#FeelgoodFebruary: Motivational fitness tips

Most people who decide to get fit each new year don’t stick with their resolutions into spring, with many falling off mid-February. It’s such a shame when they end up feeling like they’ve failed or that fitness isn’t for them.

If you’re finding lacing up your fitness shoes tougher by the day, it’s time to rekindle those fires and make sure you keep smashing out those workouts. Here’s how to do it.

1 Re-tune your motivation

When people tell me they’re no longer motivated, I get them to remember their original reasons for starting their exercise regime. Maybe you wanted to lose weight, see muscles on your body, have more energy, look great for summer, or simply get healthier? Still want to achieve those things? There you go then, you still have motivation!

2 Exercise anyway

Nobody feels totally pumped to train every single session. So you need to expect that sometimes you just won’t feel like exercising and be prepared to simply do it anyway. Chances are, once you get started you’ll feel more motivated to carry on, but even if you don’t, you know you’ll be so glad you did it afterwards.

3 Invest in the habit bank

After you’ve accepted you’re sometimes going to need to exercise anyway on those days when you don’t feel driven, think about those sessions as investing in a habit that makes motivation easier. Brushing your teeth isn’t exactly an exciting activity, but most of us do it without excuses creeping in because it’s such an ingrained habit. Think about how much easier it will be to get into your fitness kit once you’ve been doing it every training day for months.

4 Time to plan

This is a biggie. So many people start exercising in January and simply go out and start running, buy a fitness DVD, or join a gym without formulating a proper plan to get them to where they want to be. It’s no wonder they get bored or go off-course by spring – they don’t even have a road-map!

A well-devised, progressive programme will help keep things fresh and make sure you’re doing the right type of training to keep moving ever closer to where you want to be.

5 Exercise first

Get used to the idea that you need to exercise first and the motivation will come after. After a few weeks of exercising whether you feel motivated or not, you’ll come to realise that the more you exercise, the more driven you are to exercise.  So, if you lack motivation, let that BE your motivation. Crack this one and think what sort of shape you’ll be in for summer!

For more motivational fitness tips from Julia Buckley, check out her YouTube videos. If you’d like to train with Julia, join her online fitness club. Her latest programme, Challenge XXX, features a different fat-torching, body-sculpting workout video every day of the 30-day challenge. Find out more here. For more tips, turn to Julia’s book The Fat Burn Revolution (Bloomsbury, £16.99).

Model wears Lorna Jane Activewear, available from House of Fraser

Summary

Article Name

#FeelgoodFebruary: Motivational fitness tips

Description

Follow these five motivational fitness tips from trainer Julia Buckley, to get your January fitness back on track and achieve your goals

Author

Julia Buckley

Publisher Name

Healthy

Publisher Logo