Maintaining motivation during physical training isn't always easy, especially when we face obstacles and challenges that can discourage us. However, it's possible to regain motivation and move forward toward our goals. In this article, we'll present 5 essential steps to regain motivation during training, helping you maintain focus and determination to achieve your desired results.
How do you find the motivation to start regular and consistent physical training?
Finding the motivation to start a regular and consistent workout can be a challenge for many people. A lack of motivation, a hectic schedule, and constant excuses can get in the way of starting an exercise routine. However, it's possible to regain motivation by following a few simple steps:
1. Define your goals:
Before starting any physical activity, it's important to have your goals in mind. Whether it's losing weight, gaining muscle mass, improving your health, or simply feeling more energized, having clear goals in mind will help you stay focused and motivated. Write your goals down on paper and place them in a visible place to remind yourself of them daily.
2. Find an activity you enjoy:
To maintain a regular workout, it's essential to find an activity you enjoy. If you don't enjoy running, don't force yourself to do it. Experiment with different exercise modalities, such as swimming, dancing, weight training, yoga, and others, until you find one that brings you satisfaction. When you have fun during your workout, you're more likely to stick with it.
3. Create a routine:
Set fixed times for your workouts, just like you do for other daily activities. Creating a routine helps you incorporate exercise into your life naturally. Plus, by setting aside a specific time to exercise, you'll be less likely to postpone or cancel your workouts.
4. Engage with others:
Finding a workout partner or joining exercise groups can be a great way to stay motivated. The company of others can make workouts more enjoyable and challenging, as well as provide mutual support when discouragement hits. Healthy competition can also provide an extra boost to push yourself harder.
5. Celebrate your achievements:
As you reach small goals and make progress in your training, don't forget to celebrate your achievements. Recognizing your effort and the results you achieve is essential to keeping your motivation high. Reward yourself with something you enjoy, such as a rest day, a special dinner, or a new piece of sports equipment.
By following these steps, you'll be better prepared to start and maintain a regular and consistent physical workout. Remember that motivation may fluctuate over time, but with determination and focus, you'll be able to overcome any obstacle and achieve your goals in a healthy and sustainable way.
Reasons that encourage me to exercise regularly and maintain my health.
Regular exercise is essential for maintaining good health and a better quality of life. However, it's not always easy to stay motivated to train, especially when faced with challenges and obstacles. If you're experiencing a period of discouragement and need to regain the motivation to continue exercising, here are five steps that can help:
1. Define your goals
First of all, it's important to be clear about your goals for exercising. lose weight, gain muscle mass, improve cardiovascular health, or simply feel happier and more energetic, having clear goals in mind will help you stay focused and motivated.
2. Find activities you enjoy
To stay motivated while training, it's essential to choose activities you enjoy. If you hate running, for example, there's no point in forcing yourself to do it every day. Try different types of exercise, such as pilates, swimming, dancing or weight training, until you find the one that suits you best.
3. Establish a training schedule
Having an organized training schedule helps maintain discipline and consistency in your workouts. Set aside time each day to exercise and stick to it as if it were an unavoidable commitment. This way, you'll create the habit of training regularly and won't let laziness get the better of you.
4. Vary your workouts
Monotony is one of the biggest enemies of training motivation. To avoid falling into a rut and stay motivated, try varying your workouts. Besides avoiding boredom, exercise variety also helps target different muscle groups and achieve better results.
5. Seek support from a training partner
Having a workout partner can be incredibly motivating, as you can encourage each other and share your struggles and successes. Additionally, having someone to rely on when you feel discouraged can be crucial for regaining motivation and continuing to dedicate yourself to physical exercise.
Now that you know these five steps to regaining motivation in your workouts, don't let anything stop you from achieving your goals and maintaining your health. Remember that the most important thing is to persist and never give up, even in the most difficult moments. With determination and focus, you'll overcome any obstacle and reap the rewards of a healthier, happier life.
How to regain motivation in training, in 5 steps
You've been training for a while, achieved some of the goals you set for yourself, but now you're suddenly starting to feel the effects of demotivation. You don't even know where to begin.
You look at your phone: 12 messages and 3 videos on WhatsApp. You read, view, and reply. You log into Facebook, the same, and that's followed by Twitter, Instagram, email... you almost want to open up your Google+. You turn off your phone and keep scrolling...
You finally give up and head to the elliptical. You plug in your headphones and "work out." You've lost touch with your goal, and if you keep going like this, there's little chance of getting out.
Does this situation sound like you? I hope not. But if you think it describes your situation, you've already concluded that something is missing: a motivation needed to train when it comes to sports .
What really motivates you to train?
Nothing motivates you more than remembering what you train for. I'm convinced that with this article, you'll remember the reasons that led you to practice your favorite sport.
Now, a little theory is always helpful to get our bearings. Let's start with the basics.
What is the motivation?
According to the SAR, motivation is the "set of internal or external factors that partially determine a person's actions." Motivation is having reasons to perform an action that you don't have to.
Now, there are many theories that try to explain what motivates us and, mainly, we can divide them into two schools of thought:
- Content satisfaction theories : based on the study of aspects such as needs, aspirations and their level of satisfaction. (Maslow, Mc Gregor, Herzberg, Alderfer, McClelland).
- Process theories : focus your studies on the thought process by which a person is motivated. (Vroom, Adams, Skinner).
Furthermore, depending on where you want to focus, we have different types of motivation. Personally, the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is very clear to me. If you want to know all the types of motivation, read: "Types of Motivation: The 8 Motivational Sources," although here you can find a brief summary:
Extrinsic motivation
It arises from the hope of obtaining a benefit external to the action itself The reasons that lead a person to act are outside the action itself, materialized as money, promotion, commitments... Example: I signed up for the gym because my doctor told me that if I don't have low cholesterol, I will have to take very strong medication.
intrinsic motivation
It arises from the depths of our being and is linked to our values and life purposes It's the engine of action without the need for external incentives. Example: I exercise to feel agile and independent, so I can play with my grandchildren.
To take into account what motivates us…
- Not all people are motivated by the same thing.
- Motivations vary over time and across a person's different environments.
- Feeling useful and capable is one of the greatest motivators.
- The satisfaction of a job well done is, in itself, a great motivator.
- If we want to motivate another person, we need to understand their needs and be able to align them with a goal that is important to them.
When we reach psychic exhaustion where the activities and sports we previously wanted, we now have no desire to start… Be aware of what is happening and ask yourself what has changed? Or better yet, what has changed in me, so that now I am not attracted to exercise?
What keeps you motivated the longest?
Before you ask yourself, what motivates you or why you lost your motivation, you might need to look for the answer to any of these questions :
- What activity did you enjoy as a child?
- If you could choose, what would you like to improve?
- Who would you like to train with?
- If, among all the sports in existence, you had to choose one, which one would you choose?
- Which athlete inspires you? And what does that inspire you?
As you know, the benefits of exercise are multiple and, among them, I want to highlight, improved self-esteem , reducing stress levels and making you feel more agile and autonomous, improving your self-image and self-concept.
So, if, after answering the questions, you found something similar to your motivating activity, just answer one more question… The practice of the activity you chose brings you closer to the person you want to become?
You need to invest time in becoming aware and bringing to light everything that's important to you and what you think is worthwhile. This is a great motivator!
Feel like you own our actions
As I said before, there's nothing more motivating than stopping to think about the original trigger that set you off. If, in addition to looking for that deep motivation, you want to get a little more specific and dare to achieve a challenging goal , I recommend following these steps with examples from people I've worked with throughout my career:
1. Don't look for motivation; believe it.
Find a goal with which, every time you remember, make your eyes shine . Example: being able to hold my grandchildren in my arms again.
2. Know what physical and/or emotional state I am in
Example: do an assessment (bioimpedance) to know exactly the proportions of body fat and muscle and, thus, know how much fat I want to lose.
3. Know your strengths
isso will help you achieve your goals . Example: I can only train for two days, but when I start something I don't abandon it (Tenacious), I am sure that for 6 months, in addition to controlling my diet (Conscious), I will train for 2 hours to lose 7 kg. (Responsible).
4. Action plan
Example: write down a timeline from today until the day you reach your goal (lose 5 kg in 2 months). Place two or three landmarks along the way to feel small results (Milestone 1: Check my pantry. Milestone 2: Read 3 articles a month about nutrition. Milestone 3: Lose my first pound). Final action: Break down each timeline until you can break each step into small steps, so small that it's easy to reach the next step. This is how big goals are achieved.
5. Assessment and adjustment
Example: check how your progress is going or ask someone you trust to help you review, without attachments, the results obtained and readjust your path if necessary.
Recovering the illusion for training
In short, if you feel agile, autonomous, energetic, strong... this will make it easier and closer to your goal, so don't worry, this motivation will come.Be clear about what you want to achieve Know exactly how to get there. And make sure it makes you better.
I hope I've helped you, and most of all, I hope that the next time you look at your phone during your workout, it's to choose your favorite song.