When You Don't Want to Exercise, Follow These Steps to Overcome!

Everyone knows that they should be hitting the gym regularly and following their workout routine. This is the only way people can ultimately hit their fitness goals. Unfortunately, everyone also all knows that it's not always easy to follow through with their plans. Sometimes, a comfortable couch or daunting weather challenge a person's motivation and can make it easy to stray from the path they've laid out for themselves. When your motivation takes a dip and you don't feel like working out, here are some tips to help you overcome and follow through.

5 Steps to Help You Follow Through with Your Fitness Goals

1. Call a friend to work out with
2. Remember the goals you set for yourself
3. Look at your own progression photos
4. Join online communities
5. Lower your goal for that day

The 5 Steps Explained

One of the best ways to keep on track with your fitness goals is to start working out with a friend. Friends can help make workouts more fun, and they can also hold you accountable when you are feeling like straying from the path you've laid out. That added pressure of not wanting to let your workout buddy down can help push you over the edge and get moving.

Another essential component of having an effective exercise program is setting well-defined goals for yourself. Whether it be to log a certain number of hours of cardio per week, or to lose a certain number of pounds by a certain date, it is important that you always have a goal that you are aiming at. This should be something that you can definitively measure, so that you can objectively assess your progress as you get closer. If you don't yet have concrete goals, set some! Focusing on your goal and remembering the commitment you've made to improving your fitness can help strengthen your willpower and help you follow through on your commitment to yourself. When you finally hit your goal and look back, you'll be proud of what you've accomplished.

As you work toward your goals, make sure to keep track of your progress. It might feel like you're in a rut and not getting anywhere, but if you have kept a record of your previous weigh-ins, or pictures of how your transformation has progressed, you'll be able to remind yourself that your efforts have been paying off. Fitness takes time, and you can't reach your goals in any one workout. But if you keep showing up day in and day out, you'll keep inching closer to your goals. Energize yourself by seeing how far you've come.

In addition to looking at your own record of progress, browse around online for positive fitness communities to join. There are lots of people in your exact same position, and hearing their stories and seeing their progress can help boost your motivation to stick to your workout plans. Many communities are very supportive of their members, and by sharing your struggles with them, you might get some friendly encouragement from others who have been there too.

If you're still feeling like you'd rather skip out today, one final step to take is to lower your short-term expectations. This does not mean that you should abandon the long-term goals you've set for yourself. But if you can lower the bar for yourself just a little bit, it'll be easier for you to get moving and get some exercise in. Maybe cut out one of your lifts, or plan to spend 10 minutes less on cardio than you usually do. Doing even just a little bit of exercise will get you closer to your long-term goal. Plus, once you get going, you may see that it's easier than it seemed when you were thinking about quitting, and you may wind up hitting your normal workout after all!

Achieving long-term fitness goals is all about dedication and showing up day after day. It is perfectly normal to experience lapses in your motivation. What sets those who succeed apart is the strategies they employ to combat weakness of will. Follow the steps above and you'll be right back on the road to success!