By Blake Herzog
If you made a New Year’s resolution to work out on a schedule and have been able to stick to it up to this point, bravo for you! You’ve already surpassed most of the people who you started out with. We’re sure you’ve encountered some challenges along the way.
If you’re one of those resolvers who lost the thread somewhere in the last few months, don’t despair. It’s not just you — it’s all too easy to miss a day or two until you’ve officially tumbled off the wagon.
Whichever category you fall into, there are plenty of ways to catch ourselves before this happens and push ourselves back on track before having to find the track all over again.
Turn the page for 10 ways to find your groove again!
1. Remember the payoff
Come back to what inspired you to start this journey to begin with. Was it reaching a certain weight, or knowing you didn’t want to reach a certain weight? A friend’s struggle with diabetes or another condition you don’t want to develop? Meditate on the spark that lit your fire.
2. Set new goals
It’s fantastic if you’re successfully maintaining the level of health you want to be at, but you may need to find more inspiration with a new objective, whether it’s dialing your weight back a little more, adding more cardio or strength training to balance out the other or looking to nutrition to find the right fuel for you and your workout.
3. Book your time
Why not give your workouts the same priority as lunch with a friend or a doctor’s appointment? Find a date and time that will work for you and commit to it like you do any other obligation. It’ll be worth it!
4. Find a new groove
If you feel like you’ve hiked every trail in Greater Prescott at least three times and they’re not holding your interest anymore, it could be time to forge a new one with an alternative like running, interval training, maybe kickboxing.
5. Exercise to energize
If you’re feeling tired and rundown (and you aren’t sick or getting close to bedtime), remember even light exercise is much better for recharging your batteries than just sitting on the sofa or chugging an energy drink.
6. Short bursts add up
If your schedule really is packed, try to carve out short breaks for a brisk walk, lifting kettlebells or several burpees. If you get your 30 minutes per day by doing 10 at a time, the benefits you see will stack up just as high.
7. Bring a friend
Get a workout buddy to either exercise with you or check in with before and after to hold each other accountable for what you’re going to do and have already done. Working out in tandem with someone else doubles the inspiration when you meet your goals.
8. Find your muse-ic
Use your love of music to your advantage. Find not only the songs with a good beat to help you keep pace with your reps, but also the ones with inspiring lyrics or instrumentation that make your heart soar — and take the rest of your body with it.
9. Equip yourself
If you don’t already have some basic workout equipment at home, invest in a mat, some dumbbells, a balance ball — whatever it will take to get you moving when you don’t have the time or energy to hit the gym.
10. Get some quotes
Look for inspirational quotations in books or online that resonate with your mind and heart, and write them on sticky notes, add them to the wallpaper of your favorite electronic device, embroider one into your dog’s collar, whatever it takes to get them front and center in your life.
Take it from Arnold Schwarzenegger: “The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.”
