One of the top questions I’m asked is how people who have a desire to get fit can stay motivated. They feel like they know what they need to do, but the driving force behind that desire is missing. If this sounds like you, try giving these 10 fitness motivation tips a shot.
Don’t Weigh Yourself
If you want to stay motivated towards reaching your fitness goals, you need to stay off the scale. Sound counter-intuitive? How are you supposed to see how much weight you’ve lost if you don’t weigh yourself? The scale is probably the #1 enemy of any fitness program.
Too many times people are making progress, only to see the scale not budge. Thinking all their hard work is in vain, they throw in the towel. The measurement of the force of gravity on your body (weight) is meaningless. Don’t weigh yourself. Instead of the scale, you should be using these progress measuring methods.
Read Motivational Fitness Quotes
Words have a way to inspire and motivate people. It’s amazing how a few letters arranged in a particular order can influence our lives. Marketing companies use them all the time.
For proof, just look at Nike. A fitness model with a motivational slogan can influence you to make a purchase. If you’re feeling unmotivated, try reading some inspirational words – it might be the difference between you working out today, or feeling sorry for yourself.
Here are 200 highly motivational fitness quotes that will inspire change in your life.
Why Get Fit?
Remember why you wanted to get fit in the first place. What was the spark that ignited your desire to get in shape? It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when feelings are down. Once you start beating yourself up for your lack of progress, it can be hard to think about anything else. Remember that weight loss happens the moment you don’t give up.
Take a minute and think about why you’re putting in all this hard work. Why get fit? Is it to be healthy? Is it to look good? Are you doing it for your family? Reliving that moment can help get your mind out of the doldrums and keep your fitness motivation alive.
Cook in Advance
Do you hate cooking? I do. Nothing kills my motivation quicker than the thought of having to cook 5 meals today. Not just today, but every day. Make your life easier and cook in advance.
I take just a few hours once a week and cook nearly all my food for the week. Some of it I freeze, and the rest I put in containers in the fridge. When the time comes to eat, I just heat it up. Say goodbye to that motivational killer.
Track Progress
If you want to stay motivated, you need to give yourself a reason to keep up with the healthy eating and frequent exercise. Having physical proof that your hard work is doing a body good is just what you need to keep the fire burning. Nothing tastes as good as making progress feels.
Don’t use the scale though. Track progress by picking up some body fat calipers, a tape measure, or take some progress pictures. All of these will give you better progress measurements than a scale.
Here’s a cheap pair of body fat calipers you can track your body fat percentage with.
Surround Yourself with Other Fitness People
People are highly influenced by the people closest to them. Motivation is contagious. The lifestyles of friends almost seem to merge. This can be good, or it could be bad depending on who you’re hanging around.
Fitness people that hang out together motivate each other to make better choices. You make better decisions on where to eat, or what activities to do, and you push each other to be the best you you can be.
Have a Cheat Meal
Being fit doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself. The thought that you have to give up every delicious food you’ve ever had is enough to scare away even the most dedicated of healthy eaters. Motivation comes from balance. Try having a “cheat” meal every once in a while.
Learn How to Set Goals
Goal setting is one of those things we all know we should do, but rarely do. Here’s the thing though – how do you stay motivated if you have no idea what you’re trying to motivate yourself towards?
Saying you want to look good is not good enough. Learn how to set goals. Set yourself a goal. Next, break that goal down into several smaller achievable goals. As you knock each one out, it gives you the confidence and motivation to go for the next one.
Read more about how to set achievable goals.
Start a Fitness Journal and Make it Public
Start a free blog and create a diet and exercise journal that catalogs what you eat, your workout routine, and your progress. Then tell everyone you know about it. If they are real friends, they will be a source of motivation for you. You might even inspire them to start a fitness journal themselves. Once that happens, you can feed off each others’ motivation.
Make Sure You Get Some Rest
Some people have so much motivation that they overexert themselves early on. They jump from a couch potato lifestyle to cutting their calories in half, and working out every single day (or more than once per day).
It’s great that you’re excited, but you need to give your body a chance to adapt to the new stresses you’re putting on it. Lack of recovery is one of the biggest mental and physical energy drainers. You grow when you rest, not when you train. Get some rest!
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Another great article. I’m actually just starting a scheduled rest week after 10 weeks continuous training…so I won’t be lifting any weights till Friday at the earliest. Probably still do some light exercise like cycling or walking just to keep my hand in. Very important, for me at least, to have these rest weeks. I usually find at the end of the week that I’m dying to get back to lifting and am super-motivated. Works for mind & body.
Great post! The first one on this list is one I struggle with a lot….I am sometimes obsessed with the scale like you say and need to realize that there is more to it than the number on the scale…thanks for the reminder!
I need to print this out and take this to heart. After ~15 months of working on my weight loss, I’m really struggling to stay motivated.
Searching for quotes for an article I am writing and stumbled upon your site. Nice article. Agree with all your points, particularly about surrounding yourself with like-minded people. Not long ago when competing in Fitness America surrounding myself with others who had similiar goals worked wonders for me in helping me stay on track! Like the fitness journal point as well. I do that with yearly goals as well. Posted those on facebook Janaury 1! That’s one way to put it out there. Now I have hundreds of people checking up on me…ha! Works though! Look forward to follwing your blog
Hi, I just subscibed to your site and I love it. You give really good info that I will use. I have a question, I am 46, 140lbs. Been trying to lose about 10lbs of fat. I eat lots of veggies, some friuts, about a 100 grams of protien a day, very little carbs. I eat small meals 2 to 3 every 2 to 3 hours. I lift weights about 2 times a week and I do cardio about 5 days a week. I am stuck at this 140, it will not go down. I like being 140, I want to lose 10 lbs of fat and build it back up with muscle. What more can I do?
If you are limiting carbs, you need to make sure you are replacing those calories with fat. Otherwise, your calories will be too low to effectively drop body fat. Try focusing less on weight and more on body composition.
My problem is that I had to be in good health, but I cannot afford to lose weight. I weight 95 kg for 5′ 2″ and it worries my doctor… but I’ve got a high ratio of cholesterol in my blood, all of this because all those years I ate junk food trying to get a bit of fat, and it never worked! Instead, I’m now stuck with health problem and have to exercise and eat healthy even if I’m still super thin…
Wow Tony, I am amazed at your website. I have a fitness blog and im also a personal trainer and let me tell you, not only do you deliver information in a way that is simple and easy to use, but you also inspired me to get even better and dream bigger. Thanks man!
I nearly had a major bloop yesterday,I weighed in at the gym as my usual Monday and was hoping for the same weight as the previous Monday,as I indulged in a few cocktails over the weekend. Well I had put on 2 ounces (yes I know insignificant) but the fact the scale went up made me want to go home and eat dry roasted peanuts and chips and drink wine, I read some of the articles on Coach Calorie and refrained from that and today only one day later I am down a pound, so glad I did not eat that food and drink as I am at a loss this week,Thank-you for giving me the tools I need to stay on track,its amazing the mental effect just 1 point in the wrong direction has on us.