As personal trainers, the most common thing that clients ask us for is motivation.  The question is…how do you get motivated and then stay that way?

Do you find it difficult to even get your runners on to do some exercise?  These five simple tips should help you to get motivated and stay on track to achieve your goals..

The first step is to set yourself an achievable goal:

This can be to fit into a certain dress size.  Increase your fitness so that you can run a certain distance or simply enjoy time with the kids more.  Competing in a fun run.   The trick is..to make it achievable.  We can be so bombarded by the media, that we can lose sight of what is real and what is not…so don’t be so hard on yourself and make it something that you can do.  Nothing puts a dampener on motivation more than a goal that you can never achieve.

The next step is to put a time frame on your achievable goal:

So, you are currently fairly unfit…a realistic timeframe might be that you would like to jog non-stop slowly for half a kilometre within 4 weeks.  What this does is give you an end point so that you know the goal you have set has an end point.  Therefore, your motivation is increased, as you know that you must push yourself to get there.  Without an end date…it will never happen.

The third step is to tell people:

What this does is makes you accountable for your actions.   Now, some of you might think that it’s best not to tell people as it sets you up for failure.  However, if you have set yourself an achievable goal within a realistic timeframe then this should not be an issue. Letting people know what you are trying to achieve will help motivate you to stick to your goal.  Why?  Because everyone will be asking you how you are going..  Reminding you constantly what your goal is.

Make a list of pros and cons:

You’ve had a stressful day at work and you want to drown it in a bag of chips or a block of chocolate… Sound familiar?  Before you do this, reach for a piece of paper and write down the good and bad things about your actions.  Then go back to your original goal and do the same thing.  This should help you to see the positives and motivate you to get back on track.

Find yourself a support network:

This follows on from our previous point of telling people.  There is nothing more motivating than people who are in the ‘same boat’ as you.  Finding a group of people who know what you are going through makes a huge difference to helping you stay motivated.  It also doubles your chances of success! 

If you are stuck for people who are ‘like minded’ why not try joining a group session like Boot Camp, Lean Ladies or Powercise.  If you really need some one on one attention, then maybe some Personal training might be more your thing.  Making an appointment is an excellent way to increase your motivation and ensure that actually get to the gym in the first place!

So give these simple steps a try and see how your motivation improves!