Happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend. It's a little dreary out today, but at least it's not cold! Now that Daylight Savings is here I feel like Spring is arriving and Winter is on the way out, and I am SO HAPPY. With the coming of warmer weather I imagine a lot of you, like myself, are looking to get into shape and start getting ready for shorts and bathing suit weather. I have about a month and a half until I'm headed to L.A. for a wedding, which means time is ticking before I need to be beach ready. I put into my
March Goals that I am really focusing on my fitness this month, and while it's been hard because work has been crazy busy I'm not letting that become an excuse. So, I thought it'd be fun to share with you some things I use to stay motivated to work out, even when I
really don't want to.
ONE // Have an accountability buddy (accountabilla-buddy for any South Park fans). This is the number one thing that keeps me going. My co-worker Allie and I go to the gym together in NYC after work to do either cardio, yoga, or circuits. Having someone texting me that they'll meet me at the gym and knowing that they're expecting me really makes me so much more likely to follow through with actually going. On the weekends I've been dragging Alex with to work out. Just having someone that's expecting you and will hold you accountable for showing up will make it SO MUCH more likely that you'll go.
TWO // Join an online fitness community. Whether it's networking with other bloggers, joining an online forum, enlisting in internet fitness challenges, or tweeting about your progress and encouraging others having support of people all over the country helps me stay motivated. I love reading other blogger's fitness posts and seeing their amazing progress helps convince me I can do it as well. Also, if you are posting online about your progress and people are encouraging you it adds another level of motivation because you don't want to let your followers down, especially when everyone is rooting for you!
THREE // Put together or find a great playlist. Sometimes when I'm having trouble getting up my energy to get through or begin a tough workout I just put on some pump-up jams and let the music motivate me. Spotify has some great playlists, I really like 'Hit the Gym Hard' and "Hip-Hop Workout' mixes. I also enjoy listening to movie soundtracks of sports movies when I'm working out because they tend to have some really inspirational jams.
FOUR // Follow my favorite fitness gurus and inspirational figures on Twitter and Instagram. I follow a couple of fitness ladies on Instagram and not only do their posts inspire me, but I love reading the comments on the posts and clicking through to see their followers' pages. There's so much motivation, support, and inspiration out there. Of course, comparing yourself to a fitness model in not realistic, but the positive energy of these posts really inspire me. I like
Kayla Itsines,
Emily Skye,
Natalie Jill,
Robin Arzon,
Nike Women, and
Soul Cycle.
FIVE // Write down your goals. I start by writing down my bigger, long term goals; for example running a half marathon, getting to your goal weight, holding a plank for three minutes, and swimming a 100 meter freestyle only 5 seconds slower than your high school race time. Then I work back and think about mini-goals I can set for shorter periods of time to work towards my big goals. Going to the gym six days a week, losing 5 lbs in a month, eating clean 80% of the time, getting 10k steps a day, etc. All of these smaller goals I can reach quicker than my big goals and keep me on track so I don't lose focus. As I keep hitting my mini-goals I am working towards my larger goals in strides. Climbing a mountain is done one step at a time. You can see my
March Goals right here, and I will be continuing with fitness posts to keep you up to date on my fitness progress and goals.
SIX // Reward yourself for your hard work. Ok, so I fully admit one of the toughest aspects of getting fit for me is eating healthy. My diet is by no means horrible, but it's far from perfect. I fully adhere to the 80-20 rule in my everyday life. Basically, if you're not familiar with this concept it's that you will eat clean about 80% of the time and then allow yourself to splurge about 20% of the time. Sometimes if I really do not want to go workout I'll set a reward for myself when I've completed the task. Whether it's some cheese as a snack, getting a manicure, or having a scoop of ice cream just having that reward in mind while I drag my feet to the gym gets me through. Currently I've been obsessed with the Pho from V Cafe in NYC and I will only allow myself to order a bowl if I've completed my workout for the day.
SEVEN // Make working out part of your work day. Treat going to the gym as part of your daily work routine. Instead of the gym being an optional portion of the day, treat it like a meeting you cannot miss. Even add it to your work and personal calendars as an appointment. If you go to the gym before/after work bring all your things and don't go home before or after completing your workout. This way your gym time is just part of the day you're away from the house and when you arrive home you can begin your relaxation time.
EIGHT // Get cute work out clothes. Sometimes getting motivated is as simple as being excited to wear your cute new running tights. Luckily athleisure is a huge trend and there are thousands of options for super cute workout clothes. I am so much more likely to go to the gym if I can wear my cute new workout pants and top rather than old yoga pants and a college t-shirt. I'm currently lusting after these
yoga pants, this
zip-up, and this
sports bra.
NINE // Invest in a fitness tracker and actually wear it. I have a Fitbit and it totally motivates me to move more and holds me accountable. Working in an office you sometimes don't realize how little you move during the day until it's right there on your app. Now that I have a FitBit I can see exactly how much I've moved and I get inspired to get my step count up after work. Additionally I participate in challenges like "Workweek Hustle" and "Weekend Warrior" with my friends. The app will send me notifications when one of my friends jumps ahead of me or reaches their step goal for the day. This inspires me to get moving. If you're competitive I recommend this to help motivate yourself as well!
TEN // Track your progress and set calendar reminders to make progress updates. I take my weight once per week at the gym and take progress photos every four weeks. I set a reminder in my iPhone calendar to take these measurements and set a reminder for a few days before and then a day before. Even though no one sees these progress updates except myself it makes me want to work hard to show progress for myself. Whatever measuring stick you'd like to use to track your progress, whether it's timing your mile run, trying on a pair of jeans you'd like to fit into, or taking a fitness challenge I recommend setting reminders in your phone so you can stay on track and keep yourself focused. I use my FitBit app to track my weight, and I recommend using something like this if you're going to take weight measurements so you can see your progress on a graph, it's very inspiring!
Are you trying to get fit? I'd love to hear some of your motivation tips, I can always use more motivation! Have a great (and healthy) day!
