The Top 5 Keys to Staying Motivated with Health and Fitness

-Michelle

Even though I've been a fitness professional and indoor cycling instructor for more than ten years now, let me tell you a secret – even people like myself, for whom fitness is a full or part-time career, have to work at keeping ourselves motivated!

Our clients aren't the only ones who sometimes crave an extra half an hour of sleep, or an extra helping of ice cream, or an extra day off from our exercise routine.

We all have days when our reasons for slacking off feel much, much more compelling than our reasons for exercising and/or watching what we eat just one more time.

That's why my philosophy of fitness revolves around two main ideas, one of which is the necessity of keeping our motivation strong.

In my own experience and that of my indoor cycling clients, motivation can be difficult at just about any point of our health and fitness journeys. Getting started has its own series of roadblocks, but so does staying on the path after we've “arrived” at our original goals. Regardless of whether you're at the beginning or middle of your health and fitness journey or you're feeling that you've “arrived” and are wondering what's next for you, I've found that these five keys can help get just about anyone over the “hump” and help them stay motivated:

1. In her series on the Keys to Success in Health and Fitness series Brigid talked about the importance of creating a positive support system. Brigid is absolutely correct about this! When I'm feeling less-than-excited about, say, taking an indoor cycling class, I get myself psyched up and out the door with the realization that, if I miss my class, I'll also miss a chance to see my workout buddies. Social time is just one of the many ways that our support system can help us stay motivated – don't hesitate to ask for a good pep talk when you're tempted to stray from your path!
2. Change up your exercise routine. Try a different indoor cycling class; the change in music and tempo alone will perk you up and give you a different set of challenges to keep you interested. If you're used to exercising in the morning, try to work a mid-day or evening session into your schedule. And don't hesitate to try different kinds of exercise altogether – this won't just help your body by keeping you challenged, it will also keep you from being bored.
3. If you're having trouble staying motivated with your decisions around food, it's time to see if you've gotten into any ruts – say, eating the same thing every day for breakfast because it's just easier that way – and work your way out of them. This may take some extra time for awhile, but creating several different meal plans is a great way to keep your health and fitness routine interesting!
4. Keep track of your progress. Brigid touched on this point in this article in her series when she talked about the importance of tracking the calories we take in by eating versus the calories we “spend” through exercise. And while doing this is necessary to keep you on track with your health and fitness journey, the fact is that looking over your old entries in your healthy living diary can also be a great motivational tool. Pat yourself on the back and keep going!
5. Brigid, Christina and I all agree that the journey of health and fitness isn't just about going on a temporary diet and exercise plan. It's about training for life. And just like anything else we do long-term, every once in a great while it's OK to give ourselves a minor break. If it's your birthday, have a piece of cake! When you're on vacation let yourself take long walks and don't stress if you don't get to the hotel fitness room one day! Sometimes a small break is just what we need to encourage us to get back on the horse (so to speak) the next day.

Take a RydeOn! Indoor Cycling Class with Michelle! Just click here to sign up for one of her classes for a truly motivational experience!