain your ‘exercise mojo’ back…and keep it!

Before we dive in, I’ll start off saying that I don’t believe in motivation, or having to ‘rely’ on motivation to complete something or to sustain a healthy habit. Motivation is super flakey and is not dependable, i.e., it’s something that comes and goes when it feels like it, January being a prime example when people are jacked up with motivation and then it’s gone 2 weeks later. So what’s better than motivation and more reliable? STRATEGY! Having a plan of action is going to get you through those times of struggle, versus waiting on that influx of bursting motivation that generally never arrives.

Now yes…. It's OKAY to experience and go through times of just feeling super uninspired. Like I mentioned that is NORMAL and we all go through it, and sometimes all we need is just a little bit of space and a break to recharge the batteries. So the question is though, how can you pull yourself back on track so days don’t turn into weeks, and weeks into months?

Here’s some of my tips that I’ve shared many times before. Some might be new, and others might just be a nice reminder, but here are a few strategies that have worked for myself, many of you and others:

1. Review your Why and Health Vision - this is always my #1 and go to. Why did you start your health journey in the first place? Why is this important to you? What are the consequences if you do not take care of yourself? If it’s been awhile since you’ve reviewed your health vision (or you’ve never done one), maybe it’s time to update it. Your health vision should be the fuel to your fire, and get you going on the days you don’t want to do anything! If your current health vision does NOT do that, then it’s time to revise.

2. Stop overwhelming yourself and pick only 1 or 2 things to focus on per week - Lifestyle change, goals, forming new habits, and all of that health ‘stuff’ can be very overwhelming and can even create something known as change paralysis, i.e., when there’s so much to do and you end up doing nothing! So to make it easier on yourself and to turn you into a creature of action, just focus on ONE thing at a time. Maybe that’s drinking more water, going for daily walks, working out 3x/week, eating salads at lunch...pick one (max 2) things to focus on for that week. Once that one thing is second nature to you, then add on the next habit.

3. Schedule in your workouts - this works like a charm! You’ve probably heard of this strategy before, but have you tried it?  By scheduling in time and looking ahead at your week, you are setting yourself up for success instead of leaving it to chance, or “if I have time this week, I’ll do a workout”, which never works. If it’s in the calendar and you’ve blocked off the time, there’s no excuses, nothing can interfere and it becomes a non-negotiable. MAKE time, don’t find time.

4.  Set Goals or Refresh your goals - If you don’t really have something specific your working towards, for example, doing a certain hike if you’ve always wanted to do, wanting to lift more, move with less pain and/or improved function, to be able to chase your kids around the playground, walk 5km a day etc...then it’s REALLY easy to lose sight of why you’re doing something and to lose that ‘motivation’. Achieving our goals feels SO good too, and helps to build one of the most important muscles of all, your self-efficacy. The higher your self-efficacy, the more likely you are to achieve a goal. On the other hand, maybe you’ve accomplished a goal (kudos to you!), and now you’ve reached a state of plateau and you're feeling a little too comfortable. This is the perfect time to switch things up to keep your mind engaged. Remember, if your goals are too easy (or you don’t have any), you’ll get bored and fall of the tracks fairly quickly. So keep it fresh, and keep finding new ways to challenge yourself!

5. Have someone hold you accountable - It’s been shown in research time and time again that you are WAY MORE likely to achieve your goals by a) writing it down and b) having someone hold you accountable. I do this with all of my clients, I like to think of myself as the accountability queen 👸, but by simply just saying at the start of each week (for example), ‘Hey Jo, this week my goal is to workout 2 times this week and to drink 5 glasses of water per day’, you will be waaaaaaay more likely to achieve your goal versus not planning anything at all. It’s an incredible strategy that will keep you focused and of course… accountable!