How can I mange my own motivation to exercise and start to enjoy working out?
1. Pre-Contemplation:
So if you’re feeling a lack of motivation and a lack of awareness or desire to exercise, this is where you’re at. It’s so tough to even begin to think about exercise when life is so busy and we’re already feeling exhausted and burnt out. You may lack confidence around going to the gym – it can be overwhelming to be faced with a gym floor, not knowing how to use equipment and worrying about looking silly or injuring yourself.
At this stage, speaking to a personal trainer can help you by providing some information about the benefits of exercise, as well as identifying potential barriers or challenges and how to overcome them.
Understanding that engaging in exercise will improve your mood and will actually increase your energy levels might help here. Knowing that your kids or friends will also find you inspirational and will be encouraged to join in with exercise you’re doing might also help motivate you to start. Finding ways to do short exercise routines first thing in the morning by getting up only 10 minutes earlier and starting some gentle movement before you have a chance to really think about it will help get you started and building exercise into your daily routine – using a bike to get to work or getting off the bus a couple of stops earlier are great ways to incorporate more movement without great effort. This may help to move you into the second stage.
2. Contemplation:
As you start to consider the possibility of incorporating exercise into your life, you may still have doubts or conflicting feelings. Again, by speaking with a personal trainer, you can start to discuss personal goals, explore different exercise options, and address any concerns or fears you may have.
Take some time to identify the best trainer to help you through your journey – see our post on choosing the right Personal Trainer. Once you’ve chosen your trainer, start to discuss your fears, which may be around lack of time to exercise or injuries you’ve carried, for example. It’s a myth that you need a full hour every day to workout to have an impact – even 15 minutes of a structured exercise program will help you progress – and your Personal Trainer will work with you to build strength around those injuries, preventing them from reoccurring. They will modify movements to allow for your specific requirements – this being one of the biggest reasons to start with a trainer rather than going straight into a class or starting to exercise yourself.
3. Preparation:
Once you’ve made the decision to start exercising and you are preparing to take action, engaging with a trainer will add some structure and help keep you from becoming demotivated and slipping back into contemplation. A personal trainer will create a structured exercise plan tailored to your movement patterns and identifying any areas of your body that need specific attention, set realistic goals, such as reasonable weight loss or increases in strength and provide guidance on proper form and technique.
They’ll work with you to find the best time to exercise and will act as an accountability coach to make sure you turn up and work hard. This will start to build routine and discipline, which will lead you to become more motivated. They will also work with your preferences around types of exercise – you shouldn’t hate everything you do, but note that moving outside your comfort zone is where you’re going to progress and see real change.
4. Action:
This stage involves actively engaging in exercise and implementing the established plan.
This can feel difficult, with getting started on every workout being a challenge, but it’s important that you have someone to motivate and hold you to account. A personal trainer can play a crucial role by providing supervision, guidance, and support during workouts. They will also track your progress, make adjustments to your exercise program, and provide positive reinforcement. Your trainer will often slip into the role of life-coach and you’lI find yourself sharing lots of personal information. It’s important that you have trust in your coach and that there is a confidentiality agreement in place to protect you. This is where it’s necessary to have good rapport with your trainer and that they are someone you feel comfortable with. I find that chatting about life to my clients helps distract them and makes the time go faster!
5. Maintenance:
This is where things get fun! You start to enjoy your workouts and feel like you’ve missed out if you cannot exercise for some reason. This is where you need to focus on sustaining long-term exercise behaviour, building it into your weekly routine.
A personal trainer can help you to establish a routine, providing ongoing motivation and accountability, and offering strategies to overcome potential setbacks or plateaus. They will continue to mix up the exercises you’re doing to maintain your progress and to keep it interesting.
Conclusion
The biggest reason that people regress in their training programs is down to accountability. It’s far easier to cancel a workout if you’re exercising alone, but having to phone your trainer to explain that you’re ‘just not feeling it tonight’ is far more difficult! As you start out on your journey, it’s important to have someone to guide and motivate you and it may well be the best investment you make in your own health. A good trainer will keep you interested, keep you working hard and ensure that you’re progressing week on week. It never gets easier, but you will find yourself lifting heavier and feeling fitter and stronger with every session. Make that call and get started on your fitness journey today – there’s no better time to begin!
